Travis Bott - Jack Park Canny Dope Man [Travis Scott if an AI Wrote It]

A technology-focused creative advertising agency called Space150 created an AI version of Travis Scott called Travis Bott. They created a music-learning algorithm and fed it a bunch of Travis Scott lyrics, beats, and songs, and then had the AI system write what it thought a Travis Scott song would sound like.

Adweek spoke with Ned Lampert, the Space150 Creative Director in charge of the project:

We were sort of fascinated with like, ‘What if we tried to make a song—like an actual good song—by using AI and basically creative directing AI?...And so we chose Travis Scott just because he is just such a unique artist and he has a unique sound and everything sort of has an aesthetic to it, both audibly and visually.

I have to tell you, the lyrics are absolute trash and don't make any sense. And yet, this song is kind of fire. It feels like a Travis Scott song. Maybe more like a demo - a track that would be considered for the album but ultimately fall short because they couldn't crack the lyrics.

But what does this say about AI and the future of music? I think this track proves that AI can make music that fits within the modern culture with modern styles, themes and sounds. We already have CGI influencers (which is fucking creepy). If we didn't know this song was created by an AI, how would we accept it? How will we accept music when we learn AFTER we fall in love with a song that the person behind it isn't human at all?

MC Hammer Is Starring In a New Ad Campaign

MC Hammer is the latest celebrity to serve as the spokesperson for a brand you don't really give two shits about. But it's okay! Because at least this time, Hammer is central to the commercial AND the product—Command: Damage Free Hanging Strips. Why MC Hammer? Because you're walls hate hammers! Why MC Hammer? Because it's time to stop "hammer time"? Why MC Hammer? So they could use more puns like, "Please, hammer, don't hurt em."

Yes, this campaign is one, giant pun. But at least it's kind of funny. Unlike that time Hammer tried to take shots at JAY Z for that "unlike Hammer, 30 million can't hurt me" line. But hey, at least you're now thinking about keeping your walls safe from hammers and getting some what-ever-brand-you-see-at-the-store's Damage Free Hanging Strips. Shouts to ADWEEK and check out more Hammer-themed content on the Command website.

Instagram Is Now Curating Your Feed - Just Like Facebook and Twitter

Instagram announced today via blog post and NYT interview that they’re beginning to test an algorithm-based feed, similar to those used by Facebook and recently introduced by Twitter. According to Kevin Systrom, co-founder and chief executive of Instagram, “on average, people miss about 70 percent of the posts in their Instagram feed.”

From NYT:

Instagram plans to rely on its machine -learning technology and a mix of signals to determine the order of photos and videos in users’ feeds, including the likelihood a person will be interested in the content, the timeliness of the posts and the relationship between the two users. As they are now, posts will be clearly stamped with the date they occurred.

While the new algorithm-based feed won’t directly affect brands advertising on the platform, it does bring into question how it will affect content brands post organically. I don’t have any research to support this, but I’d guess the vast majority of brands people follow on IG aren’t among the top 10-20% of accounts they most frequently interact with. Will brand’s posts show up in a curated section of the feed? 

It seems the content our brands organically post on IG will undoubtedly get pushed further and further down the feed. Will users visit the platform often enough or scroll down long enough to see them? Is the ultimate goal to force brands into advertising on the platform if they want their followers to see the content, a la Facebook (which owns IG)? One thing’s for sure: creative on IG will have to work twice as hard to earn its place at the top of users (soon to be) curated feeds.

Advertising Agency Spoofs Advertising Industry's Infatuation With Femvertising

There's an ad agency in Toronto called John St. They've produced a hand-full of spoofs directed at the greater advertising industry, including the fantastic "Catvertising" (see below). This time, they're back with a spot on spoof of the industry's infatuation with "femvertising". Depending on who you speak with, Femvertising is either empowering by telling women they can love themselves for who they are, or exploitative because it uses women's insecurities to sell them shit. Take a look and decide for yourself. Shouts to Adweek .

Lexus Has Created a Working Car Made of Cardboard

Two Lexus designers in London have created a literal cardboard version of the Lexus IS. Take everything you know about cardboard — how thin it is, how flimsy, how brown — and make a car out of it. They laser printed each piece based off the Lexus IS design, and combined with a metal frame and electric battery, created a car that works, ostensibly not outside of a very tightly controlled environment (see below). But the doors, the seats, the steering wheel, the wheels, the body, and everything else were built from the ground up, using cardboard. That's some fantastic attention to craft and luxury.

