For Heineken's peripatetic "Man of the World," it's time for a staycation.

In this new spot from Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam—the seventh film in "The Legends" series—the charming, resourceful and worldly male lead isn't globetrotting any longer. He's exploring his own city for a change, and finding plenty of unexpected adventures along the way, as he endeavors to return a set of lost business cards to a woman named Eve.

The point, says Heineken, is that Men of the World should never stop exploring their own urban backyard. "We know that while Heineken drinkers are familiar with many of the hot spots in their cities, they may not venture outside their usual routine on a daily basis to explore the unexpected," says Colin Westcott-Pitt, vp of marketing at Heineken. "With the 'Cities of the World' campaign, we're aiming to inspire them to move away from their usual habits this summer to discover and unlock the secrets of their own cities."

As part of the campaign, Heineken is also produced a set of specially designed, limited-edition bottles, each featuring a print of one of six global cities: New York, Shanghai, Berlin, Amsterdam, London and Rio de Janeiro. Through July 4th, every City Bottle will feature an under-the-cap code, offering the potential for daily prizes.

The new spot was filmed in Hong Kong by Traktor. The two-minute version will run only online, while 60- and 30-second cuts will air on TV.





CREDITS
Client: Heineken
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Amsterdam
Director: Traktor

Specs
Who Brian Ford (l.), co-founder, ecd, and Chris Raih, co-founder, managing director
What Full-service creative agency
Where Venice, Calif.

What if not all sharks live in the water? A block east of the Pacific—one block from GQ’s “coolest block in America”—you’ll find Zambezi, founded eight years ago by the OGs of Silicon Beach, ex-Wieden + Kennedy staffers Chris Raih and Brian Ford. In that time, the sports- and entertainment-focused creative agency has grown to a staff of 80. Much like the Zambezi bull shark, “[the agency] is adaptable and a little ferocious,” said ecd Ford. “Our focus is on turning consumers into fans.” The shop has worked with Li-Ning on the “Way of Wade” campaign and is the agency of record for both Caesars Interactive Entertainment and Fruitwater. Most recently, Zambezi has worked with TaylorMade, a leading golf manufacturer. Meantime, Raih and Ford keep trolling for more blood in the water.

Hiring a fashion designer to make a T-shirt for a rat. Sponsoring a soccer team best known for its embarrassing losses. These seem like particularly odd ways to spend an ad budget.

But when the product is a new TV show that forces traveling celebrities to find entertaining ways of getting rid of cash quickly, it's actually pretty fitting as marketing.

To promote 24 Hours to Go Broke, a new series on the UKTV network, Wieden + Kennedy London did both of the above, as well as the following:

• Bribed a farmer to paint an ad on the side of his cows
• Paid a restaurant owner to temporarily rename his fish and chips shop, and its menu, after the show
• Paid a street musician to hand out money
• Perhaps most amusingly, got passersby in London's art-heavy Shoreditch neighborhood to shave their beards into buckets, then used the trimmings to create lettering for a billboard

See those videos below. Because even though it's gross to make a sign out of a salad of stranger facial hair, it's certainly original.

Here's a first for Coca-Cola—a TV commercial comprised entirely of short video clips made by fans (aside from some very brief animations).

The spot, produced by Wieden + Kennedy and set to premiere during Wednesday's season finale of American Idol, came out of a contest announced a few months ago. The brand invited teens to submit short video clips sharing what it feels like when they take a sip of Coke. The best clips, they were told, would be featured in a national Coca-Cola TV ad.

Coke got some 400 submissions, and chose 40 for the final cut. The clips in the ad come from all over the world—from Brazil to Salt Lake City to Jacksonville, Fla.

The spot, titled "This Is AHH," will air this week on teen-focused networks including The CW, MTV and Adult Swim. It's part of a teen campaign called "The AHH Effect," now in its second year.

Kraft has shifted creative responsibilities on its Maxwell House brand, after less than a year at Wieden + Kennedy.

The loss contributed to the agency's decision to layoff some 30 staffers on Friday and Monday, according to sources. Another factor was the pending loss of Electronic Arts' media business, which is in the late stages of a review. The agency did not defend.

"We appreciate Wieden + Kennedy’s work to reposition Maxwell House with our 'Say Good Morning to a Good Day' campaign," said a spokesman for the company in a statement. "They were the right agency partner to help guide this important re-launch for one of our most iconic brands and we look forward to their continued partnership on other assignments." 

It is unclear if the brand is in review or if another Kraft roster shop has picked up the business, as the spokesman declined to provide more detail. Maxwell House's media spending totaled nearly $8 million last year, down from more than $20 million in 2012, according to Kantar Media.

Despite the shift, W+K remains on Kraft's creative roster, handling Velveeta.

Prior to its shift to W+K last year, mcgarrybowen handled the brand for several years. 

Evidently not worried about cries of sexism, Heineken has organized a giant shoe sale in Brazil this Saturday—so that women will flock to it and leave their boyfriends and husbands in peace to watch the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid.

Women's shoes will be available for up to 50 percent off at Shoestock stores. Wieden + Kennedy São Paulo came up with the idea, which Heineken in a press release said "is entirely good-natured and will generate conversation." Both are surely true.

"Our goal is to run a fun campaign unlike anything we have ever organized in Brazil," said Bernardo Spielmann, director of the Heineken brand and sponsorships at Heineken Brazil. "Therefore, the Heineken Shoe Sale will be announced with a humorous tone in the digital environment, including teasers, email marketing and videos."

"The idea is to help guarantee men time to watch the game on Saturday afternoon," said W+K creative director Otavio Schiavon. "So we're going to provide an argument that will make it so their wives or girlfriends have something interesting to do during the game. He's going to surprise her with news about a shoe sale. And she, in turn, can leave him to watch the UEFA Champions League final."

Credits below.



CREDITS
Client: Heineken
Project: Heineken Shoe Sale
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, São Paulo
Executive Creative Directors: Icaro Doria, Guillermo Vega
Creative Directors: Otavio Schiavon, Marco Martins
Copywriters: David Besller, Caio Mattoso, Otavio Schiavon
Art Directors: Raul Arantes, Rodrigo Mendes, Marco Martins
Digital Producer: Rafael Gaino e Maurício Junior
Digital Deploy: Debaser
Agency Producer: Gabriel Dagostini
Planning: Rodrigo Maroni, Rafael Rossi, Livia Lanzoni, Ian Bueno
Account: Danilo Ken, Beatriz Andreucci, Isabele Garcia
Media: Renato Valio, Stephanie Campbell, Caroline Ventura, Douglas Silveira
Client Approval: Daniela Cachich, Bernardo Spielmann, Chiara Martini, Andrea Rubim, Renata Costa
Production Company: Conspiração Filmes
Director: Fernando Reginato (DEL)
Director of Photography: Paulo Disca
Producers: Karin Greco, Pablo Alvez
Account, Production Company: Leonardo Alves, Renata Schincariol
Audio Facility: A Voz do Brasil
Account, Audio Production House: Rosana Souza, Cássia Garcia
Announcer: Edinho Moreno
Post House: Nash

We're only 16 days away from the start of the World Cup. And ESPN—which will present all 64 matches of the quadrennial tournament across the ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC networks—released its latest teaser commercial on Tuesday, this one devoted to the time warp that happens for viewers around the world every four years.

The spot, by Wieden + Kennedy in New York, feels like the beginning of an action movie where the team is getting together before a big heist—except here, we're seeing how different people around the world are getting ready for the World Cup. And wherever they are in the world, day or night, they'll be setting their countdown clocks to Brazil time.

The spot moves seamlessly from metropolis to metropolis, with business executives, children, fisherman, etc., getting ready for the event. It opens on a favela rooftop in Rio and goes around the world—to a pub in England, a social club in Ghana, a fishing boat off Spain, an apartment in Russia, a car heading to Tehran, a bar about to open at dawn in Japan, an office in Seattle, a family barbecue in Mexico and a research station in the Andes—before returning to Brazil.

"Every 4 years the world has one time zone," says the end line. (That follows a spot earlier this month that said, "Every 4 years the conversation starts again.")

Thanks to our longitudinal proximity to Brazil, Americans will see the matches at exceedingly humane hours, with kickoffs generally scheduled for noon, 3 p.m. or 6 p.m. ET. That's a lot better than other recent World Cups—in particular, the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea, whose daily slate of matches began at 2:30 a.m. and wrapped up shortly after breakfast.



CREDITS
Client: ESPN

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, New York
Creative Directors: Brandon Henderson, Stuart Jennings, Gary Van Dzura, Caleb Jensen
Art Director: Mathieu Zarbatany
Copywriter: Andrew Jasperson
Producer: Luiza Naritomi
Executive Producer: Temma Shoaf
Account Team: Casey Bernard, Katie Hoak, Alex Scaros

Production Company: Imperial Woodpecker
Director: Stacy Wall
Executive Producer: Doug Halbert
Line Producer: Terry Shafirov
Director of Photography: Corey Walter

Editorial Company: Final Cut
Editor: Jeff Buchanan
Assistant Editor: Geoff Hastings
Post Producer: Beth Fitzpatrick

Visual Effects Company: MPC
Senior Producer: Matthew Loranger
Lead Flame Artist, Creative Director: Gigi Ng

Mix Company: Heard City
Mixer: Philip Loeb
Producer: Sasha Awn

Music Company: Travis + Maude
Creative Director: David Wittman
Producer: Kala Sherman

Coca-Cola's ad strategy basically comes down to bombarding you with joy and togetherness, and a new animated spot from Wieden + Kennedy continues that tradition.

A boy bumps into a girl and lets go of a red balloon he's carrying, so he can catch the Coca-Cola she drops, because what better way to charm in a Coke commercial than to save a Coke. The camera follows the balloon as it rises past the windows of a brick building, peering into a range of shared family milestones and moments, all, naturally, including little red-wrapped bottles of sugar water.

