adland.tv

Fiat Photobomb Prank

kidsleepy — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:45:50 +0000

Everybody's talking about Fiat's OMG THEY DIDN'T photobomb. They parked in front of the Volkswagen offices, and waited till the Google Street View peeps rode by. And then KAPOW. Take that, Volkswagen. There's a Fiat 500 in front of your office on Google street view. For like a year!
In yo face! This is not a Beetle!

But in my mind, it could have been better. Because you could have swapped any small car with a vaguely rounded top for a Fiat 500, and it would have been the same. More importantly, beyond an elaborate prank that no one will likely see again, what did this accomplish? I can't imagine a lot of consumers getting on Google maps to see where the Swedish VW offices are.

I also think they missed a golden opportunity here to write something like "Ever wonder how the Volkswagen employee drives to the Volkswagen office?"

You know...just to parody a little bit of history.

VW Snow plow commercial

Audi A6 - Alien - (2012) :30 (USA)

Dabitch — Thu, 24 May 2012 03:03:35 +0000

"I have proof my dad's a space alien"

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

HUSH Signs Powerful Visual Force in Yang

trust — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:43:27 +0000

Following an extended run freelancing with the company, Erik Yang has joined HUSH's roster. The signing, which follows the recent additions of Head of Production Ryan McGrath and Designer Evan Anthony, adds a brand design specialist whose experience includes work with Syfy, ABC, MTV, Toyota, American Express, the New York Public Library and Art Directors Club.

Erik is out strong already working on a rapidly growing concept and installation project for Nike, environmental and digital design projects for two notable fashion brands, and concept development for digital experiences.

With strong portfolios in environmental/architectural design, branding/identity and motion/Web, Erik impressed HUSH before he'd even stepped into their facility. "We were blown away not only by the quality of the portfolios, but by the fact that there were three, and they were all strong," noted HUSH Creative Partner David Schwarz. "Even the design of the portfolios themselves was slick. We saw a great design mind instantly and couldn't wait to get him involved."

Erik did not disappoint. The day he started, he had an idea for a concept pitch. The rest of the crew went off to pull references and comp together some frames in Photoshop, only to find Erik cutting out complex geometric forms in paper and taping them together into a structural version of his idea. "This guy was different," laughed Schwarz. "Why render it in 3D when you can just build the damn thing? We hung it on the wall."

"I hope that, with my craft-oriented toolkit, I'll be a great complement to the talent in place at HUSH," stated Erik. "The crew has amazing technical skills that can make anything come to life. My role is to inform that technical wizardry from a design standpoint and bring out the best in everyone."

New York Lottery - The Arrival - (2012) :30 (US)

trust — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:41:17 +0000

The VFX wizards at MPC recently teamed up with Skunk directing team Ne-O via DDB NY to conjure an army of magical little blue-suited folks for a New York Lottery spot. The studio handled color grading and all VFX work.

The Arrival opens on a day just like any other, as a man travels from the suburbs to the city for work. But wait - what's that behind the bushes? Peaking over the subway rail? Riding by in a city bus? Why it's Little Bit of Luck, the beloved NY Lottery character and he's back with some friends. There are now multiple Little Bits of Luck to reinforce that there are nearly a million New York Lottery winners a day. So now there's a little bit of luck for everyone.

"What a great chance to team up with a talented directing team like Ne-O on a whimsical, fun spot," noted MPC NY MD Justin Lane. "It was a tremendous amount of work to pull this off, each shot presented its own challenges as the spot grew in complexity and size. While we aimed at maintaining a lighthearted feel, we also needed everything to be precise and seamless to make the spot feel as real as possible."

MPC's principal task was to integrate the little guys with their green screen heads. MPC's Creative Director Alex Lovejoy explains, "Having collaborated with Ne-O on the famous VW Singing In The Rain commercial, Ne-O and our team knew exactly how to best approach a project this complex. Detailed measurements and reference passes from the shoot proved invaluable on the green screen set, where we made rough composites to check lighting and camera positions. Some 80 heads later and it was back to MPC for some serious comping!" The studio finished off the spot with CG crowd duplication to portray a city landscape packed with Little Bits of Luck both walking and sailing through the air with 3D parachutes as MPC-generated confetti floats to the ground. When it came time for color grading, MPC evened everything out with a technical grade and then ran a final tape-to-tape session to blend it all together.

