January 7, 2010
Kareem Black Captures “The Scent of Seduction” for Burger King
The Communication Arts 50th anniversary Advertising Annual is out! Juror Paul Little, Creative Director at TBWA/Vancouver, said “…the most innovative work is in the online and integrated categories.” One of the big winners in the integrated categories is Crispin Porter + Bogusky’s “The Flame” body-spray campaign for Burger King. The campaign was accompanied by wild postings, online banners, live TV commercials and an online and mobile tool at firemeetsdesire.com, a site designed to help you get your game on once you got your “flame on.”
B&A is proud to announce that Kareem Black has recently joined the agency. New artist Kareem Black shot the print component of CP+B’s Burger King campaign, capturing Burger King’s spokesperson “The King” in various alluring tableaus where he beckons the viewer to experience ”The Flame” body spray scent. With a hint of flame broiled meat, the scent is sure to drive some people to the point of salivation.
During the initial creative talks with CP+B, Black was incredulous about the entire concept. “They asked me to shoot an ad for a beef-scented body spray, I figured that they were just joking around,” says Black. Putting his disbelief aside, Black flew out to Boulder, Colorado to shoot “The King.” Since this was the debut of “The King’s” bare chest, a special casting was done in order to find a model with the right mixture of chest hair and muscles. Explains Black, “We were trying to design the scene like the Burt Reynolds Playgirl spread from the 70′s. The story was that this was The King’s love den and he was inviting the viewer to come-hither.”
The image of The King scantily strewn along a bearskin rug against a warm fire in a rustic cabin was posted all over cities at the beginning of 2009. Black followed up the advertisement with an image that further boosted The King’s virile image. This time, Black shot on location in the honeymoon suite of a couple’s resort in the Poconos, NY. The King sits in a heart-shaped tub with lit candles and rose petal accents. The second advertisement debuted in time for Valentine’s Day.
The absurdity of the situation stayed with Black until he saw the final advertisements running. “Why is the Burger King mascot selling body spray? For the same reason he’s playing football,” said Black, referring to another of Crispin’s subversive ads for Burger King where The King nonchalantly runs down the football field. “Crispin’s Burger King ads are hilarious, innovative, strange, scary, and unique… they leave you with a question mark, but you always remember them.”
-Helen Shih
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Bernstein & Andriulli is excited to welcome Kareem Black to the agency, check back for more news about Kareem! View more of his work here.