Couples are, variously, moving in together; holding a tea party with their young daughter; visiting their college-aged son; cooking and dancing together; and celebrating their 50th anniversary. All the while, singer-songwriter Wendy Colonna croons in the background about finding happiness in a pair. It's the slightest bit reminiscent of Up, but mostly an adorable and incredibly efficient bit of storytelling that's right in the brand's wheelhouse.

Coca-Cola is no stranger to animated ads (e.g., the Polar Bears and Happiness Factory) or twee soundtracks, and it'll never stop pumping viewers full of bubbly feelings until they forget—or just stop caring—that the product isn't really that good for them, even if the brand does occasionally mix in a little sass.

From the horror of domestic violence to uplifting scenes of domestic bliss, this week's best ads show very different sides of life and the human condition.

Adidas's most famous Argentinian brand endorser has a dream befitting his severe case of World Cup fever; Coca-Cola sweetens our day with a spot bubbling over with joy; and Apple shows us beautifully how its iPad can help foster the creative instinct. On the flip side, a tongue-in-cheek LG appliance spot highlights the high risks of greater household efficiency; and a PSA shows the very different reactions people have to violence, depending on the gender of the person inflicting it. 

Take a look at this week's picks below, and help us decide which commercial was the best this week. And if your favorite isn't here, tell us in the comments.

Last week we wondered if another marketer had managed to out-Nike Nike with a flashy short film around the World Cup. Nike probably didn't care, though, as it was busy changing direction completely—Ronaldo-like—and again looking to leave its rivals in the dust.

With the kickoff of the 2014 World Cup just three days away, Nike Football has unleashed its latest blockbuster in the "Risk Everything" campaign. And the creative direction certainly is a risk for the client and its agency, Wieden + Kennedy.

That's because it doesn't show a single soccer player in the flesh. It's all animation. That's an audacious decision for a company and category that rely so much on star power. But it also frees Nike from its albatross-like "Write the Future" legacy, and gives viewers a fresh, fun, funny and at times beautiful take on the current state of global soccer.

The concept (or just watch for yourself below) is that mad scientists have created clone versions of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Andrés Iniesta, Franck Ribery, David Luiz and Tim Howard. The human versions, you see, take too many risks on the field, and their percentage chances for success aren't great (prior evidence notwithstanding, apparently). The clones, meanwhile, precise and machinelike in their decision making, have been engineered to take no risks (the Germans have perfected this, of course, but never mind) and are ready to stomp on their frail human opponents with ruthless mathematical efficiency.

Thus, events are set in motion that lead to the ultimate showdown—as Nike calls it, "The Last Game." This isn't just a football match. It's Deep Blue vs. Kasparov for the future of world football.



Directed by Jon Saunders of Passion Pictures, the spot has a frenetic animation style reminiscent of The Incredibles. This makes some of the game footage feel a bit light on its feet, perhaps—the players seem bird-like at times. Still, every frame is gorgeously rendered. It really is like a mini Pixar film. The storyline, too, is nice and simple—grand yet silly and self-deprecating in classic Nike style.

Speaking of classic Nike—the spot clearly recalls Nike and W+K's legendary "Good vs. Evil" spot from the Euro 1996 tournament, in which a bunch of human all-stars battled a supernatural team of demons. The clones, it seems, are just the post-millennial version of pure villainy. "The Last Game" also obliquely references "Write the Future," with the players seen doing odd jobs after the clones put them out of work—much as they were consigned to similarly shameful obscurity as punishment for lackluster play in "Write the Future." (The new spot also has the by-now-familiar non-soccer-player cameos, though the presence of an animated LeBron James here feels quite superfluous.)

"The Last Game" also ties in to Nike's earlier four-minute spot for this World Cup largely through the soundtrack—"Miss Alissa" by Eagles of Death Metal.

Some will say the cartoon lacks the muscle and flesh-and-blood weight of real soccer footage. (Indeed, sports ads fetishize real action shots to an almost absurd degree.) But Nike is acknowledging here that "real" sports footage in advertising is hyper-stylized anyway—only one step removed from animation. Why not take it that extra step, particularly if you continue to keep the craft at the highest level?

In the end, while not as emotionally stirring as some other World Cup commercials, this one is a refreshing change of pace—a nice, unexpected left turn for the marketer in its endless celebration of the beautiful game.

Now, can we get to Thursday already?