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

Mazda - Better, Stronger, Smarter - (2012) :60

trust — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:38:28 +0000

The crossover vehicle is still trying to figure itself out - is it a large car? A small SUV? Something in between? jumP LA Editor Patrick Griffin, working with Smuggler Director Filip Engstrom and The Mill, tackles this riddle in a humorous and engaging story of a spot introducing Mazda's new CX-5 crossover.

Better, Stronger, Smarter, borrowing music from and paying visual homage to 1970s hit TV series The Six Million Dollar Man, opens on a beaten-up jalopy sailing across the desert, its multi-colored doors falling off and tumbling into the dust trail behind it. As the hood pops off in a geyser of sparks and the dumbfounded driver pulls the gear shift right off the frame, the narrator assails the current generation of crossovers as a mish-mosh of compromises that have created vehicles suitable for nobody.

Shift scenes to Mazda's state-of-the-art labs, where an armada of white suit coats labors tirelessly to create the CX-5. Griffin delivers a parade of images portraying the staff at work behind elaborate testing machines, clocks, gauges, and giant computer screens, until they kick out their new creation, a "crossover without compromise."

"I was a huge fan of the Six Million Dollar Man growing up, so it was really fun for me to cut this spot," noted Griffin. "The biggest challenge we faced here was cutting all the funny footage that Filip shot down to a coherent 60."

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

Honda - Imagine - (2012) :60 (US)

trust — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:35:28 +0000

Santa Monica, Calif., May 21, 2012 - To bring attention to Honda's unique corporate culture rooted in racing and the manufacturer's affiliation with IZOD IndyCar®, a campaign and sweepstakes recently began starring world-renowned driver Mario Andretti. Developed by Honda's long-standing agency, RPA, the work communicates Honda's racing spirit and the advanced technology and performance found in the Honda vehicles.

A TV spot, "Imagine," features Andretti in a two-seater IndyCar® driving a passenger. The voice-over encourages viewers to visit http://shophonda.com to enter the "Fastest Seat in Sports" sweepstakes to win a ride at the start of an IndyCar® race with Andretti. In the spot, a man is encouraged to envision "winning something really cool," but his lack of ambition leads him through a variety of increasingly comical scenes like a roomful of half-naked bodybuilders and a chaotic paintball course. The spot uses compelling imagery to convey the ultimate experience-a ride with Andretti.

A 60-second version will first air during the Indy 500, and a 30-second version began airing April 1 to promote the sweepstakes. A video showing the making of "Imagine" is on Honda's YouTube channel. Spots will air through September. The campaign also includes web banners, POP and social media.

The "Fastest Seat in Sports" sweepstakes gives race enthusiasts the opportunity to win a ride in the IZOD IndyCar® two-seater driven by Andretti at one of 12 races for the 2012 IndyCar® season. For the first time, this year's sweepstakes prizes include rides in the Indy 500 and two international races in Brazil and China.

"Honda is offering race fans one of the most exciting opportunities in all of sports fandom," said Richard Kent, senior manager, marketing at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "Look for the specially made 2-seater leading the pack on Sun, May 27 while the field takes the green flag."

Honda is further reinforcing its high-performance racing programs led by Honda Performance Development with additional integrated creative that communicates Honda's pride as a partner of the IZOD IndyCar® Series. Assets will run on TV, homepage takeovers, banners on sites such as ESPN, Fox Sports and Sports Illustrated and in print and drive traffic to http://hondaracing.com.

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

Toyota Yaris - Friends - (2012) :30 (Puerto Rico)

Dabitch — Wed, 23 May 2012 09:42:10 +0000

Man finds and saves a furry cyclops from drowning, now they'll be best friends forever. Or....?

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

RAF pilots land on beach, just to get Magnum ice-cream

Dabitch — Wed, 23 May 2012 08:15:21 +0000

Todays punniest headline; "Just chopping out for an ice cream", thanks to ever-punning The Sun. They report that RAF pilots landed a helicopter on a beach just to get some Magnum ice-creams. Somewhere in the Magnum marketing offices, a bunch of suits are high-fiving each other right now.

