As a follow up to our respect for Old Spice’s most recent campaign featuring Isaiah Mustafa, we’ve taken interest in (along with everyone else in the industry) where Weiden and Kennedy’s creative design forces will take the brand next. Problem is, after watching this 30 second spot featuring Baltimore Ravens’ Linebacker Ray Lewis, the only feeling you’re left with is the residual sensation from scratching one’s head. Of course it’s not made to replicate the initial Isaiah Old Spice spots but has Weiden and Kennedy “jumped the shark” with this concept? Our personal suggestion… don’t fix it if it ain’t broke! They had some mileage left on the Mustafa treads. What do you think?

Fresh off a Grand Prix win in Film from Cannes this past week for the Old Spice spot we posted on back in March, the creative design firm at Weiden and Kennedy released a follow up online this morning. Back as “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like,” former pro football player Isaiah Mustafa returns to “Question” women about the way their men look and smell. Although more CGI driven then the initial spot, the writers at Weiden and Kennedy’s Portland office keep the dialogue as entertaining as ever. Regardless of what the critics say, this new commercial screams “Awesomeness,” and has definitely convinced me to switch from my regular body wash to Old Spice brand. I mean, what do you have to lose besides a woman who may want her man to smell like the man her man could smell like, right?

In a television commercial spot titled Sony “2-D,” Peyton Manning and Justin Timberlake make another appearance to tout Sony’s prowess in the consumer electronics market. This time, instead of standing before a faux-press conference, the pair are led into Sony’s 3-D television department. Donning Sony’s 3-D glasses, the duo are given a brief run-down on the newest happenings at Sony HQ.

The commercial spot showcases Sony’s development of 3-D technology across a wide range of platforms; movies, Playstation 3 graphics and sports games are all impressively displayed. However, after the “spokesduo” makes their observations, the beautiful Sony HQ tour guide finishes with, “After this, nothing else looks as good.” Manning and Timberlake remove their glasses before the tour guide has a chance to stop them, and at that instant, everything (including Peyton and Justin) in the Sony 3-D HQ turns into 2 dimensional cut-outs that collapse onto the floor only to become 3-D again after returning the glasses to their useful position.

In an industry where success is granted to those who are pushing the creative and technological envelope, Sony’s concept behind the roll out and introduction of their new multi-dimensional integration falls, for lack of a better word, quite flat. Aside from under-utilizing two of the most talented men in their respective fields, Sony has managed to make the most entertaining male guest to grace Saturday Night Live in years (don’t believe me? Look HERE) boring. Then, there’s Peyton, the only football player who can speak let alone act well on screen, who has been forgotten entirely for his hilarious casual banter from the Mastercard TV spots and from previous Sony spots to have been cast silent. For this powerful “spokesduo” to be effective, the writers at 180 LA will have let their stars speak as they have done before; comically and successfully.

Where do you see 3-D entertainment heading in the future and how do you advertise most effectively among such a competitive market?

It’s no secret that Gatorade has all the advertising dollars in the world to spend on sponsoring top athletes and creating cutting edge, highly visible campaigns that dominate the Sports Drink market. Whether or not they are creating the most effective and efficient means of hydration, like our client Vitalyte (which we are currently in the process of re-branding), is a question we will have to put to rest until another time. All Sports Drinks can learn one thing from Gatorade however, and that is how to most effectively monitor the efficiency of their advertising expenses, from youth community training seminars with athletes to Social Media efforts such as Facebook and Twitter, Gatorade has its finger on the pulse of all activity across a broad spectrum of media avenues. The bottom line; it is all about conversions.

Introducing Gatorade Mission Control: