Ad of the Day: Old Navy

There are a few ways to approach Black Friday commercials. You can go all heartwarming in the spirit of the season. You can go heavy on the sale specs. Or you can get George Takei to sing an epic power ballad promoting an epic sale with an epic name. Old Navy wholeheartedly embraces the latter strategy with a 60-second spot from Crispin Porter + Bogusky that broke Sunday night during the American Music Awards. In it, Mr. Sulu takes to the microphone and belts out an exuberant and heartfelt (if not quite on key) rendition of Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing," reimagined here as "I Don't Wanna Miss a Deal." The song, of course, is from the 1998 movie Armageddon—likewise, the theme of Old Navy's 2012 Black Friday sale is "Cheermageddon," which the company is characterizing as the "most epically friendly sale ever," which apparently means it won't stress you out inordinately or cause you to get trampled mercilessly by fellow deal-seekers. (This is because the deals are spread out over a number of days—and because Thursday's big "doorbusters" are staggered throughout the day, though they will begin, surely somewhat stressfully, at midnight.) The spot is suitably over the top. You've got the control room/music studio; the nerdy engineer band; the cheesy dancing and jumping and showing off the clothes; and loads of absurd mock-interplanetary goofiness, including a snowball asteroid, from which only Old Navy's performance fleece can save you. Scrooges would call it Forced Cheermageddon, though it fits in perfectly with Old Navy's existing cartoon world of light irony writ large in bold, bright colors. Takei is himself a cartoon character, perfectly ludicrous for the role. As usual in commercials, he's seen here (mostly) in a white lab coat, and surprised no one when he delivers his trademark and (probably contractually obligated) "Oh my!" at the end. Old Navy is reinventing precisely nothing here, and having a fun time doing it. The spot is backed by a more hardworking :30, in which Takei and his nerds run down some of the specific deals. CP+B also created the campaign site at cheermageddon.com. CREDITS Client: Old Navy Spot: "I Don't Want to Miss a Deal" Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky Partner, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer: Rob Reilly Executive Creative Director: Jason Gaboriau Creative Directors: Robin Fitzgerald, Cameron Harris Senior Copywriter: Gerard Seifert Senior Copywriter (Spanish): Jorge Ortega Senior Art Director: Cerra Buckholz Copywriter: Rachel Carlson Art Director: Patricia Ortiz Director of Video Production: Chad Hopenwasser Executive Integrated Producer (Music): Bill Meadows Executive Integrated Producer: Deb Drumm Junior Integrated Producers: Jackie Maloney, Kelli Espinoza Executive Business Affairs Manager: Amy Jacobsen Production Company: Smuggler, Hollywood, Calif. Directors: Randy Krallman, Tobias Perse Production Company, Executive Producers/Partners: Brian Carmody, Patrick Milling Smith Production Company, Executive Producer/Chief Operating Officer: Lisa Rich Production Company, Executive Producers: Allison Kunzman, Laura Thoel Production Company, Head of Production: Andrew Colon Line Producer: Cory Berg Editorial Company: Cut & Run, Santa Monica, Calif. Head of Production, Senior Producer: Christie Price Executive Producer: Carr Schilling Editor: Frank Effron Assistant Editor: Susan Kim Postproduction Company: Method, Santa Monica, Calif. Executive Producer: Robert Owens Producer: Colin Clarry Lead Compositor: Kelly Bumbarger Set Supervisor: Rob Hodgson Visual Effects Supervisor: Jason Schugardt Music Company: Search Party, Portland, Ore. Music Company Producers: Sara Matarazzo, Genevieve Vincent Composer: Nicholas Wright Partner, Managing Director: Steve Erich Group Content Director: Danielle Whalen Content Director: Kate Higgins Content Management Supervisor: Joselyn Bickford Content Supervisors: Charissa Kinney, Georgette Young Content Managers: Kristin Obi, Michelle Forbush, Tommy Cottam Cognitive Anthropologists: Lindsey Allison, Jennifer Hruska Client: Old Navy Spot: "Cheermageddon" Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky Partner, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer: Rob Reilly Executive Creative Director: Jason Gaboriau Creative Directors: Robin Fitzgerald, Cameron Harris Senior Copywriter: Gerard Seifert Senior Copywriter (Spanish): Jorge Ortega Senior Art Director: Cerra Buckholz Copywriter: Rachel Carlson Art Director: Patricia Ortiz Director of Video Production: Chad Hopenwasser Executive Integrated Producer (Music): Bill Meadows Executive Integrated Producer: Deb Drumm Junior Integrated Producers: Jackie Maloney, Kelli Espinoza Executive Business Affairs Manager: Amy Jacobsen Production Company: Smuggler, Hollywood, Calif. Directors: Randy Krallman, Tobias Perse Production Company, Executive Producers/Partners: Brian Carmody, Patrick Milling Smith Production Company, Executive Producer/Chief Operating Officer: Lisa Rich Production Company, Executive Producers: Allison Kunzman, Laura Thoel Production Company, Head of Production: Andrew Colon Line Producer: Cory Berg Editorial Company: Cut & Run, Santa Monica, Calif. Head of Production, Senior Producer: Christie Price Executive Producer: Carr Schilling Editor: Frank Effron Assistant Editor: Susan Kim Postproduction Company: Method, Santa Monica, Calif. Executive Producer: Robert Owens Producer: Colin Clarry Lead Compositor: Kelly Bumbarger Set Supervisor: Rob Hodgson Visual Effects Supervisor: Jason Schugardt Music Company: Search Party, Portland, Ore. Music Company, Producers: Sara Matarazzo, Genevieve Vincent Composer: Nicholas Wright Partner, Managing Director: Steve Erich Group Content Director: Danielle Whalen Content Director: Kate Higgins Content Management Supervisor: Joselyn Bickford Content Supervisors: Charissa Kinney, Georgette Young Content Managers: Kristin Obi, Michelle Forbush, Tommy Cottam Cognitive Anthropologists: Lindsey Allison, Jennifer Hruska

Brand Marketing

Ad of the Day: Old Navy

George Takei belts out an epic power ballad for the retailer's 'Cheermageddon' Black Friday sale

Tim Nudd

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Tim Nudd