@Mister_Wang notes it would ave been perfect had it been a Klondyke bar.

Pass The Bottle: Wines With Friends

kidsleepy — Mon, 21 May 2012 22:27:19 +0000

Organic and Constellation Wine bring you a new app, designed to pair your friends with wine, rather than food or some elitist reason.

Pass the Bottle aims to make use of the millennial generation's social media pastime and learn something about wine by allowing them to talk about their favorite subject: themselves.

The app acts as a "social sommelier," by pairing your friends' personalities with one of ten appropriate wines on offer. If your wine knowledge doesn't go beyond "red" and "white," you'll start thinking about wine differently after you use the app. You might even win two Lollapalooza tickets or some discounts, too.

And really, what makes more sense as a way to describe a wine's personality?
"It's sweet, playful and spontaneous," or "A precocious wine with a hint of tobacco. Has early charms. Later it evolves into rich tobacco."

And while oenophiles who like the taste of tannin and tobacco will see this as akin to choosing an architect based on one's favorite Seinfeld episode, they aren't the demographic this time. And considering the mid-shelf price points, this isn't their wine, either.

It is, however, the right idea for the right demographic. Now pass me the bottle. Preferably a Syrah.

You're addicted to Facebook

kidsleepy — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:19:02 +0000

Over on Rehab International's blog is an infographic showing how big the dreaded Facebook Addiction Disorder really is.

Some choice factoids after the jump:

According to the infographic, Americans spent 53,457,258,000 minutes on Facebook in one month of 2011. That's a total of 100,000+ years.

Facebook is also a cause of stress. As apparently deleting friends, and the constant stress of coming up with witty status updates is bringing us down.

And finally, Alcohol, tobacco sleep and sex are easier to resist than FB.
(Note to FB community, and I know my Adland lady love agrees with me on this:
if Facebook is more interesting than sex, you're doing it wrong.)

The rehab site even has tips for combating social media addiction. Such as admitting you have a problem and then logging off. And defriending Mark Zuckerberg.

Jokes aside, computers and electronics have always been a problem. Just witness this harrowing PSA from 1982 starring none other than Lily Tomlin, bravely admitting her struggles with Pac-Man.

I heard she fell off the wagon recently, after Diablo 3 came out. Remember kids, the only way to to stay sober is to stay on the wagon.
Besides, if today's Facebook stock decline is any indication, it's not a very good high.

Delta pulled ads from the Daily Show over 'vagina mangers' skit due to pressure from CNNBelief

Dabitch — Sun, 20 May 2012 12:38:03 +0000

Delta airlines pulled their ads from the Daily Show due to the skit called :"The Battle for the War on Women". It seems to me that Delta are punishing Stewart for being funny, and standing up for women at the same time. God forbid. God? Well, actually, it's the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights - their blog is here - a conservative group that has waged a weeks-long campaign pressuring Stewart to apologize for the skit. In turn they pressured Delta and other Comedy Central advertisers to pull their Daily Show ads. With Delta, they succeeded.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

The Battle for the War on Women

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

The Daily Show on Facebook

Catholic League President Bill Donohue has encouraged a boycott of Kellogg’s because it has declined to pull its spots. On Tuesday, Donohue announced that he’d sent a letter to the leadership at Viacom, the corporate parent of Comedy Central, which airs “The Daily Show.”
“You should be as offended as we are,” the letter said. “But if you are not, consider a picture of your own mother inserted there instead. Perhaps you now understand how the 80% of the nation that is Christian feel.”
“What Stewart did wasn’t a joke,” Donohue’s letter continued. “It was hate speech. We could have pressed for him to be fired, but we did not. All we want is an apology.”

The Catholic League are on twitter here, @cnnbelief, if anyone fancies extending an apology. Meanwhile I'm picturing my mom in old sexist Delta ads and muttering "you've come a long way baby" while growling. Don't mind me. I'm the war of vagina mangers trenches, fighting.

