Buick’s “Get Off The Phone” Ad Has Comedy Duo Rhett & Link Urging People To Get #InTheMoment

Dec 13, 2013 at 4:32pm ET by Amy Gesenhues

• Tweet

Buick’s latest advertising campaign is replacing automobile pitches with a public service announcement, encouraging everyone to pay more attention to what is going on around them. The campaign is being promoted on Buick’s “Get in the Moment” Tumblr blog, featuring the music video “Get Off the Phone” by comedy duo Rhett & Link.

While the comedy pair are filmed driving in a Buick Regal, along with the car in the background during some scenes, the video focuses on the song’s lyrics, a commentary on all the moments we miss in lieu of our obsession with smartphones.

Poking fun at everyone from teens staring at their phones, to moms ignoring their babies and foodies Instagramming their desserts, the song’s chorus includes the lyrics, “Get off the phone now, it’s going to be okay, there’s no need to be afraid. It doesn’t love you, it’s going to die one day, the government’s probably spying on you with it anyway.”

The video has  accumulated over 878,000 views since it was posted on Rhett & Link’s YouTubechannel December 3, with Unruly’s viral video chart showing it earning more than 26,000 shares. According to a report on Adweek, marketing agency DigitasLBi worked on the #InTheMoment campaign with Buick and helped broker a partnership between the automobile company and Rhett and Link.

Buick’s #InTheMoment Tumblr blog reads, “We all get lost in our smartphones. But imagine what you’ll find if you put the phone down for a minute. For a meal. For a conversation. For a road trip. Look up, live life, and join us in the moment.”

But first, watch check out the video:

Buick’s “Get Off The Phone” Ad Has Comedy Duo Rhett & Link Urging People To Get #InTheMoment Dec 13, 2013 at 4:32pm ET by Amy Gesenhues Tweet Buick Get off the phone screen captureBuick’s latest advertising campaign is replacing automobile pitches with a public service announcement, encouraging everyone to pay more attention to what is going on around them. The campaign is being promoted on Buick’s “Get in the Moment” Tumblr blog, featuring the music video “Get Off the Phone” by comedy duo Rhett & Link. While the comedy pair are filmed driving in a Buick Regal, along with the car in the background during some scenes, the video focuses on the song’s lyrics, a commentary on all the moments we miss in lieu of our obsession with smartphones. Poking fun at everyone from teens staring at their phones, to moms ignoring their babies and foodies Instagramming their desserts, the song’s chorus includes the lyrics, “Get off the phone now, it’s going to be okay, there’s no need to be afraid. It doesn’t love you, it’s going to die one day, the government’s probably spying on you with it anyway.” The video has accumulated over 878,000 views since it was posted on Rhett & Link’s YouTube channel December 3, with Unruly’s viral video chart showing it earning more than 26,000 shares. According to a report on Adweek, marketing agency DigitasLBi worked on the #InTheMoment campaign with Buick and helped broker a partnership between the automobile company and Rhett and Link. Buick’s #InTheMoment Tumblr blog reads, “We all get lost in our smartphones. But imagine what you’ll find if you put the phone down for a minute. For a meal. For a conversation. For a road trip. Look up, live life, and join us in the moment.” But first, watch check out the video: Related Entrie

Seinfeld's Retro Acura Ads Are Intentionally Bad — and Hilarious

http://mashable.com/2013/12/17/seinfeld-acura-ads/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-main-link

BY TODD WASSERMAN

Jerry Seinfeld channels the 1960s for a series of ads for the Acura MDX and RLX that tout features like plastic cupholders and "real nylon carpeting."

The ads, which will run during the third season of Seinfeld's online-onlyComedians in Cars Getting Coffee starting Jan. 2, lovingly spoof hallmarks of car ads during the era, like astronauts, blind optimism for the future and picnics with large helpings of potato salad.

Though Seinfeld himself doesn't appear in the ads, Acura gave him free creative reign for the executions, which include goofy non-sequiturs like the slogan, "Yesterday's tradition of craftsmanship, today's affordable luxury, tomorrow I'm busy most of the afternoon."

Seinfeld starred in a Super Bowl ad in 2012 that was fairly well received. However, catering to more of a niche online audience, the new ads are funnier and more adventurous. They might even sell a few cars.

Sienna Miller hearts Ford Mustang

http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/sienna-miller-ford-mustang-2013-12-06

Seems the British actress has a soft spot for Ford’s all-new muscle car…

Important industry news: Ford has released a video of Sienna Miller stroking the new Mustang.

We're not entirely sure why. Perhaps the renowned British actress is an enormous fan of independent rear suspension. Maybe she's intrigued by the prospect of a turbocharged four-cylinder in America's most iconic pony car.

Then again, maybe the star of Layer Cake and Alfie is more a fan of big naturally aspirated V8s. These are the sort of questions art raises.

Whatever the subtext, the video - directed by Rankin, presumably the photographer rather than the Irish-English fast bowler - is a good chance to see more of the all-new tenth-gen Mustang, a car we'll see in Britain with the steering wheel on the correct side.

Not bad-looking, eh? Elegant, tall, blonde... oh, hang on...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbwp6cF9_YI

Get your hands on a Durango

http://www.contagious.com/blogs/news-and-views/10648853-get-your-hands-on-a-durango

Car brand Dodge’s new Durango campaign, starring Will Ferrell in his Anchorman role as Ron Burgundy, has been doing more than just making people laugh. According to recently released numbers, the campaign has also been encouraging people to buy Dodge Durango trucks. The Chrysler imprint has announced that sales of the crossover SUV were up 59% in October, part of a year-long upswing that has seen the auto brand sell 50% more units in 2013 than it did in 2012. According to the brand, visits to its website increased 80% following the launch of the Anchorman ads, and ‘shopping activity’ (looking for a dealership or building and pricing vehicles) is up 100%.

Now, another section of the campaign is putting up big numbers. The Hands On Ron Burgundy contest invited people to reach out and touch the Anchorman himself, in a digital version of the popular American ‘Hands on a Hard Body’ contest wherein participants must keep their hands on a car and outlast other competitors to win the vehicle. Players could place their finger or mouse on Ron Burgundy’s face, with the longest to hold on winning prizes including trips to New York for the Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues premiere and, of course, a Dodge Durango. One second of ‘touching’ Burgundy equaled one point in the contest. Players could also earn points by playing mini-games throughout the week of the contest.

The engagement numbers, shared by Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, are pretty staggering. During the campaign, people played more than 866,900 game sessions, with an average of 2 hours per contestant, meaning participants touched Ron Burgundy for a total of around 2.4 years. The winning player touched Burgundy for a whopping 41hours, and the top four competitors somehow all spent more than 35 hours touching the anchorman.

The game was developed by Wieden + Kennedy, design studio Legwork and the creative team at Funny or Die. It was hosted on Funny or Die’s site.

‘The widespread conversation the Ron Burgundy Dodge Durango campaign is generating has significantly increased awareness of the new Durango and is transforming that conversation into consideration,’ Olivier Francois, Chrysler’s CMO, said in a release. ‘The Hands on Ron Burgundy endurance challenge is Dodge’s latest example of creating innovative and humorous ways for fans to engage with our brand, learn more about our vehicles and turn that interest into shopping for a new Durango.’

Lee Anne Stables, executive vice president of worldwide marketing partnerships at Paramount Pictures, highlighted the importance of collaborating with the Funny or Die team, among others. ‘The total creative collaboration with our friends at Funny Or Die, the Dodge agencies and the studio creative teams, and the filmmakers themselves, is what makes this unique.’

For the initial Anchorman campaign, Ferrell and his team at Funny or Die filmed a whopping 70 different spots, ranging from short, nonsensical clips to longer, more fleshed-out pieces. Initially, the campaign was intended to consist of three to six traditional commercials, aired on television. Though nominally in charge, agency Wieden + Kennedy turned over the writing reigns to Ferrell’s creative team, which authored a dozen times more spots than expected.

The move is a new tactic for Dodge and Chrysler, which hasn’t typically created content explicitly for the web. Francois, speaking at the ANA Masters conference in October, just before the Burgundy campaign launched, noted that the brand had been emboldened by internet success on the part of its Fiat line of cars.

‘So far, our strategy has been very traditional. Commercials were bought as commercials for TV, then migrated to the web,’ said Francoise. ‘Fiat keeps creating content for the web that is so successful there that it migrates upstream to become TV.’ The Durango ads may not have been intended solely for the web, but it’s clear that the brand was happy to create content that would never air on TV – and happy to have Ferrell and the folks at Funny or Die writing that content.

Contagious Insight

This is an expertly blended campaign on the part of Dodge and Paramount, bringing together two properties at a key time in both of their sales cycles without seeming too forced or disjointed. And Dodge must be pleased with the results: this is as much a campaign for Anchorman as it is for the Durango, so it’s nice for the brand that the campaign is moving units on the sales floor, rather than just hyping up an upcoming film release.

