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Morning Update: Airbnb ad inspires parodies; Kraft Heinz begins culling marketing jobs; 12 most viral ads of 2015 (so far)

The Hollywood Reporter: New ‘Spectre’ Trailer Takes James Bond to Mexico City

A new trailer for Spectre, the 24th James Bond film, was released Wednesday, and we see Bond (Daniel Craig) get up to all sorts of bother in Mexico City and then Rome, where he meets the sultry Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci), described as a “beautiful and forbidden widow of an infamous criminal.”

We see Bond do what he does best — namely: blow things up, drive rather fast and recklessly in glamorous locales, smooch the girl, and then seemingly infiltrate the supersecret organization Spectre.

From the trailer, it appears 007 is up against a malevolent Christoph Waltz, who very helpfully informs him that: “It was me, James, the author of all your pain.”

AdAge: Airbnb’s Latest Ad Inspires a String of Ridiculous Parodies

Airbnb’s new ad is getting all sorts of compliments — if you believe that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The spot, which launched last week, has already spawned several parodies.

The original ad, by TBWA/Chiat/Day, features a baby toddling towards a doorway as a voiceover by actress Angela Bassett poses the question “Is man kind? … are we good?” It goes on to challenge us to “go look through their windows so you can understand their views, sit at their tables so you can share their tastes” and so forth, in order to find out.

Airbnb has worked hard, in previous ads such as “Never a Stranger,” to dispel people’s fears about staying in someone else’s home. But to some viewers, the spot’s suggestion that finding a handy place to stay could actually make us better people seemed to be a step too far.

The New York Times: Limits at Gawker? Rules at Reddit? Wild West Web Turns a Page

Facing the abrupt resignations of two of his top editors on Monday and a potential revolt inside his newsroom,Gawker Media’s founder and chief executive, Nick Denton, tapped out a long memo to his editorial staff.

Mr. Denton wanted to explain his decision to delete a radioactive post about a married male media executive’s unsuccessful attempt to hire a gay escort and to contain the fallout from that decision inside his company.

But the memo also included a startling admission: “The Gawker brand,” Mr. Denton wrote, “is both confusing and damaging.”

AdWeek: Danny Trejo Just Made a Funny, Badass TV Ad for Some Random California Lawyer

Danny Trejo raises the bar for personal injury lawyer ads with this memorable outing on behalf of California firm Bergener Mirejovsky.

The 30-second, black-and-white spot is fun but also pretty low-key, eschewing the insane antics that, to some extent, have come to define the category. (We find you guilty as charged,Jamie Casino!)

Staring fiercely into the camera, but with tongue strictly in cheek, Trejo extolls his toughness in no uncertain terms. “When the boogeyman goes to sleep at night, he checks under his bed—for me,” says the craggy-faced, tough-guy actor, whose credits include Machete, the Spy Kids films, Breaking Bad and a Snickers Super Bowl commercial. “Have you ever wondered who Waldo’s hiding from? Me!”

AdAge: Kraft Heinz Begins Culling Marketing Jobs

The cost-conscious operators of the new Kraft Heinz Co. have begun eliminating several top marketing positions less than three weeks after the merger was finalized, according to people familiar with the matter.

So far the cuts include some senior level positions, whose responsibilities include shaping marketing and agency relationships. Those departing the company include Tom Bick, senior director-integrated marketing communications and advertising for the Oscar Mayer business; and Kara Henry, senior marketing director, communications and agency relations, according to people familiar with the matter.

A Kraft Heinz spokesman said in an email that “we will decline to comment on rumors or speculation.” But several people familiar with the company confirmed the cuts, which appear to be ongoing.

Mashable: Facebook now lets you restrict who views videos by age and gender

As Facebook takes aim at YouTube with a growing video platform, the social network is giving advertisers and publishers more say in who sees their videos.

The company said Tuesday that video creators will now be able to restrict their audience by age and gender, in addition to the location and language options it already offered.

It’s also rolling out a new “secret” mode, which makes videos playable only to those with a direct link, much like YouTube’s “unlisted” function. Video publishers can now opt to turn off third-party embedding, or house videos only under a “videos” tab separate from the News Feed.

AdWeek: The 12 Most Viral Ads of 2015 (So Far)

Sorry, cats (and goats, for that matter). Dogs are leading the pack as viral advertising of 2015 so far, according to Unruly, with three canine-themed ads among the year’s 12 most-shared spots to date—including two of the top four.

Along with the doggie-themed ads—for Purina, Budweiser and Kleenex—it’s also been a good year for PSAs going viral. The Ad Council’s famous “Love Has No Labels” effort comes in at No. 3 here, while an intriguing social experiment about violence sits at No. 5 and Robert Downey Jr.’s prosthetic arm delivery for Microsoft is No. 6.

The trailer for Season 3 of Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black also makes this list. But while TV trailers were fair game, movie trailers were not (as they would swamp the list).

 

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