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Morning Update: Bret Easton Ellis for Opera Paris; TBWA on rape culture; Oprah makes bank for Weight Watchers; celebs on Twitter

Ad Week: Bret Easton Ellis Directed a Delightfully Debauched Film for the Paris Opera

It’s hard to make ‘high art’ like opera feel relevant to a younger, more mobile audience. But that hasn’t stopped the Opera of Paris from trying. Last year it launched 3e Scène (Third Stage), an online destination dedicated to artistic experimentation.

Its latest creation for that platform is Figaro, directed by none other than Bret Easton Ellis—still probably best known for giving us American Psycho. Set to music from The Barber of Seville, actor Philip Rhys plays a painstakingly dressed and pomaded opera singer, who comes to the studio to audition or rehearse … only to find he’s lost his voice.

Ad Week: Sexual Consent Ads Ditch the Metaphors and Go Right to the Talking Cartoon Genitals

A well-received video made the rounds last year that addressed the issue of sexual consent through a metaphor of drinking tea. Based on copy written by blogger Rockstar Dinosaur Pirate Princess, it was lauded for its clear take on a thorny issue. But was it not clear enough? Do metaphors just cloud the issue? And does talking around a topic, and not actually talking about it, reinforce its taboo, thus undermining the message?

Project Consent, a nonprofit, volunteer-based campaign to combat rape culture, prefers a more straightforward approach. And it’s gotten one from Toronto agency Juniper Park\TBWA—via a series of videos in which animated genitals and other body parts simply act out consent scenarios.

Sean Connery made the Aston Martin DB5 possibly the coolest car ever

Sean Connery made the Aston Martin DB5 possibly the coolest car ever

Ad Week: Why Aston Martin Is Marketing Its ‘Most Important Car’ Ever to Young Female Drivers

In the 1964 movie Goldfinger, James Bond (Sean Connery) saunters through MI6 and asks Q what’s become of the Bentley he always drives. “Oh, it’s had its day, I’m afraid,” sighs the faithful R&D man, leading 007 over to a sleek new silver sedan. Instead, says Q, “You’ll be using this Aston Martin DB5.”

Fast-forward 52 years to this week when the curtains at the Geneva Auto Show parted to reveal the 2016 Aston Martin DB11, a low-slung silver bullet that CEO Andy Palmer called “not only the most important car that Aston Martin has launched in recent history, but also in its 103-year existence.” The company’s new plan is a deft mix of marketing and new product development, boiled down to three words: lure more millennials. Make that rich millennials. Actually, make it rich, female millennials.

oprah weight watchers

Ad Age: Weight Watchers’ Oprah Deal Brought 1 Billion Free Impressions

How much free advertising did Oprah Winfrey’s deal with Weight Watchers bring? More than 1 billion media impressions, the company said.

Following Ms. Winfrey’s agreement to invest in Weight Watchers International Inc. and endorse the program in October, the company got a surge of free publicity, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday. Each impression represents a time that a viewer was exposed to a mention of Weight Watchers.

Jason McCourty of the Tennessee Titans

Ad Week: What Do Athletes Really Think About Tweeting For Brands?

According to Twitter, 70% of tweets are consumed within a live broadcast window, and half of all conversations are about sporting events, per Nielsen. When it comes to engaging fans online, the critical time for athletes is leading up to and immediately after games. The result is that brands and players have found a whole new way of working together on endorsements.

“Whenever you tweet you’re talking about yourself, your brand and everything you want to be off the field,” said Jason McCourty of the Tennessee Titans. “I represent myself in a way that brands will like, that I will like and anybody that goes to my timeline will enjoy,” he said.

Ogilvy India - Give Truth a Chance campaign for Coke

Mumbrella Asia: Ogilvy, MullenLowe and BBDO lead APAC Effies shortlist

BBhave the most finalists on a shortlist of 136 contenders for the marketing effectiveness show the APAC Effies.

McCann, TBWA, Grey Group and the recently acquired New Zealand agency Barnes, Catmur & Friends also feature prominently on the shortlist.

India is the most represented country, with campaigns such as Ogilvy’s ‘Give Truth a Chance’ for Coke, McCann’s ‘Redefining Coffee for India’ for Nestle and MullenLowe’s ‘Brave and Beautiful’ for Dabur in the running.

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