Creative

In barbaric and prehistoric times, before primitive man invented religion and prayed to gods for intercessions, man was isolated and alone, facing an uncertain and terrifying world that worked by its own logic.  Would the sun rise every day?  Would winter fade and spring follow in its stead?  Would there be fish to catch, prey to hunt, rain for water and crops, bountiful harvests, cures for disease, pregnancy and babies, victory in war?  Would the tribe flourish?  Tribes were like advertisers today, looking for certainties and prosperity in a hostile world.  By Michael Farmer

If the Super Bowl is indeed a barometer of national sentiment, it is quite clear that the mood of the masses is shifting. Save for some allusions to recent natural disasters, the “cause marketing”, “virtue signaling”, social commentary and moral grandstanding we witnessed last year seem to have taken a backseat. The Dow is a damned geyser. The labor market is tight as a Telemundo weather girl’s dress. Taxes are low, life is good. Rocket man? Border walls? We’ll get to that later. It’s time to make hay now. It’s back to business in ‘murica to judge by the hefty prices brands, movie studios and streaming services*** are paying to appear in the crevices of the last football game of the season. So, what can we say of the repertoire? It was quintessential Super Bowl fare. Crowd-pleasing tropes, unpretentious gimmicks, not too brainy. Don’t overthink it, just throw a ton of money at the brief. Write a simple script, have the planners sign off on it and get a seasoned, big name director to shoot the boards. With “a big name director” I mean someone who knows how to blow shit up and handle celebrities. And their publicists. Problem is, advertising is always a tossup. Even if you throw all the right ingredients into the equation to play it safe with a sure bet, the acid test of memorability can still be elusive. Hence, without further ado, I give you my impressions below.  Disclaimer:  what you are about to read is 100% morning after unaided recall.  By Gonzalo López Martí - Creative director, etc. / LMMiami.com

Hogarth’s Miami operation is led by Mauro Baz, who boasts more than 15 years of experience in the advertising and marketing industry, partnering with major companies including Nestle, Mattel, Johnson & Johnson, and Unilever. Mauro joined Hogarth Worldwide in London in 2011, and after helping to successfully launch its Brazil and Mexico operations, moved to Miami in 2016 to establish the Hogarth brand in the Americas.

GALLEGOS United announced it has hired Dino Spadavecchia as executive creative director. Spadavecchia will oversee development and execution of creative concepts for all clients.

Republica partnered with non-profit organization, Amigos For Kids, to create a powerful PSA aimed at raising awareness about the subtle signs of child abuse that, tragically, often go unnoticed. Inspired by the insight that abused children often hide subconscious clues of their situations in classroom drawings, Amigos for Kids created a gallery with a dark, hidden twist during Miami Art Week.

Influencer marketing is one of the industry’s trendy flavors. Connecting consumers with brands through the voices (and images and videos) of celebrities. Or through anyone with influence.

Ascential, parent of The Cannes Festival of Creativity is restructuring its Lions awards program, eliminating more than 100 subcategories in the process. The Lions festival will also be shorter — by three days — going forward.  The company has been under pressure to restructure from holding companies and agencies that have concluded the annual awards program had become too bloated with awards that made little sense, were too expensive and were generally too complicated a process.