I'm down with TP on the FB

kidsleepy — Sun, 20 May 2012 05:27:28 +0000

A little backstory. Cottonelle had a problem on its hands. People who bought moist wipes were keeping them out of view in the bathroom, down in the cabinets somewhere. So they were forgetting about them and not going through them fast enough.

Cottonelle’s solution was simple: Make moist wipes part of your daily ass-wiping regimen as opposed to a some-time thing. And create a social media space where fans could share their thoughts on moist toilet paper wipes. To Cottonelle’s credit, they crowd-sourced the name of their product care routine. Genius, huh?!

Let's take a look at the success rate. Cottonelle has nearly 137,000 likes. Boom! And 994 people talking about them. (Whatever that means.)

Oh, that’s not enough for you?

Fine, fine. Cottonelle’s Try it and Name It app is a stunning success. Facebook Super Fans are engaging like gangbusters. Just listen to some of the amazing names that have been posted for consideration:

The not so brown star.
Butthole blaster.
The Federation Has Finally Defeated The Klingons.

Social Media Gurus: 1 Doubters: 0!

Now, it hasn’t all been smelling like roses. A lot of Facebook users are posting their names to Cottonelle’s wall. But they're supposed to go through the app. This is elemental. Just like everyone knows in order to see something from a brand on Facebook you usually have to like the page first, thereby inflating the numbers of ‘fans.’ Duh!

Unfortunately, the engagement Cottonelle has with its Super Fans sound more like this:

Nice name! Go to the Name Generator tab and enter your idea there.

Or this when a complaint comes up:

We are sorry. Please try calling Consumer Services at this number: 1-888-525-8388 for assistance.

Then there are these comments:

CHARMIN toilet paper all the way.... Sorry I dislike Cottonelle

How do I unlike this crappy advertising for toilet paper? Come on guys...Cottonelle as a product is garbage.

I've always used Charmin, i've been brought up with it.

This last one suggests that people can “like” a brand offline. As if branding had to take years instead of weeks. Ha ha ha ha ha! Maybe in the 1950’s.

But let’s not just point out the haters. One person, (emphasis on one) posted this gem:

Congratulations to Cottonelle for getting people to be social and share information about something so personal! Nice Job!! :)

How nice of them! Of course, after a two minute google search, I discovered the person works in social media and probably isn't a true fan. But that’s okay! They get it! : )

Now here's the bad news. Sorry Cottonelle, but you have some competition from European Toilet Paper company Renova. You may own the Wipe Regimen Naming category but these Euro folks have cornered the market on sexy gourmet toilet paper.

Yep that’s right. Sexy toilet paper in sexy colors. And with a whopping 4,392 likes and 165 people talking, Renova is changing the way we think about toilet paper for good.

Now granted, they don’t engage with their fans that much, but no matter. They are hip and sexy and trendy. And this was true even before Facebook. Just look at their ads.
Suddenly my Charmin Extra Strong just seems inadequate. I must like them on Facebook right now to make up for it.

That’s what happens when you get two toilet paper innovation companies utilizing the latest trends on Facebook. They become stellar examples of social media's power. After this, one realizes how much GM and P&G are missing out by not spending tons of money on paid Facebook ads. They're just not with the latest trends.

And like all things trendy, one has to accept it as being amazing.
And if you don’t agree, well, you clearly don’t get it.

GM stops buying ads on Facebook, keep pages, do they "get" Social Media better than everyone else?

Dabitch — Sat, 19 May 2012 10:11:41 +0000

Soon after the news that GM has pulled all of it's ten million dollars in paid advertising from Facebook, BL Ochman at Adage shows us 11 Boring Things GM Posted on Facebook. By posted she means on their facebook pages, the "free" Facebook advertising space they are not paying ten million dollars to occupy. Ochman argues that GM doesn't get social media, and they never did. I think by yanking the ten million media spend, while keeping their pages, they're showing that they know more than they let on.

Here's an example that Ochman picked off GM's facebook fan page to make her point:

"We're excited to announce the return of a V-8 powered, rear-wheel-drive performance sedan to our robust U.S. lineup, the Chevrolet SS!" (Well, of course you are. Maybe you should ask us if we're excited.)

The bold text is Ochman's comment

Actually, I kinda am exited. The SS will be what GM's NASCAR Sprint Cup car is based on, so this is news exiting to car-geeks. And Nascar geeks, which most ad-people are since it's a sport of really fast billboards circling a lot while we drink beer, ie; all kinds of good. Also its the first time in 17 years that GM announced a rear-wheel drive performance sedan. I'll stop geeking out now, but you get the idea - "advertising is information in the right context", and statements on Facebook fan pages are golden geek-nuggets to the right reader. Not every brand has to be all "Yo dawg", because frankly, I'd freak out a little if Bentley Motors let go of their drool-worthy aspiration pics and started "hanging out" with me on facebook instead.

There's a lot of talk about "friending" brands lately, as if "hanging out" with Kraft macaroni and cheese on a Friday night somehow gets less sad when it's done on a social media page. GM is still making pages, they just aren't buying the ads on the right hand side of Facebooks pages that we are so good at ignoring. Why pay for that space when nobody looks at it? With Facebooks IPO being the biggest tech IPO in history warranting live blogging at Reuters they should pay attention to an advertiser that large walking away from what is Facebooks main income (for now). Soon it'll get hotter, and Facebook can’t just sit on its data goldmine, they'll have to start selling bits of that in another fashion.

Marketers say they are feeling slightly underserved by Facebook, post-campaign. The reason: they are not being provided with enough analysis on their campaign success that ties their 28,000 likes and 500 shares to a verifiable revenue bump.
Fellow Marketing Week columnist, associate professor of marketing and brand consultant Mark Ritson summed it up: “Brands are learning for all the eyes and the likes, it isn’t always delivering the impact. And it’s that last variable that counts.”

P&G have used facebooks fan pages in a successful way, building new branches of their brand with the anti-bullying campaign "Mean stinks" But do they need to advertise as well?

Advertisers keep their strategies and spending levels close to the vest, but in conversations with Ad Age one theme emerged: most major consumer marketers are spending both on Facebook as well as Facebook advertising. But the paid advertising on Facebook is under pressure from other channels that can do the same thing, just cheaper.

The uncertainty of where the income for FB will be generated might be why the facebook stock closed nearly flat in its debut.

A car brand that loves facebook is VW, they created the Fanwagon, a facebook-themed vehicle that volkswagen the netherlands will produce as a one-off edition with the blue and white color-scheme and easy explanations for the privacy settings. Oh funny har har.

Taco Del Mar and Wexley School for Girls go shrimpsurfing

Dabitch — Sat, 19 May 2012 08:35:26 +0000

The lovingly hipster-branded Taco del mar tapped Seattle-based advertising agency Wexley School for Girls to launch their new Shrimp Tostada.

The idea is to make you laugh, as "the only thing Taco Del Mar takes too seriously is their food and their customers."

“We are excited about these spots," says Ian Cohen, Executive Creative Director of Wexley School for Girls. "Taco Del Mar is all about bringing the best Baja style Mexican Food to the world and what better way to tout the Baja than with a surfer."

"Of course our surfer also reflects the fun and quirky aspect of the brand too," says Cohen. "So all in all we hope people grasp the fun of the spots and head to Taco Del Mar for a Tostada."

The spots center around a longboard surfer who can't stop talking about Taco del mar's Shrimp Tostada, on a stage with dolphins and a colorful wave. It can be charmingly quirky, like the dolphins. It can also be "please drop that edit, it doesn't work" like dolphins 3. It can be odd, like dolphins 2.

Taco del mar - Shrimp Tostada - Dolphins

...and it can sometimes veer a little too close to community college acting troupe for comfort. Then again so did the Popchips Ashton Kutcher ads and they were stereotypist+racist to boot.

Taco del mar - Shrimp Tostada - Merchild

But the campaign trots bravely on, repeating the brand name and new product over an over surely will sell some Shrimp Tostadas whether this type of skit is to your liking or not. At least it's not the predictable bite-and-smile, price-quoting, lots of images of food type of ad which for all their naffness, actually move product.