The key to the campaign’s success, both for Dodge and for the film, lies in authenticity. By handing the keys to Ferrell to write Durango commercials and contests in Ron Burgundy’s voice, Dodge maintains the tone of voice of the character people have come to love. We’d bet that if Dodge were writing the copy, Ferrell wouldn’t be chasing dancers out of showrooms or touting the capacity of the Durango’s glove box in ads. And the somewhat low-brow Hands on a Hard Body concept is much more Ferrell than SUV brand.

It’s important to put the sales numbers in context, of course. While the increase in website visits is impressive – people looking for the ads, perhaps? – the sales increase is only somewhat attributable to the Anchorman campaign. The day before the campaign’s launch, Francois told ANA attendees that Dodge sales were up 43% on the year, making it the ‘fastest growing brand in the country’ according to him. While he didn’t break it down by model, it’s safe to say that Durango was already selling well before Burgundy started shilling.

Regardless, it’s impossible to look at this campaign as anything but a success. This is the rare tie-up of movie and product that doesn’t feel overly forced or usurious to either party. Instead, it’s a funny campaign that plays to the strengths of both the character and the brand – a slightly out of the usual take on the traditional ad, developed in an unusual take on the creative process. We’ve seen Funny or Die write commercials before for brands like Kia, New Era and Under Armour, but this set sees the writing team really hitting their mark and finding interesting ways to get consumers to engage with both content, characters and core products.

Hands on Ron Burgundy 

This story originally appeared on Contagious I/O. Contagious I/O is our bespoke trends, inspiration, insight and analysis service, providing daily innovative marketing intelligence across a comprehensive range of sectors to brands and agencies across the world. For more information about Contagious I/O contact sales@contagious.com

Will Ferrell Shot 70 Ads For The Dodge Durango As Ron Burgundy

RELATED

Ron Burgundy reviews the shit out of the Durango glovebox

These new spots from Dodge featuring the 2014 Durango and Ron Burgundy are fantastic. Read…

When Chrysler teased four ads with Ron Burgundy hawking the Dodge Durango last week, we thought that it would be one or two quick ads. We were wrong. Really wrong. They're doing 70 of them and, so far, they're brilliant.P

By some mahogany-wrapped miracle, Chrysler, Paramount and Will Ferrell got together and made 70 — sev-en-ty — different ads for the Durango. Not just TV ads. Some viral ads, Vines, skits and some stuff that'll never make it to TV. And a few for the Dodge brand as a whole.P

Chrysler showed a few this morning, but not all of them are online yet. ("They'll be added over time," a spokeswoman tells us.) We saw a few. They're all great. It's hard to pick a favorite, because there are so many. The one where he calls out each one of the Dodge models and says "put it in your grandma's name!" Amazing. References to the oil crisis in the Middle East and exclaims "We'll all be driving on moon gas!"? Ballsy.P

There's one where he uses Chrysler's UConnect nav system to go to "House of Thighs Burlesque" that's definitely not making it to TV.P

"Don't judge me, that is a classy chicken burlesque joint. House of Thighs just has great chicken. There's no getting around it. All I'm doing is supporting the economy. What are you doing?"P

And...P

"The rear seats fold all the way flat. You know what that means." *about 20-seconds of eye-fucking the camera*P

And...P

"When you're driving the new Dodge Durango, it isn't about the nappa leather seats or the seven-passenger seating. No, the real question is: Does it make your dingle jingle? Or does it make your dingle tingle? Does it handbag the grocers? Does it give you the ol' sticky beak? No, I'm asking you as a a man, does it make your pee-pee go boom?"P

So how did Chrysler pull this off? Chief Marketing Officer Olivier Francois — the guy who brought us the Eminem Super Bowl ad, but also the guy who brought us the Jennifer Lopez Fiat ads — says that this is only Chrysler's "contribution" to helping promote "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues," so it sounds like Chrysler didn't have to spend a ton of marketing.P

More importantly, as Juan noted, the Durango is increasingly important to the Dodge brand and Chrysler as a whole. I've talked with Chrysler dealers in the past and many have acknowledged that customers come to showrooms with a Durango in mind, but leave with a Grand Cherokee.P

And Chrysler themselves know that they haven't been promoting the Durango like they should.I talked with both current and former Dodge CEOs about the SUV, and they said to expect a heavy play for the Durango because marketing had been nonexistent for the past few years. Well, here it is.

L

The CW Gets Social With Ford

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/cw-gets-social-ford-152858

In what the network is characterizing as its most ambitious co-branded marketing campaign to date, the CW and Ford have teamed up on a cross-platform initiative that will give viewers a sneak peek at a roster of new and returning series.

