Two Orange County-based advertisers are coughing up $4.4 million each for a 30-second Super Bowl 2015 spot—one a veteran of the big game and another making its first appearance.
Tustin-based smartphone case maker Mophie is the rookie, but it has hired veteran ad shop Deutsch LA as its agency of record.
Deutsch LA is the primary creative agency for Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp., and has done past Super Bowl ads for the fast-food chain, as well as other clients, including Volkswagen.
Mophie, in addition to the Super Bowl TV spot, will give away $1 million in product prizes to those who register for its sweepstakes online—provided the game goes into overtime.
“We view our big game ad and overtime promotion as opportunities to introduce mobile power solutions to a massive audience of mobile users,” Vice President of Marketing Ross Howe said in a statement. “As the category leader in providing users with ‘extra time’ for their devices, we’re eager to place our products in the hands of thousands of fans. So, we’ll be rooting for a close game in the fourth quarter.”
Irvine-based Kia Motors America Inc. will make a Super Bowl pitch for the sixth year in a row. This year’s ad, produced by its agency of record, David&Goliath in El Segundo, will feature Pierce Brosnan and the new Sorento SUV.
Hyundai Motor America Inc. in Fountain Valley, whose “Dad’s sixth sense” ad garnered a lot of positive feedback last year, is sitting out the Feb. 1 game.
Hyundai is a sister brand to Kia.
JetSuite Brand Campaign
Irvine-based JetSuite launched a brand campaign to highlight its “transparent pricing, efficient operations and unparalleled customer service.”
The message will focus on the private jet charter company’s guiding principles, such as “serve from the heart,” “improve something today,” and “keep calm and press on,” among others.
“Our ‘Core Values’ campaign reflects what we think has contributed most to our company’s growth over the last five years—how our people engage with our customers and one another,” Chief Executive Alex Wilcox said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to make private air travel accessible to more people than ever before, all the while nurturing a culture of personal growth.”
JetSuite’s media buys will include ads in Travel + Leisure, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CNNMoney.com, the Financial Times, Yahoo! Finance, the Robb Report and Crain’s. The company operates out of John Wayne Airport and had $65 million in 2014 revenue.
New Agency for BJ’s
BJ’s Restaurants Inc. in Huntington Beach hired Carmichael Lynch as its advertising agency of record.
“Carmichael brings a proven record of helping brands reach unimaginable heights with that hard to find balance of fully integrated capabilities and big, brand building ideas,” said Kevin Mayer, BJ’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “With our aggressive growth trajectory, they were the perfect fit for our brand.”
The Minneapolis-based agency will handle strategy, media planning and buying, creative, social media and digital, and analytical duties. It worked on an audience research project for BJ’s that was extended to the agency-of-record assignment.
The restaurant chain previously worked with boutique advertising firm Rule of Three in Emeryville and strategic agency Emaxx Partners in Irvine, among others.
“We’ve gone from a decentralized model of 8+ smaller agencies to working only with Carmichael Lynch as our AOR, [Dextro & Sinistro Inc. in San Diego] for design, and [Saputo Design in Westlake Village] on a project level,” Mayer said.
He didn’t disclose the value of the new contract but said the company’s 2015 marketing budget will be bigger than last year’s.
Bits & Pieces
Martha Parham is set to leave her post as Coast Community College District’s director of public affairs on Jan. 30 to join the American Association of Community Colleges in Washington, D.C., as vice president of marketing and public relations. … Huntington Beach resident and swimmer Jurgen Schmidt, 92, is featured in Speedo USA’s marketing campaign, “Fueled by Water,” created by Culver City-based agency Hello Design. … The 160over90 agency in Newport Beach created the TV spot for the University of Oregon that debuted on Jan. 1 during its Rose Bowl game against Florida State University. … Mitsubishi Electric US Inc. signed PGA Tour golfer Miguel Ángel Jiménez as its brand ambassador. It’s the Cypress-based company’s “first global, corporate, player sponsorship.”