CREDITS
Client: Nike

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
Global Creative Directors: Alberto Ponte, Ryan O’Rourke
Digital Director: Dan Viens
Copywriter: Alberto Ponte
Art Director: Ryan O’Rourke
Global Executive Producer: Matt Hunnicutt
Agency Senior Producer: Erika Madison
Production Assistant: Julie Gursha
Head of Production: Ben Grylewicz
Account Team: Alyssa Ramsey, Molly Rugg, Karrelle Dixon
Business Affairs Manager: Karen Crossley
Project Manager: Jordan Schroeder
Executive Creative Directors: Joe Staples, Susan Hoffman

Production
Production Company: Passion
Director: Jon Saunders
Writers: Jon Saunders, James Russell, Kevin Cecil, Steven Hall, Lucy Guy
Story Development Team: Andrew Ruhemann, Pete Candeland, Alex Webster, Brendan Houghton, Ryan Goodwin-Smith
Additional Story Assistance: Daniel Emmerson, Simon Griffin, Lee Hempstock, Rob Sprackling, John Smith
Development Creative Director: Pete Candeland
Executive Producers: Andrew Ruhemann, Alex Webster
Head of Production: Anna Lord
Producer: Ryan Goodwin-Smith
Line Producer: Adriana Piasek-Wanski
Production Coordinators: Anna Cunnington, Kate Goodwin
Production Assistant: Becky Perryman
VO Casting Directors: Claudia Hesse, Hannah Simons

Voice Actors
Scientist: Jonathan Oliver
Neymar: Bruno Garcez
Iniesta: Andres Williams
Zlatan: Adam Shaw
Rooney: Neil Fitzmaurice
David Luiz– Mauricio Brandes
Tim Howard: Tom Clarke Hill (also plays LeBron TVC VO and Football Commentator)
Cristiano Ronaldo: Hugo Nicolau
TV News Anchor: Victoria Lesiw (also plays TV Interviewer)
Fenomeno: Rhasaan Orange
Commentator 1: Jonathan Clays
Commentator 2: Tony Lockwood
Commentator 3: John Roder
Commentator 4: Bill Leslie
Hindi Newscaster VO: Sanghamitra Mandal
Mandarin Newscaster VO: Sun Ye
Spanish Newscaster VO: Alberto de Matteis

Animation Director: Mark Waring
Football Choreography Consultant: Andy Ansah
Head of CG: Jason Nicholas
VFX Supervisor: Neil Riley
CG Supervisor: Cesar Nunes
CG Coordination: Suzanne Forward, Derek Walsh, Amelie Zilliox, Mark Harper, Dave Powell
Additional Coordination: Carine Buncsi
Art Direction: Painting Practice, Cesar Nunes
Character Design: Jon Saunders, Alex Huguet, Gillian Reid, Leeroy Vanilla, Dan Lambert
Production Designer: Dan May (via Painting Practice)
Concept Art: Painting Practice, Daniel Cacouault, John Park, Thomas Scholes
CG Design Development: Jake Slutsky
Storyboards: Brendan Houghton, Yohann Auroux (clean-up)
Previz Lead: Xavier Zahra, Richard Perry
Previz: Mark Brown, Paul Cousins, Emiliano Nanfaro, Stephen Harrison, Daniel Adams

Editing
For Whitehouse Post London/New York:
Paul La Calandra: Editor
Joe Petruccio: Assistant Editor
Lisa Kenrick: Executive Producer
Lauren Hertzberg: EP NY
Nick Crane: Producer
For Passion: Victoria Lesiw
Additional Editing for Passion: Anne Monnehay, Tim King

Layout: Daniel Adams, Remi Cauquil, Anthony Martin

Character Modelling Supervisor: Alex Huguet

Character Modelling: Mattias Bjurstrom, Tom Bryant, Dan Fine, Julia Friedl, Craig Maden, Abner Marin, Angel Navarro, Alex Stratulat

Environments Modelling Supervisor: Ian Brown

Environment Modelling: Zahra Al-Naib, Florence Ciuccoli, Guillaume Fuentes, Jacob Gonzalez, Juan Carlos Gracia, Francois Mancone, Paco Rocha, Florent Rousseau, Vladimir Venkov, Sarah Zaher

Texturing: Ellie Bond, Amanda Bone, Katreena Bowell, Claudia Carvalho, Eva De Prado, David Domingo Jimenez, Lesley Rooney, Grace Stephens

Rigging: Andrew Butler, Chris Dawson, Morgan Evans, Maarten Heinstra, Maickel Pasta, Georg Schneider

Animation Lead: Conor Ryan

Animation
Magali Barbe, Antoine Bourruel, Cath Brooks, Wesley Coman, Catherine Elvidge, Rhiannon Evans, Aldo Gagliardi, Alex Grigg, Annie Habermehl, Rimelle Khayat, Boris Kossmehl, Karin Mattsson, Daniel Meitin, Florian Mounie, Nora OSullivan, Garrick Rawlingson, Alvaro Martin Saez de Parayuelo, David Sigrist, Milian Topsy, Rodrigo Torres, Marie Vorhoeven, Chris Welsby, Steven White, (Darren Walsh: Magpie)

FX
Supervisor: Jamie Franks
FX: Sam Swift-Glasman, Junaid Syed, Dan Warder
Cloth: Ariele Podrieder Lenzi: Senior Cloth TD, Antonios Defteraios, Will Fife, Jayson King, Colin Perret, Michael Sofoluke
Hair: Chema Del Fresno, Kwai Ip (also cloth)
Crowd: Jonny Grew