In something that shouldn't be a surprise, the "making-of" video has more views than the "reveal". This is one of those "how the fuck did they do that" videos. Shouts to ADWEEK.

Fuckery: Dish Network's Terrible Music Choices

Dish has a new product feature/deal they want to promote, and to do so, they licensed Montell Jordan's "This Is Hot We Do It" so they could use it in the commercial.

Except they didn't license the actual song (known as the master track). They licensed the right to use the lyrics and the musical notes — and then they bastardized the song by rerecorded their own version that goes "DISH IS HOW WE DO IT". Not only is it fucking disgusting (both the rerecording and the habit of rerecording instead of paying the rights), it's fucking hurting my ears.

You can have the displeasure of listening above. Why do I care so much? This was my favorite song growing up. They even had the audacity to throw in the Stanky Legg at the 17 and 47 second mark. Shameful. It reminds me of this:

Gatorade's Latest Commercial Celebrates Serena Williams' Greatness

I'm just gonna leave this here. That quote? Definitely chilling and outworldly amazing at the same time. Head to Gatorade's website to check the 21 pieces of custom artwork they commissioned to represent each of Serena's 21 Slam titles. Shouts to TBWA\Chiat\Day and ADWEEK.

The Terrible Fantastic Four Movie Had a Dope Advertisement

To promote the film, 20th Century Fox hired Thinkmodo to create a viral stunt. The result? An actual fucking flaming human torch. This is really, really dope and I wish this could've been done over a crowded city instead of a firehouse. Shouts to AdWeek

Paper Art Never Looked So Good

Advertising agency TBWA/Johannesburg had a problem. People wanted them for their expertise, just not their expertise in design. So what did they do? They took existing client briefs (assignments) and created works of paper art specific to the company that sent the brief: A dress shirt for Bio Classic washing powder, a ship in a bottle for Mainstay Vodka, and more. As a result, new design work rose by 450%. Talk about results. Check out the video below. Shouts to ADWEEK and The Inspiration Room.

This. Dope Elevator Experimental Advertising

I don't know where I found this but it's super cool. Reminds me of the Kill Bill and Superman elevator spots.

Worst Self-Made Commercial Ever? Or Best Spoof Commercial Ever

I...I can't. This commercial for Harry Kassabian and People's Bail Bonds is either the world's most shadiest, stereotyped filled commercial ever (terrible doesn't even begin to describe this), or the world's greatest, most ingenious and inconspicuous spoof video ever. I'll let you decide. Shouts to Illegal Advertising.

Manny Pacquiao Goes Super Meta in the Latest Foot Locker Commercial

Foot Locker has some of the most creative advertising in the game right now, and really, it's not even close. The way they use sports stars is unparalleled because it feels as though they truly understand everything about their personas and their place in popular culture. There was that time James Harden banished one of his friends to Kris Humphries entourage for wearing the same sneakers twice. There was that time Tim Duncan got "excited". There was the time John Wall lost all his money. But one of the most recent ones was that time Manny Pacquiao thought Floyd Mayweather had finally decided to fight him. Now it's really happening. Shouts to Adweek.

Throwback: Kanye West + Ludacris + Game - Where You At? (The Whole City Behind Us)

Somewhere around 10 years ago, Boost Mobile came out with a advertising campaign titled "Where You At?" It was about using the Boost Mobile chirp to call people, often times with the phrase "where you at?". The focal point of that campaign was a song by Kanye West, Ludacris and The Game titled "Where You At? (The Whole City Behind Us)".
They also did a commercial/music video for the song, too. The two biggest things I want to know before I die aren't the secrets of the world, but 1) Did Nike pay Nelly to make "Air Force Ones" and 2) I need to hear the WHOLE story behind the making of this song and campaign. Getting three of the biggest rap stars in the world (at the time) to make a song for a corporate retailer? That shit must've been a monstrous headache between egos, creative control, money and timing.