Rolling out Thursday (Oct. 3), the campaign incorporates elements from Ford’s social engagement effort (“Fiesta Movement: A Social Remix”). Per terms of the partnership, five specially selected “agents”—the automaker’s term for young brand ambassadors who also happen to be social butterflies—will introduce the 2014 Ford Fiesta to fans of the freshman dramas Reign and The Originals, as well as CW tent poles The Vampire Diaries, Arrow and Hart of Dixie.

Each agent will be charged with carrying on a mission for one of the aforementioned series. For example, one socially aflutter ambassador will explore the crypts and mausoleums of a renowned New Orleans cemetery alongside The Originals actress Daniella Pineda (Sophie), while another agent will be styled for a Reign-themed photoshoot with Caitlin Stasey (Kenna).

The missions will then be boiled down to 60-second spots that will air during the CW’s season premieres and on the network’s Web site. The segments will be introduced by Candice Accola, who plays Caroline Forbes on the CW’s top-rated series, The Vampire Diaries. 

The executions also translate to the printed page. Two full-page ads (one for Arrow, one for Reign) will appear in this week’s US Weekly, two will run in Entertainment Weekly (Vampire Diaries, Originals), and a Hart of Dixie ad will pop up in People StyleWatch.

The Vampire Diaries print ad features an electric-blue Fiesta and agent Lisa Schwartz, a Century City resident whose YouTube account has north of 621,000 subscribers. The creative talks up the Fiesta’s advanced technology and fuel economy (41 Highway MPG) and includes a tune-in for the show.

According to Barbra Robin, the CW’s svp of integrated marketing, the Fiesta agents have 2 million followers between them. “For a campaign of this size, we thought the social space would be the best place to start,” Robin said. “The agents are socially active viewers who fit our demo and are huge, passionate fans of our shows.”

The initiative coincides with the official launch of the CW’s fall broadcast season. At 8 p.m., The Vampire Diaries will kick off its fifth season ahead of the premiere of The Originals. (The spinoff moves to its regular Tuesday 8 p.m. time slot on Oct. 8, clearing the way for the Oct. 17 series premiere of Reign.)

Not only does the campaign talk up the Ford Fiesta in the lingua franca of the CW demo, but it also offers fans a behind-the-scenes look at the new and returning series. Naturally, the social-media element is pivotal to the entire initiative; although both shows have yet to premiere, The Originals already boasts more than 110,000 Twitter followers and Reign has passed the 50,000 “likes” mark on Facebook.

There is also a decidedly exclusive element to the partnership, as the new Fiesta will appear on no other broadcast outlet over the course of the campaign. “From an on-air standpoint, this is their ad campaign,” Robin said.

A favorite among young female drivers—the 1.0 EcoBoost was recently named theWomen’s World Car of the Year—the Ford Fiesta has been a long-standing partner of The Vampire Diaries. In Season 2, Accola’s character drives a black 2011 model.

“This is one of the biggest launch partnerships we’ve done,” Robin said. “While it may not be reflected in terms of media dollars (with 10 hours of programming, we only have so much promo time), it’s definitely a huge media commitment.”

Honda Warns Snack Brands on Twitter About the Odyseey's In-Car Vacuum Cleaner

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/honda-warns-snack-brands-twitter-about-odysseys-car-vacuum-cleaner-152830

Perhaps you've seen RPA's new TV spots for the Honda Odyssey, which has the world's first in-car vacuum cleaner. The ads, voiced by Neil Patrick Harris and Rainn Wilson, feature junk on the minivan's floor—crayons, candy, lint balls, tiny toys—chatting obliviously before getting sucked up by the vacuum.

On Tuesday, RPA launched a social element, in which @Honda is tweeting at snack and toy brands, warning them about what's in store if they fall on the floor of an Odyssey. The idea is fun, and the tweets are generally decent—but the added bonus is that many of the brands are responding or retweeting, extending the reach of the communications beyond Honda's 176,000 followers. Well, OK, there have been snarky replies, too.

Check out some of the tweets below, along with the TV spots.

Peugeot: Big Mac

Y&R Sao Paulo enlists McDonald's Big Mac TV's Friends and the City of Paris to make their point about original parts for Peugeot.

http://www.bestadsontv.com/ad/56688/Peugeot-Big-Mac

Wallabies appear to prank rival teams in branded Volvo rugby stunts

Former Wallabies have taken part in a series of video stunts for Volvo in which they appear to carry out acts of sabotage on Australia’s visiting opponents.

In the most recent stunt – masterminded by rugby sponsor Volvo’s agency Arnold Furnace - Nathan Sharpe, Al Baxter, Tatafu Polota-Nau and Beau Robinson, appeared to trap the Springboks team coach inta cul-de-sacas it made its way to the Suncoorp Stadium in Brisbane at the weekend.