L&R Lead: Christian Mills, Arnoud Machtou

Lighting & Rendering: Howard Bell, Yohan Cohen, Jacob Gonzalez, Patrick Krafft, Sebastian Mayer, Richard Moss, Camille Perrin, Francois Pons, Paco Rocha

Compositing: Svilen Aynadzhiev, Pavan Balagam, Andre Bittencourt, David Lea, Manuel Perez, Julien Record, Valeria Romano, Johnny Still, Alex Swann

Graphics: Stephane Coedel, Giles Dill

3D End Tag
Original 2D Design by ILOVEDUST
Sam Mason, Jon Saunders: CG Designers
Eve Strickman: Producer at Passion NY
Animation: Wieden+Kennedy Motion

Painting Practice
Production Designer: Dan May
Lead Concept Artist/Matte Painter: Rafael Martin Coronel
3D Matte Artist/Lead: Graeme McDougal
Matte Painters/Concept Artists: Antoine Birot, Nicolas Loudot, Tristan Menard, Carlos Nieto
Junior Matte Painter: Noemie Cauvin
Concept Artists: Justin C Hutchinson-Chatburn, Mike Shorten, Alex Fort, Xavier Ren
3D Artist: Matt Hotchkiss
Co-ordinator: Dora Sarkozi
Graphic Design: Gemma Kingsley, Erica McEwan
Junior Artist: Rodolphe Parfait

Football Reference Shoot
Andy Ansah: Choreographer
Tyson White: Choreographer
Tyler Blake: Project Manager
Gerri McCarthy: Live Producer for Passion
Marek Wesolowski: DOP/Steadicam Op
Ronaldas Buozis: SOP/Sony F55
Ralph Messer: Focus Puller
Josh Feder: Runner/GoPro
Jonah Sugden: Runner/5D Op
Nuria Perez: DIT

Football Performers (c/o Sports on Screen): Mat Mitchel-King, Louie Theophanous, Anthony Cock, Chris Piper, Joseph Holland, Aaron Clarke, Isa Hussain, Joel Ledgister

Mocap Shoot: Lottie Hope: Passion Producer
Phil Stilgoe: Mocap Producer
Stuart Haskayne: Mocap Supervisor
Joe Ells: Mocap Post Supervisor
Iain Silvester: Mocap Production Coordinator
Matt Parker: Sr Mocap Technician
Mocap Technicians: Ross Richards, David Bushen
Mimi Dulake: Mocap Production Asst
Goran Dimitrijević: Mocap Tracking Manager
Igor Kovačević: Mocap Sr Tracker
Mocap Trackers: Jelena Mitrović, Zoran Muncan, Miloš Knežević, Nenad Milosavljević

Sound Design: 750mph
Sam Ashwell: Sound Designer & Mix Engineer
Sam Robinson: Audio Producer
Phil Bolland: Additional Engineering
TX: Mike Bovill, Gerda Aleksandraviciute, Jeff Smith: TX

Passion Pipeline TD: Sajjad Amjad, Julian Hodgson

IT Support / Engineering Team
Daffer Al-Faiadh: IT Manager
Mani Singh: IT Engineer
Ilkan Ozturk: IT Engineer
Alex Pittas: IT Assistant

Finance & Accounting
Dennis Hobbs, Head of Finance
Kendrah Matthew, Grant Harris, Ben Davies

Runners: Kingsley Bailey, Fern Buckenham, Edward Bulmer, Linus Carlson, Fionn Guilfoyle, Raymond Hemson, Rishi Hindocha, Isabella Miroux, Shane Noonan, Alex Pittas, Phoebe Platman, Sophia Simenski, Paige Sullivan, Zachary Towlen, Phoebe Young

Editorial / :30 Trailers And Athlete Teasers
Editorial Company: Joint Editorial
Editor: Peter Wiedensmith
Post Producer: Ryan Shanholtzer / Alex Thiesen
Music Editor: Nicholas Davis
Lead Assistant Editor: Eric Hill
Assistant Editor: Alyssa Coates
Post Executive Producer: Patty Brebner

Online
Finishing: Glassworks
Colourist: Duncan Russell
Smoke Artist: Aleks Ugarow
Executive Producer: Misha Stanford-Harris
Titles/Graphics: WK Motion / WK Studio

Music
Music Company: Walker
Composer: Judson Crane
Executive Producer: Sara Matarazzo
Music Coordinator: Abbey Hickman
Licensed Track: Miss Alissa, Eagles of Death Metal

Sound
Sound + Mix Company: 750mph
Sound Designer / Mixer: Sam Ashwell
Executive Producer: Sam Robinson

Kraft has found a home for Maxwell House at another roster shop: Taxi in New York. 

"We looked at our roster and Taxi's body of work, including success with our coffee brands, and saw them as a great fit—particularly given their North American offering for both the U.S and Canada," said a Kraft representative, in a statement. The rep did not have a timeline for new work. 

Taxi already creates ads for Gevalia, Kraft's premium coffee brand, and MiO water flavoring. 