Taco del mar - Shrimp Tostada - Bullhorn

Where's Dave?
Taco Del Mar - Shrimp Tostada / Snorkler

Wexley School for Girls is a Seattle-based marketing and ad agency who calls themselves a '"fan factory," creating and sustaining a lifetime of loyalty and attention among clients and consumers. Since partners and creative directors Ian Cohen and Cal McAllister founded Wexley School for Girls in 2003, Wexley has built a roster of national brands through a an integrated approach that spans traditional, digital, guerrilla, experiential and interactive. Big accounts include Ford, Nike, Wilson Tennis, Taco del Mar, Oberto Beef Jerky, University of Washington, Copper Mountain, Brooks Running, and Microsof

Epic Steps - Free Bradley manning posters running thanks to cause marketing Kickstarter for billboards

kidsleepy — Sat, 19 May 2012 01:02:42 +0000

Depending on your view, Bradley Manning is either a patriot or a traitor for his alleged role in supplying Wikileaks with a bunch of classified documents.

Regardless of the political view, Adland is Adland. So this is interesting as ad news. See, posted this today. It's an ad in support of Bradley Manning with the title "Spotted in DC Today," although it doesn't say where exactly it was spotted. Somewhere in D.C., maybe.

As an ad, it's pretty bad. No way around it. Layout nightmare, the old "definition," headline, the 75+ words of copy, the schizophrenic font sizes, the giant website address, the lack of strong conceptual big idea, and the inception style ad-within-an-ad at the bottom for Epic Step.

Wait. What's Epic Step? Epic Step. . They're apparently a kind of cause marketing Kickstarter for billboards. Neat idea.

For the Manning page on Epic Step, the "about" section describes this particular project as being run by the Bradley Manning Support Network.. They reached their goal of $14,800 for the media buy back in April.
In the comments (scraped and added from their Facebook site) the curator of the page even mentioned he did the right thing and paid $600 to use the Reuters photo of Manning in the ad.

Epic Step seems like its gives the option of setting up a voting system on multiple ads. The winning ad in question received 11,711 votes, compared to another (seen above) with only 200. Hm. Either way it's a pity. The other one is much better designed. Even if it's still borrowing heavily from everyone's favorite oppression fighting symbol, Che.

Note too, that the Facebook comments on the page aren't getting into a political back and forth. Rather, they're giving constructive criticisms on the ads. To wit:

I am worried that the ad texts assume his "guilt."

Another says (assume I'm adding sic, where it's needed): I really think that billboard should specify something in the effect that Bradley Manning did what he sworn to do and that was to protect his country, therefor he keep his promise to his country and to the military.

It's a shame the constructive criticism was ignored. Not that it would have made the layouts or copy better, but these people are offering up some valuable points which should have been at least considered. And these are points coming from people who are most likely not working in advertising.

While I'm sure the person who created the ad isn't worried about making something award winning so much as getting the word out, it still doesn't excuse the fact the ad could have been way more effective if only the person had listened.

And that's a valuable lesson. It never hurts to listen. And this is true whether you're an ad student, a creative director or just someone with a cause. Working in a vacuum is never a good idea.

Is Working Not Working a freelancer's dream come true?

kidsleepy — Fri, 18 May 2012 23:09:13 +0000

A new site designed to streamline the freelancing process is in Beta right now.
Working Not Working was created by Justin Gignac and Adam Tompkins.

The goals of Working Not Working are fantastic : less time spent on self-promotion, more time being creative. It also acts as a way for hiring managers to find, favorite and create their freelance list.

Meanwhile, freelancers create their profile, including title, experience level and day rate. They also earn the equivalent of "mad props," and increase their reputation (and one presumes, their frequency of jobs) in the process.

They only need to sit back and wait to be contacted by a hiring manager. While it may seem like a casting session, it's better than having freelancers start a feeding frenzy by allowing direct initial contact with hiring managers. The goal is to streamline the situation. Not make things worse. And it's still better than the degrading and devaluing crowd sourcing process.

According to Creativity, Gignac and Tompkins' idea of charging Hiring Managers a monthly subscription to use the site, is another goal to deal with the problem of unpaid invoices.

I say, good luck. Vendors clients and agencies are already paying for the work They're just dragging their feet because legally they can. So I'm not sure an extra payment on top of what they already owe will make them pay any faster. But it's a noble effort, anyway.
The rest of the goals sound pretty awesome though. And the site is nicely designed to boot.

