TYPE FOR BROS

love this campaign from miller lite. it combines the fact that instagramers everywhere love beautiful typography (guilty, obviously) and the social habits of millennial guys. while visual platforms like pinterest and instagram have tended to skew female, turns out more and more guys are moving from facebook and twitter to instagram.

from cris rivera of miller lite: "We know that one of the quickest trending topics hashtag-wise on Instagram is the idea of typography—things like #graphicdesign, #typography [and] #thedailytype... The idea of leveraging something that natively already exists on the platform and bringing it toward a brand lens was something that was exciting for us."

take a look at these beautiful ads, which miller lite is serving to guys between 21 and 34 on instagram. cool, right?

Miller Lite Type
Miller Lite Type
Miller Lite Type
Miller Lite Type

via adweek

TO A LIFE LESS ORDINARY

a stunning short film from finlandia vodka advocating a life "less ordinary" (and, obviously, vodka). created with wieden + kennedy, the film/ad features an amazing cast of characters including my 93 year old style icon iris apfel. i am also loving all of these quotes. they feel authentic in a really special, surprisingly consistent (and not super trite) way.

more here.

via HUH magazine

TEN YEARS OF YOUTUBE

in celebration of its 10th anniversary youtube has announced the top ads of decade. fun, touching and super smart, take a look at the top five below. in other news, can you remember life without youtube? yo tampoco.

5. Dove "Real Beauty Sketches"

Agencies: Ogilvy Brazil, PHD, Mindshare
Year: 2013
Views: 65 million

4. Volvo Trucks "The Epic Split feat. Van Damme"

Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors
Year: 2013
Views: 79 million

3. Always "#LikeAGirl"

Agencies: Leo Burnett, Starcom MediaVest Group
Year: 2014
Views: 57 million

2. Volkswagen "The Force"

Agencies: Deutsch LA, MediaCom
Year: 2011
Views: 62 million

1. Turkish Airlines "Kobe vs. Messi: The Selfie Shootout"

Agencies: Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Starcom
Year: 2013
Views: 140 million

via adweek

DRIVING WOMEN FORWARD

i was hesitant at the beginning of this video but by the end i was ready to give audi a round of applause for this branded campaign. take a look:

good, right? a couple of things i like about this piece:

- it has a "this is bigger than us" feel which allows for the impact of this to go far beyond audi customers.

- the campaign is connected to the core of the brand. i love when brands do thoughtful, cause-related work but sometimes it truly has no connection to their brand or product. the result is that it feels nice but doesn't really resonate. here, they've taken an issue, found a way in which their product is affected by it and blown it way up. the result? cause-related work with brand-related impact.

- the goal is clear: take ownership of the hashtag.

- BUT. it doesn't have enough of an action. they want you to retweet their tweets, but they're not giving you a real next step. there is no microsite or facebook page or campaign around this. so, while the video is a great first step, without a true action at the end driving viewers to share it, connect with audi, read more or sign up, it's a great video and a missed opportunity. 

more here.

via adweek

VW DOES IT AGAIN: LITTLE OLD LADY EDITION

you know i have a thing for VW ads. whether it's their visual simplicity or their conceptual simplicity, they are masters of minimalism and beautiful execution. so, when i saw these new ads I had to share. first, because they are hilarious. but also because the concept is so simple, the message is so clear, it is so on brand and it employs one of the best brand strategies of all time, feisty grandmas being hilarious.

these ladies are known as the golden sisters and are youtube famous for their commentary on kim kardashian, amongst other things.

let's also take a minute to recognize the work of tuna, the dog. he is both weird and endearing and also decidedly not a golden retriever puppy which (whether you realize it or not!) is very different from most dogs in ads. and this makes tuna - and these ads - stand out. also the use of the hashtag is hilarious and brilliant.

well done, VW.

agency credits here.

ONE TO WATCH

interesting new series coming from gap. in preparation for spring, gap has launched a 12 part "microseries" on instagram. the series is called "spring is weird." every week a new (15-second) episode will be rolled out on instagram.

gap says the series will be about "the burgeoning romance between slate and dano, as they navigate chance encounters, first dates and moody spring weather in the hope of finding their perfect fit. as they grapple with what is real and what is social "content," they begin to suspect that their lives may not be theirs alone."

here's the first one:

definitely one to watch! no one has really done this before and as big brands try to figure out how to best leverage instagram it's interesting to watch new creative attempts to leverage instagram's community and format. the instagram community is deeply connected and creative so i'm into the fact that gap is taking a slightly more weird and creative approach on this platform. also, any time a platform or medium forces a brand to be tighter and more deliberate about their branded content i think it does a lot of good (from both a creativity and a content perspective). excited to watch this unfold. who knows? maybe it'll make gap cool again. probably not, but i'm open to the idea!

more here.

VW in BW

these black and white volkswagen ads are kind of perfect. with just the VW logo, and a creative take on negative space, they are able to promote different safety features in the most beautiful, minimal, powerful way.

VW ad
VW ad
VW ad

via designtaxi

3 LINES. 3 COLORS. 3 BULBS.

i really appreciate companies that are able to showcase the essence of their brand identity in a way you would not expect. you could say, for example, that ikea is a furniture company. but they're really a company that helps their customers do more with less. so, why not apply that concept to their advertising as well?

more from the agency, thjnk hamburg, here. and more from the producer, i made this, here.