"It's an honor and privilege to work on this storied brand and to partner with the Maxwell House team to help write the next chapter," said David Jenkins, president of Taxi in New York, a unit of WPP Group's Young & Rubicam Brands. 

Maxwell House was in and out of Wieden + Kennedy, dropping the Portland shop shortly after its first campaign was released. "Say Good Morning to a Good Day" was meant to be the beginning of the 122-year-old brand's overhaul. 

Maxwell House's media spending totaled nearly $8 million last year, down from more than $20 million in 2012, according to Kantar Media.

W+K remains on Kraft's creative roster, handling Velveeta. Prior to its move to W+K last year, mcgarrybowen handled the brand for several years.

Wieden + Kennedy has reached into JWT to fill one of the top creative roles in its Shanghai, China office. 

Yang Yeo, North Asia ecd and China chairman at JWT, will become an executive creative at W+K in Shanghai. He'll start Aug. 1.

Yeo represents one half of a new top creative duo, as current co-ecds Michael Simons and Achilles Li prepare to leave the agency. Simons is exiting next month and Li, later in the summer, according to an agency representative.

"I feel now is the right time to return to an independent setup where the creative project is at its core," said Yeo, in a statement.

Yeo has worked on brands like Adidas and Samsonite, with the former's Beijing Olympics campaign winning China's first Cannes' Gold Lion and the latter's "Heaven and Hell" campaign nabbing China's first Cannes' Grand Prix. 

"Yeo represents a new kind of leader for us," said Mark Fitzloff, W+K's global co-executive creative director. "He is deeply immersed in the business and creative communities of the region. His experience, including the last eight years in China, expands the possibilities for W+K and our Shanghai office."

Before JWT, Yeo worked at Fallon and Bartle Bogle Hegarty. W+K Shanghai's accounts include Clinique, Jeep and Nike. 

The Southern Comfort Man. He’s not so much a specific person as a general idea.

He’s a potbellied, Speedo-wearing gentleman taking a leisurely stroll on the beach. He’s a craggy-looking dude practicing his karate moves at the local beauty parlor. He’s a nerdy guy in an unfortunate tie dancing like he doesn’t care who’s watching. If you were going to generalize, however, it’d be safe to say that the Southern Comfort Man is middle-aged and mustachioed. Or, he has been, until now.

Southern Comfort’s latest spot from Wieden + Kennedy New York, titled “Young Gun,” breaks that mold with a central character who’s both young and mustache-free. But don’t worry—he’s still quite the oddball. Described by the brand as an “accomplished bartending journeyman,” the next-gen Southern Comfort Man has the scrawniness (and predilection for hip-gyration) of a young Mick Jagger combined with the hair of Keith Moon circa 1969 and an outfit that would fit right in on the set of Road House. 

So what is it that makes this man most comfortable? It’s mixing cocktails in his own signature style, which apparently translates to shooting soda water into peoples’ drinks while writhing around to The Phantom’s 1958 rockabilly hit “Love Me.” As ridiculous as that sounds, his performance is oddly dynamic, not to mention appealing to the gentler sex, albeit in more of an “I’m intrigued” way than an “I’m going to immediately throw myself at you” way. (Much appreciated, SoCo.)

While it’s hard to imagine the new Southern Comfort Man drawing the same level of adoration as Beach Guy or Karate Dude, he’s still a worthy inheritor of the mantle. In short, while you’d probably think he was kind of a weirdo if you ran into him at a bar, you also secretly wish you had that much balls-out confidence. Just not the acid-washed jeans.  

CREDITS
Client: Brown Forman/Southern Comfort

Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, New York
Executive Creative Director: Susan Hoffman
Creative Directors: Jimm Lasser & Caleb Jensen
Creatives: Andrew Jasperson, Fabian Berglund
Producer: Orlee Tatarka
Head of Content Production: Nick Setounski
Account Team: Toby Hussey & Katie Hoak

Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks
Director: Steve Rodgers
Executive Producer: Holly Vega
Managing Director: Shawn Lacy
Line Producer: Kathy Rhodes
Director of Photography: Benoit Delhomme

Editorial Company: Mackenzie Cutler
Editor: Gavin Cutler
Assistant Editor: Ryan Steele
Post Executive Producer: Sasha Hirschfeld

VFX Company: The Mill
VFX Senior Producer: Orlaith Finucane & Aleen Kim
Lead Flame Artist/Creative Director: Jade Kim (Lead) & Margolit Steiner
CG Artist: Laurent Giaume

Music
Song: Love Me
Artist: The Phantom
Music Supervisor: Andrew Charles Kahn, Good Ear Music Supervision

Mix Company: Sonic Union
Mixer: Steve Rosen

Old Spice scores another goal with Terry Crews, this time for the World Cup.

The brand would like you to know it's now available in Brazil, and it's a good time to tell you that because there's a rather large sporting event taking place there right now. Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore., cranked up its crazy machine and decided to have Crews power drill through the Earth to Brazil, where he meets his Brazilian double and congratulates him on being awesome, spontaneously creating a pineapple in the act.

