Detroit-based Campbell Ewald, which recently went through a conscious “unbundling” as parent company IPG created the Mullen Lowe Groupe and helped CE “return to its roots as an independent agency within the IPG and Mullen Lowe Group portfolios,” launched a new campaign for OnStar today.
Curtis Melville, who left Team Detroit for Campbell last spring, handled creative duties on the ads, which aim to inject some emotion into promos for what would seem to be a very impersonal product.
The first spot “Long Hug” starts with just that and it resembles an ad for AnyBrand until the camera angle shifts to reveal the source of this deep connection between Protagonist A and Protagonist B: mortality and a heightened awareness of the fleeting, impermanent nature of the lives we lead.
Much like BBDO’s recent work for AT&T, this one hits “close to home” by promising to help your loved ones recover from an accident.
The next ad, “Popcorn,” takes a very different but equally personal approach to promoting the benefits of OnStar service. With OnStar, you can rest assured that your spouses are accounted for and your kids are entertained.
That’s very sweet, but there’s no way in HELL our parents would let us eat popcorn in the car. They were barely OK with french fries given our unhealthy dependence on ketchup.
But, as the release tells us, OnStar is all about ensuring a “safer, more enjoyable journey” for all involved.
These ads, which will run on digital platforms along with “mobile, in-app and Xbox executions,” are a bit more down-to-earth than a 2013 campaign powered by the dramatic narration of one Rich Sommer, better known as pre-media agency West Coast douchebag Harry Crane.
Agency: Campbell Ewald
Executive Creative Director: Curtis Melville
Creative Directors: Dan Grantham, David Goldberg, Regan Boldman
Art Directors: Jim Millis, Tiffany Wisnieski, Phil Foster, Jessica Bush
Copywriters: Kelly Warkentine, Beth Kaatz, Megan Dusnik, Megan McDonald
Producers: Mary Ellen Krawczyk, Martha Torre-Carter, Nicole Kuhnlein, Meghan Carey
Group Management Supervisor: Laura Thornton
Senior Account Supervisor: Bryan Bush
Account Supervisor: Crystal Czupinski
Account Executives: Casey Miller, Andrew Doyle
Product Information Specialist: Tony Edgerson
Client Technology: Rob Lyons, Glenn Martin
Photographer/Designer: Bret Hawpe, Adam Ball
Managing Editor: Leslie Green
Production Company: Reset
Director: Renald Gresset
Director of Photography: Alwin Kuchler
Executive Producer: Louis Saint-Calbre
Editing House: White House Post
Editor: Martin Leroy, Rick Lawley
Producer: Marlo Baird Kinsey
Mixer: Mark Burton
Website Design: Wildlife LA