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Stuffed and sorted

Advertising

Posted by Patrick Burgoyne, 24 May 2010, 16:08    Permalink    Comments (12)

From the department of WTF come two new ad campaigns, each starring stuffed toys whose outward cuteness is undercut with more than a hint of menace.

Let's take AMV.BBDO's new Bird's Eye campaign first. Mum (yes, it is always mum) opens her fridge door to be confronted with, of course, a puppet polar bear who is, apparently, squatting there. Said bear – voiced by none other than Willem Dafoe – queries her choice of some cheap rubbish brand of fish fingers over good old Bird's Eye. His voice laden with menace, the inference is clear – stick to Bird's Eye in future if you know what's good for you. You've seen what happens to seal cubs on Attenborough – that could be you, all over the kitchen floor. Think about it

It's all a very far cry from Cap'n Birdseye whose first instinct when confronted with a polar bear, we suspect, would be to reach for his harpoon not to engage it in conversation about the relative freshness of frozen peas.

And then there's Mother's Travelodge campaign. In the launch ad we are introduced to Mr Sleep and the Zzz Squad, a Guy Ritchie-esque firm of diamond geezers with hearts of mixed fibre. Though outwardly menacing, their only concern is to get a right result by seeing you safely tucked up enjoying a peaceful night in a reasonably priced hotel room.

Why? Search me. Most ad trends have obvious origins – the influence of a new film, say, or a new technique. But where on Earth do these campaigns for Bird's Eye and Travelodge spring from? Will either campaign work? I have no idea, but you do have to applaud the sheer random bonkers-ness of both as an antidote to cute kid glibness and Lenny Henry.

UPDATE: Thanks to Laura Snoad in the comments below for pointing out the possible debt to Adam & Joe (pinches self quite hard for overlooking it):

 

Bird's Eye
Agency: AMV.BBDO
Writer: Tim Riley
Director: Tony Barry

Travelodge
Agency: Mother
Director: Daniel Kleinman
Post: Framestore

12 Comments

Has Mother been watching Adam and Joe's Snatch featuring Guy Richtoy, do you think? See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9crnz6vQg
Laura Snoad
2010-05-24 17:20:00

@ Laura

Doh! Yes, of course. Stupid of me to have overlooked it. I'll add that in to the text, thanks.
CR PatrickBurgoyne
2010-05-24 17:28:32

The Polar Bear just looks like a desperate attempt to create a Meerkat for Birds Eye. Lame on every level
Paul
2010-05-24 17:34:00

Ah I agree with Paul, seem to me a copy-cat.
Elbise
2010-05-24 21:34:48

The Travelodge teddy bears seems an obvious connection. Going by the ads I'd still rather stay in Lenny's Premier Inn. (probably because I've actually stayed in a TL and the ad doesn't have me believing it.)
Req
2010-05-24 22:20:13

Oh dear...

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2009/may/the-youtube-dilemma
Stephen Plaster
2010-05-24 23:12:50

Love the casting of Dafoe. Looking forward to Christopher Walken taking on the role of Captain Birdseye and Brad Dourif voicing the Andrex puppy.
Daniel
2010-05-25 09:29:04

Willem Dafoe – no way! I feel really uneasy watching that advert, even after seeing it a few times. Maybe its because the conversation is so painful.

Its all about trend-driven ads these days it seems. What about every other bank or insurance company hiring a comedian? (Barclays, Nationwide, Aviva, Direct Line, MoneySuperMarket...) And then there's Halifax (no comedian but intended to be funny, I think...?), which makes me scream very negative things about ad execs at the TV. Every time.
James Nelson
2010-05-25 11:59:52

i quite like the Travelodge ad by Mother, pretty funny and clearly directional to the working class brits that dont stay in 5 star accommodation. Bored of hearing: fluffy toy + advert = copy (surely this applies to years of adverts too many to mention!) .....also didnt feel comfortable with the Bears persona in the birds eye ad, nor sure how mums will either?
stu
2010-05-25 12:23:01

And do you remember Flat Eric/ Mr Oizo??? The Yellow Levi's commercial puppet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z47KUNmmCng or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSGJ-8Q9sXw&feature=related
Staydog
2010-05-25 13:55:44

Could someone please make some adverts that DON'T have stuffed toys, puppets, talking animals or children's TV characters from the 80s?

What is wrong with you people?
Ilovedogfood
2010-05-25 23:28:23

I think creepy is the Velvet toilet roll ads. Babies in suits running big corporations. Now that is creepy!
Lynne Connolly
2010-06-04 00:31:19

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