Previous stunts in the branded entertainment series have purported to show Radike Samo, Nathan Sharpe and Al Baxter posting a sign taunting the visiting All Blacks ahead of the Bledisloe series.

And in July Drew Mitchell, Sharpe and Polata-Nau appeared to wake up the visiting British Lions team with loud music outside their hotel at 2.30 in the morning.

The most viewed of the three videos is the Springboks stunt which has had just over 70,000 views on YouTube since being made visible on the Volvo YouTube channel. According to a statement from the agency:

“Arnold Furnace created the third spot in their tongue-in-cheek rugby sponsorship campaign for Volvo, by getting the Aussies to outsmart the Springboks last night, just hours before the Nathan Sharp, Al Baxter, Tatafu Polota-Nau and Beau Robinson did their bit for Australian Rugby again, this time in Brisbane, by sending the Springboks’ coach the wrong way en route to the stadium.

“Arnold Furnace ECD Tom Spicer said, ‘After failing to influence the result against the Lions and the All Blacks, the boys were desperate to deliver with this one, adopting a military style prep in the lead up to the game.  Although it didn’t translate onto the pitch, Nathan and the boys put in another stellar performance which the Springboks bought hook line and sinker.  At least I think it was them.’”

For anyone who doubted the authenticity of the pranks being shown, the video was first uploaded to the Volvo YouTube channel on August 26, nearly a fortnight before the ambush was supposed to have taken place.

The videos link back to Volvo’s positioning of “Doing our bit for Australian rugby”.

Credits:

• Arnold Furnace team:
• ECD: Tom Spicer
• Creatives: Cameron Brown, Luke Duggan. Peter Maniaty, Jack Nunn
• Producer: Christina Wilmot
• GAD: Michael Stevenson
• Account Manager: Tim Wiche
• Agency Partners:

Production House: Infinity Squared

• Director: Rob Stanton-Cook
• Producer: Ainslee Wood
• Post Production: Craig Deeker @ The Gingerbread Man
• Client: Matt Braid, Greg Bosnich, Gillian Bromiley, Jennifer Proctor

Chevrolet at TechCrunch Disrupt to Develop the Future

Developers to help build the future of in-vehicle connectivity with Chevrolet’s API

2013-09-04

 Back

 Print   |   Email  |   Word   |   Add This   | 

SAN FRANCISCO – Chevrolet will demonstrate its future app framework that allows developers to create the automotive apps of the future at TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco September 7-11.

The flexible application framework, announced at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, will allow drivers to add apps and features to their vehicles after the initial purchase, allowing vehicle infotainment systems to improve over time. This framework will be demonstrated at the event in concept form on the 2014 ChevroletCorvette Stingray and Impala.

In addition to the app framework displays, Chevrolet will participate in a Hackathon, where developers will have 24 hours to use the API to develop an app.   After the all-nighter, each team will present its solution to a panel of expert judges and audience members. The winners go on to present their product on the Disrupt stage. Two teams of developers behind the best ideas of the day using a Chevrolet API will win $2,500 each.

App ideas that could appear in a Chevrolet vehicle someday are being developed at a steady rate. Since January, more than 2,700 developers have registered on the portal, choosing to engage in a test environment with either Chevrolet’s Remote or In-vehicle application program interfaces, known as APIs.

“We come to events like TechCrunch Disrupt to get the world’s best developers to think about Chevrolet vehicles as the ultimate mobile device,” said Nick Pudar, GM director, developer ecosystems, Global Connected Consumer. “We’re developing connected vehicles but we know that the best ideas may come from outside the company.”

With Chevrolet’s Remote APIs, developers can use simulated OnStar connectivity to develop apps that interact with the vehicle remotely, either from a smartphone, tablet or computer. Chevrolet’s in-vehicle APIs allow developers to use simulated vehicle information, such as location data or vehicle diagnostics, to create apps that would be incorporated into the vehicle’s infotainment system and would be available to download through a Chevrolet AppShop that is being developed.

The Chevrolet AppShop would be built into the infotainment system and would allow customers to select from various approved apps they want. Drivers would be able to personalize their vehicle, similar to smartphone personalization. The infotainment system would be able to change over time as drivers’ needs change and as new apps become available. Chevrolet has not confirmed specific timing or first vehicles to get the new AppShop.

Chevrolet has demonstrated the ability to advance car connectivity by being the first vehicle manufacturer to offer select iPhone users Siri Eyes Free as well as offering 4G LTE integration on select future vehicles.