Testicular Cancer Gets a PSA with Porn Hub & Porn Stars

McCann Lima partnered with Porn Hub to bring awareness to testicular cancer. Why? Because April is Testicular Cancer Awareness Month, testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in men 15-45 (How shitty would it be to get hit with that at 15?,) and, if caught early enough, the survival rate is 95% (also, how shitty would it be if your balls turned on you and killed you?). From Adweek:

Enlisting the aid of porn actress Charlotte Stokely, the agency created a video and posted it on Pornhub under the title “Charlotte Stokely teaches you to last longer.” The video advises men on how to properly examine their testicles for cancer, without them realizing it, and then reveals that the title alludes to a longer life with early detection of testicular cancer. It’s a clever, attention-grabbing way to broach the subject, which is easy to ignore when delivered in its usual clinical fashion. The video is being shared on social media, in addition to its home on Pornhub, and acts as part of a larger campaign from the agency to raise awareness of the issue.

The Newest Rob Lowe DirecTV Commercial is the Best Yet

The Rob Lowe/DirecTV power couple began 6 months ago with (I believe) the "Less Attractive Rob Lowe" commercial. Since then, there's been nearly a dozen spots that, like the A-leads-to-B-leads-to-C, campaign, were extremely hit or miss. Scrawny Arms Rob Lowe and Crazy Hairy Rob Lowe? Genius. Meathead Rob Lowe and Peaked in High School Rob Lowe? Not so much.

But DirecTV has (apparently) saved the best spot for last. It's about how cable Rob Lowe is a deadbeat father and general cutter of corners guy. Total Deadbeat Rob Lowe has the best line (and best ensuing dance) of the entire campaign with "My kids were always fighting over what to watch, but that's their stepdad's problem now." I will say, though, "looks like I'm not having any mayonnaise" is a close second.

New Magazine Commercial Says "If You Play Sports, You Can Dance"

Libero Magazine, a free, monthly Spanish soccer magazine, recently debuted a new campaign to show the brand is about more than soccer — it's also a lifestyle and culture magazine. Libero's prefered way of telling you that? By showing those who think they can't dance, how to dance. In these two spots, Libero shows that the moves you do while playing soccer are just as suitable for the dancefloor. They even show you how to dance to different types of music. Shouts to ADWEEK via Ads of the World.

Dope Anti-Drunk Driving Commercial from New Zealand

Any "anti" anything commercial is usually doom and gloom. There is the anti-texting commercial from the UK that is one of the most graphic things you'll ever see, and that includes anything you'd see in a movie. But this New Zealand anti-drunk driving commercial is really refreshing because they don't even attempt to scare you out of drunk driving. Instead, they play on humor to persuade you to be the person who prevents someone from drunk driving. The spot is a few years old, but new to American audiences.

In New Commercial, Comcast Cable Helps a Blind 7-Year-Old Create Her Own "The Wizard of Oz"

I hate Comcast cable. In fact, I probably really, really dislike every single cable provider in the country, and I'm sure the majority of you do, too. But setting aside that hatred, I have to stand up and give a resounding round of applause to advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners, the firm that created this wonderful spot that makes you want to hate Comcast a little less than you currently do.

In "Emily's Oz", a blind 7-year-old who's never seen The Wizard of Oz, describes what the characters look like to her. It's incredibly moving, inspiring, beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time. What does Comcast have to do with this story? They're introducing a way that allows her to hear the menu options she can't see. Hit the jump to watch the behind the scenes making of video, which is 10x better than the actual spot above. Shouts to ADWEEK.

The Law Offices of Kevin Durant and Associates: KD Stars in New Sprint Commercial

Kevin Durant has long been a spokesperson for Sprint. Back when Sprint was doing its super terrible "Framily" campaign, KD was (sadly) a part of it. Now, the nation's third largest wireless carrier has finally given the Oklahoma City superstar a commercial worthy of his on-the-court talents. A week ago, leading up to All-Star Weekend, KD started tweeting out teasers for his new Sprint campaign, like the one below. Shouts to Translation for the creative work.

Told y'all I wasn't playing - it's #KDLaw from here on out pic.twitter.com/oZJE3G79K8
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) February 11, 2015

New Snickers Commercial - "The Brady Bunch" featuring Danny Trajo

This is the ad Snickers will be running during the Super Bowl. The Spot was done by BBDO and (I believe) marks the return of the "You're not you when you're hungry" commercials to the Super Bowl, where it debuted in 2010 with Betty White. Shouts to ADWEEK.