Someday, they'll just have Crews scream the whole thing; this time they settle for screaming half. Luckily, Crews's elongated vowels work great for celebrating a sporting event where people yell "Goooooooaaaaaaal" all the time.

Levi's is trying on a simple, straightforward message in its first big push since reuniting with longtime agency FCB (and also hiring The House Worldwide) in February.

Unveiling a global campaign tagged "Live in Levi's," the iconic brand is using print ads and posters to show twentysomethings strolling around, cavorting and generally enjoying life while clad in Levi's denim. Copy lines include "A classic since right now," "Fall head over heels" and "Look good on your way to what's next."

"It's intended to be both inclusive and inspiring," CMO Jennifer Sey explains on Levi's Unzipped blog. "It's a celebration. It's not cynical. Or dour. Or overly serious—as many fashion and style-oriented brands can be. It's fun. People have fun in jeans. It should be fun."

Digital and social elements are also in the mix, along with TV and cinema ads launching next month from director Fredrik Bond, who lensed the memorable Cannes Lion-winning "Simon the Ogre" mini-epic for Thomson Holidays.

Recent efforts from previous agency Wieden + Kennedy, themed "Go Forth," weren't cynical, exactly, nor dour nor overly serious, though some observers believe they worked too hard to be cool, plugging into the zeitgeist while sacrificing Levi's unique heritage. I kind of agree. There were some memorable moments, but, overall, "Go Forth" seemed to be flying by the seat of its pants, chasing random hipness.

The back-to-basics approach of "Live in Levi's" strives for a more comfortable brand fit. It's well-shot by photographer Jason Nocito and nicely understated, though it risks blending in with all the other fashion ads that show happy/moody young people who like wearing clothes.

To be fair, that's a very preliminary impression. Print is, after all, just the first leg of a multifaceted campaign.

Respect. That’s what Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees is about. Everyone from Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan to Yankee haters tip their caps to Jeter in an epic 90-second commercial from Nike’s Jordan Brand that breaks during Fox’s broadcast of the MLB All-Star Game Tuesday night (7:30 pm ET).

Nike’s Jordan division gave Adweek an exclusive preview of the celebrity-filled spot saluting its longtime endorser, who’s retiring after the 2014 season. The classy Jeter is no Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees captain has always respected the game, teammates, opponents. The respect is returned big-time in the supersized spot created by Wieden + Kennedy in New York and directed by Matt Aselton of Arts & Sciences.

As the commercial opens, we see No. 2 digging into the batter’s box with his Jordan-branded cleats at Yankee Stadium. Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester tips his cap to Jeter. That small mark of respect spreads like wildfire.

At Yankee Stadium, everyone from ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and movie director Spike Lee to fans in the stands and the NYPD begin tipping their caps.

Around the country, we see fellow Nike endorsers Woods and Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks doff their caps—along with rapper Jay-Z, comedian Billy Crystal, WNBA star Maya Moore and others.

Jeter’s former Yankees manager Joe Torre and ex-teammates Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Tino Martinez offer their respect, along with power couple Phil Jackson of the Knicks and Jeanie Buss of the Los Angeles Lakers. With their faces blurred to protect their identities, players from the crosstown rival New York Mets surreptitiously pay homage (including mascot Mr. Met).

In a nice touch, we even see a pair of die-hard Red Sox fans saluting Jeter as they watch him on TV. At the end, His Airness himself doffs his cap as we hear fans chanting Jeter’s name. Cut to an overview of Manhattan with the tagline, “RE2PECT,” and Jumpman logo.

Following Tuesday's All-Star Game, the 90-second spot will air in its entirety during the ESPY Awards July 16. A shorter 60-second version of the spot will run across the Yankees’ YES Network, ESPN and other sports programming.

Jordan Brand marketers and W+K came up with the creative idea from Jeter’s own routine in the batter’s box. Along with his familiar raised right hand, Jeter tugs at his batting helmet as he faces the pitcher. What if Jeter saluted his opponent—and the world saluted back thought Nike marketers.

Jeter’s scheduled to play in his 14th and final Midsummer Classic at Target Field in Minneapolis on Tuesday night. The Jordan Brand spot will likely kick-start a host of Jeter marketing campaigns as corporate sponsors salute his career and try to position his post-baseball brand.

Fox’s MLB history is closely connected with Jeter. The network began showing MLB games in 1996, when Jeter earned the first of his five World Series rings. So look for Fox announcer Joe Buck to focus heavily on Jeter while he plays his final All-Star game.

Many brands promise to make literally anyone more attractive to the opposite sex, but Old Spice takes this promise to the extreme with its new ads starring a hapless, barely functional android.

In a pair of spots from Wieden + Kennedy, a robot with the head of male human consistently wins with the ladies because he smells nice, all despite his best efforts to ruin his chances.

By positioning its products as deus-ex-machina sex potions that women simply can't resist, Old Spice comes off smelling quite a bit like competitor Axe, which has actually been moving away from these kinds of tropes in favor of more cinematic fare.

