Vans Inc. in Cypress kicked off its year-long 50th birthday celebration with a new logo to accompany “special product releases” that showcase its “timeless design and innovation.”
The youth apparel and footwear brand’s actual birthday bash will be held on March 16, with “immersive” music and art events in Hong Kong, Canada and Mexico, at House of Vans in London and New York, and at a celebration in Austin during the South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival.
Vans, a division of VF Corp. in Greensboro, N.C., also launched its seventh annual Vans Custom Culture competition, which invites high school art teachers to “register their school to compete against thousands of other students, creating custom designs using blank Vans shoes as their canvas.” The winning submission will receive a $50,000 donation from Vans “to help foster the school’s Right To Art movement,” and one design may be produced for sale at select Vans retail locations and Vans.com. About 3,000 schools entered the competition last year.
Taco Big Game Drama
Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp. said it will unveil “its biggest food creation yet” in an ad during the upcoming Super Bowl. Deutsch LA created the 30-second spot, which will air during the first quarter of the game.
The new product’s makeup remains to be seen.
“We can’t wait to share the with,” said Taco Bell Chief Concept and Brand Officer Chris Brandt in a “not-so-helpful” teaser of a news release that featured redactions of key descriptions. “We’ve taken delicious and placed it to create the next craveable food innovation you can only get at Taco Bell. After months of it’s finally time for everyone to get the chance to try the new for themselves.”
The fast-food restaurant chain then issued another release, this time explaining its game plan—sort of.
“We aren’t revealing details of our spot until the big game, but we will have ways for our fans to engage with us in the weeks leading up to Super Bowl 50.” Brandt said. “This build up will pay off with one of the most exciting announcements from the Taco Bell brand to date.”
Separately, the restaurant chain’s Taco Bell Foundation said it will award $1 million in scholarships to young adults this year. The Live Más Scholarship, not based on grades or achievements in sports, will support “the next generation of innovators, creators and dreamers.” Students are asked to create and submit a video that tells Taco Bell “the story of your life’s passion.”
Adrian for Ritz-Carlton
Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International said it will honor The Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel with a Gold Adrian Award for Digital Marketing Excellence next month at its 59th annual Adrian Awards ceremony.
The luxury hotel was commended for growing its Facebook community size by 57,524 fans for a total of 86,816 and increasing engagement month-over-month by “pushing out relevant and gripping content.”
Grupo Gallegos Project Work
Huntington Beach-based multicultural agency Grupo Gallegos worked with Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore., on the latest TurboTax campaign.
It created Spanish-language versions of the ads that feature physics masterminds helping Average Joe use the software to file taxes.
The agency called on Franklin Chang Diaz, a Costa Rica native, mechanical engineer, physicist and former NASA astronaut to help a father claim his sons as dependents. The 30-second ad, called “It doesn’t take a genius to do your taxes,” shows Diaz walking into the backyard where the children are playing basketball while their dad is using his phone to file taxes. He asks, “Tienes hijos?/Do you have children?” The dad looks up at his sons and then clicks on a Turbo Tax icon confirming he’s eligible for the deduction.
Diaz does miss a shot at the basket, claiming, “It’s too high.”
Bits and Pieces
BeachCandy Swimwear in Corona del Mar will provide swimwear for Miss California Pageant contestants … Irvine-based Column Five Media hired Bill Dube as senior vice president of business development, a new position. Dube, whose latest post was as regional vice president of sales at PR Newswire, will perform similar duties for Column Five’s sister company, Visage.
