2. February 2012
The ad industry collectively held its breath with excitement when news filtered through from twitter and the vastly expanding ‘See all the cool stuff first’ blogs, that VW’s Superbowl ad was going to have another Star Wars theme.
Hooray! Who would be in it – would Star Wars kid feature again? Could it be Jabba the Hutt squeezing into a Golf? Perhaps Han & Chewy would be taking a VW camper to Florida.
I didn’t know. In truth, I didn’t care. I was excited because whatever it was, it was going to be a-m-a-z-i-n-g.
A few days later, a teaser circulates with all sorts of dogs sat on white plinths of various shapes and sizes (both pooches and plinths). After a few seconds I recognised the inane barking as the opening score to Darth Vaders entrance music. Da da da da ddda da da dddadda da.
‘This is going to be good’ I thought and it conjured up even more ideas. Ewoks on a road trip in a Polo? Are these dogs Chewy’s kids and he needs more boot space so he’s buying a Passat Estate?
As the lunch bell silently rang at CMW towers today, one of the cool blogs announced ‘it was here!’ A preview of the ad that will be aired this Sunday during the Superbowl – an extended version in fact. Double-click!
<One minute and sixteen seconds later>
What I saw was one minute of a fat dog exercising so he can chase the new Beetle before cutting to the infamous Cantina Bar (now taken over by the Sports Café with TV screens dripping from everywhere) where space pirates debated which of the ads was better. Star Wars Kid from last year or this year’s Fat Dog? The debate was quickly settled though by a returning Lord Vader, fresh from the sales at PC World - pink Dell notebook just £399 - with a good old-fashioned death pinch.
Is it possible to be angry about an ad? I shouldn’t be but I am. I feel let down and hurt. I wanted Ewoks and Death Stars and AT-AT’s, and all I got was an even older cliché about dogs chasing cars. If you’ve paid all that money for the Star Wars franchise, you don’t bolt it on to the end of another ad. You essentially just wasted $15 million ($1million a second) on a gag that wasn’t funny to start with. All you’ve done is drag Star Wars into it. Just because everyone loved it last year doesn’t mean they’ll love it this time around. I think part of the charm of last year was that it was new. Now we’ve got Yoda selling mobiles, R2-D2 shaped washing machines and the Sith Lord telling us to turn right at the next set of traffic lights. I think the tide of Star Wars endorsements is well and truly out for the time being. It does make you think though -
I wonder what Bill Bernbach would think of the ad? Personally, ‘Lemon’ is a pretty fair description.
Saying all this, it could be a fake, a rouse, only for them to reveal a full Jedi epic at half time on Sunday.
As a 34-year old who grew up wanting to be Han Solo and now looking more like his sidekick, I hope it is.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by an employee is not shared with that of CMW. We love everybody’s work, and would never stoop so low as to put down/diminish/belittle/criticise/degrade or slag off any piece of creativity : )
GL
12. August 2011
Our much-loved and totally addictive social game developed for Krave goes mobile today so now you can continue the chocolate hunt on the move.
As well as all the existing Krave Krusader game elements, the mobile app features a chocolate hunt, a virtual game challenging you to search for and collect choc chunks located in your immediate surroundings while you're out and about. By checking into these locations online, you can capture the chocolate and add them to your Facebook account to earn rewards to progress to further levels of the game.
http://bit.ly/kraveiphone
Big thanks to Unit9 for making it happen!
Paul
13. December 2010
Campaign published its 2010 Top Tens on Thursday. CMW had its best performance to date.
We were runner up DM agency of the year for the second year running, and with Camapign saying we could well go further next year.
Jamie Bell and Iain Hunter were number 5 in the top ten DM creatives.
Our work for Sure Start came in at number 9 in the Regional Press Ads.
Our Creme Egg iPhone app came in at number 5 in top apps.
And last, but by no means least, our 'Emergency Services' mailer for Peugeot came in at number 7 in the top ten direct campaigns.
We're absolutely chuffed at the recognition. It's been a very busy year and all of us at CMW twoers have thoroughly enjoyed it. We're looking forward to 2011 and doing even more, even better work for our clients.
30. March 2010
Here's our very own Jamie Bell introducing the Official HD Behind The Scenes Look from Kylie Minogue at the Mario Testino shoot for Fashion Targets Breast Cancer UK.
I should point out that the man in the picture you're looking at right now is not Jamie Bell but Mario Testino. But when you play the video you'll see JB. Right! That's that all clear then.
10. March 2010
Our app for the iPhone has just launched. Check it out in the App Store.
We provide two ways to goo some lovely Creme Eggs. Shake the iPhone till the egg goos and then enjoy sqidging the gooey mess all over the screen. Or, go out on the hunt to find eggs hidden in an augmented reality layer. Spotting eggs makes for points in our game on the site. And we all know what points make ...
4. March 2010
We got site of the week in NMA's site inspection and we are filled with glee! Hurrah!
Linky linky to NMA.
8. February 2010
On Facebook we're helping to run the Creme Egg fan page. Our little, just for fun, 'Goo am I?' status updates are very popular. We send out a clue and fans are asked to identify the famous person we're thinking of. There's a goey twist as they're not real peps but the Goo equivalent. Oh, have a look and you'll get the idea.
These have really taken off. As soon as the clues go out, people are really getting into it and posting guesses.
A gooooooood time is guaranteed for all.
11. January 2010
Brand republic have reported our enw campaign for Cadbury Creme Egg.
Read all about it here.
11. November 2009
We've been shortlisted for a Golden Twit! Hurrah and hurray!
30. October 2009
U-Talk Marketing has picked out this year's Twisted campaign as a best practice case study. You can read it here.