But the spots manage to keep Old Spice somewhat distinct with the sort of over-the-top humor that has defined the brand since Isaiah Mustafa first transformed a pair of theater tickets into a fistful of diamonds. And the commercials—TV ad "Soccer" and Web spot "Nightclub"—definitely have their bizarre moments.

Plus, Old Spice has already made the case, powerfully if insanely, that its products could turn men's hair into impossibly talented gophers, and mother-smothered boys into men. So it was really only a matter of time before it told us it could seal the deal for cyborgs. 

A college championship that's both national and rational has long been the dream of American football fans. In fact, Rudy dreamed up the solution 40 years ago, according to this fun bit of alternate history from ESPN.

Sean Astin reprises his 1993 role as Notre Dame's plucky 1970s walk-on Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger in an ad created by Wieden + Kennedy New York to highlight ESPN's coverage of the College Football Playoff system debuting in the 2014-15 season. For now, the sports network is mostly focused on just helping casual fans make sense of how the whole thing will work. 

Oddly enough, this is the second time Astin has returned to playing Rudy in 2014. His cameo was definitely the highlight of CarMax's "Slow Clap" Super Bowl ad.

We asked Wieden + Kennedy New York if this second Rudy reprisal was just a coincidence, and a spokesperson sent along this statement:

"Our campaign is all about fans' excitement for the inaugural college football playoff season. Rudy is not only one of the biggest icons of college football, but he's also one of the sport's biggest fans. His passion for the game is representative of the passion of all college football fans," the statement said.

"So we thought he should usher in this new and exciting era. The fact that Sean Astin was recently in another spot this year was only brought to our attention after the idea was concepted."

The real question, of course, is which brand will talk him into reenacting a rousing Goonies monologue. Down here it's our time. It's our time down here.

Nike doesn't want Brazil to linger on its loss in the World Cup. Instead, the brand's new ad aimed is aimed at pumping up the passionate nation of sports fans for their next global event: the 2016 Olympics.

"Tomorrow Starts Now" is a beautiful tribute to the outstanding athleticism of a country whose chances at glory were abruptly and embarrassingly snuffed out by a 1-7 World Cup loss to Germany.

But instead of trying to tend the wounds of Brazil's futebol fan base, Nike is instead looking ahead to the many events where the country is expected to do well when the world returns to Rio de Janeiro's for the next Summer Games.

The spot from Wieden + Kennedy São Paulo is a solid minute packed with diverse talent like track athlete Ana Claudia Lemos, beach volleyball siblings Clara and Carol Salgado, basketball players Leandrinho and Anderson Varejão, and Yane Marquez, a bronze medalist in the modern pentathlon at the London Olympics.

As usual, Nike is on top of its game, finding those perfect moments that celebrate the unparalleled power of the world's best athletes. It's also a moving reminder that the soul of sport lies not in winning, but in the passion it takes to keep going after a defeat. You can make it, Brazil. You can get past this.

Does Ogilvy & Mather have the best online presence of any advertising agency in the world? Yes, according to a new site that ranks shops based on the size of their social audiences.

Created and maintained by Pivotstack, a tech company that creates software specifically for marketing agencies, the "Top 50 Ad Agencies" list takes into account the number of likes and followers an agency has on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as the traffic to an agency's website, as ranked by analytics firm Alexa.

The leaderboard, so far, is a bit of a surprise.

Design consulting group Ideo is at No. 2, with Wieden + Kennedy taking the bronze. The first historically pure-play digital shop on the list is Razorfish, clocking in at sixth.

The list also includes media planning and buying agencies like Mindshare, along with public relations shops like Edelman. There's even a holding company: MDC Partners.

The first 100 agencies were drawn from other lists of top shops and the personal knowledge of Pivotstack staff, although the site includes a callout inviting agencies to contact Pivotstack to be added.

Some digital brand names, like AKQA and Huge, are notably absent from the list. But the current version is just a first draft that "might not have hit some of the bigger ones," Michael Koehler, director of sales and marketing at Pivotstack, tells AdFreak. "It's nothing personal against them, and they'll probably be added in the next few months."

The social media numbers for each agency are currently entered manually, but Pivotstack also hopes to automate the update process in coming months. (For example, Ogilvy's Facebook score on the list is currently only 205,000, whereas its Facebook page has grown to 215,000 likes).

The website bills the list as a "fun project" aimed at measuring how well an agency is doing at managing its online presence, hinting how that might speak to their ability to manage a client's. It's also—perhaps moreso—a clever way for the company to draw attention to itself among its target customers. (It rarely hurts to appeal to vanity or envy in the advertising business).

What about the age-old "cobbler's shoes" argument that agencies might be neglecting their own presences in favor of servicing their clients? Koehler says an agency's online presence is "just a reflection of how well a shop is run" and demonstrates one facet of their abilities. "By no means," he says, "is this supposed to be the definitive list of best agencies in the world."

Via Design Taxi.