Lisbon City Hall - Lisbon's Urban Art Gallery / Street art case - (2012)

Dabitch — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:56:04 +0000

Lisbon is full of street art, such as the work of Alexandre Farto who was commissioned to do the Levi’s Murals for "Go Forth" in Berlin, and lots of other famous names. Lisbon's citizens don't look at the street art as a part of their historical heritage, Lisbon's City Hall tapped Torke to help them change the perception.

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

TBWA/Chiat/Day launch 'content arm' dubbed "Let there be dragons"

Dabitch — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:35:34 +0000

The LA branch of TBWA, home of Lee Clow and countless surfboards, has launched a "content arm" they dubbed "Let there be dragons". It's headed up by veteran producer, Jennifer Golub. Why dragons?

The name of the entity comes from 16th century cartography. Jennifer explains, "When map-makers had to identify uncharted waters, they labeled them, "There be Dragons." We love the challenge of the uncharted waters of new content and new media. We're saying bring on the dragons. We're ready to slay them."

"Content comes in many forms," said TBWA\Worldwide’s Global Director of Media Arts, Lee Clow. "And Jennifer and her team have the ambition, desire, and talent to create more of it. On behalf of brands. And for the world at large."

Ho-kay, with this great team, including the legend Lee Clow, Carisa Bianchi and Rob Schwartz, who all sit on the board as chairmen of Let There Be Dragons, I'm expecting awesomeness out of this. Lets see what they have right now:

project #1 - Dallas-based copywriter Jason Fox started the twitter account Leeclowsbeard, which has 26,000 followers. Let there be Dragons has turned it into a book also titled leeclowsbeard. The book is based on the tweets that are the nuggets of wisdom that Lee Clow once said. How remixed. You can pre-order leeclowsbeard from Amazon now.

project#2 - a total secret. They're "Consulting with Frank Gehry on a confidential project for the renowned architects." Could be anything.

project#3 - www.nkla.org is an initiative of Best Friends Animal Society and is a LA-city wide program to put a stop to the euthanasia of healthy shelter dogs through awareness of adoption and putting a stop to the over population of animals in the first place, by educating and providing subsidized spay and neuter programs.

So why the bus? Oh, they need an office that can move with them, to the next place of business. It's kinda like the A-team but without the soundtrack. Or people in desperate need of help. Or guns. Okay so it's not like the A-team at all. More like the mission impossible squad. Without the mission. This is not my day for analogies.

Carisa Bianchi, President of TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles, commented, “We have an immensely talented pool of individuals with passion projects that they would love to see brought to life. Let There Be Dragons gives a home to those ideas and the opportunity for us to help them realize those projects.”

Also note that Jeff Allsbrook his firm Standard designed the interior of the bus, and Benny Chan took the pretty pictures of it.

McDonald's - Hamburger timetable - Poland

Dabitch — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:39:54 +0000

Mcdonald's and DDB got together with PKP (Polish State Railways) to create this digital updated timetable that showed train departures and measured time until departure in food items from McDonald's one would have time to devour. Instead of hanging out on a boring old platform, travelers took to the McDonald's for a bite to eat.

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

Lufthansa - Anywake app - (2012) (Sweden)

Dabitch — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:47:27 +0000

DDB Stockholm had a brilliant idea for an app that is your regular alarm-clock on the phone, but also a game where you can win discounts on Lufthansa flights to anywhere-but-here that might get you out of boring old Sweden. Then they had another great idea, to animate the case study nicely. Kyoot!

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

H&M's posters with over-tanned Isabeli Fontana gets adbusted in Hamburg.

Dabitch — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:05:59 +0000

H&M's latest sumer bikini campaign with an übertanned Isabeli Fontana has been heavily criticized for promoting an unhealthy obsession with tanning. Even though it's obvious by looking at the entire saturated image and Isabeli Fontana's dark tan that a filter was involved in creating this look.

So a street artist in Hamburg decided to remind everyone who look at the posters that this is the case, and the photoshop tool map has been tacked on to the 48-sheet H&M posters. Witty. We get it. She be photoshopped.

VW Polo - Dad / I'll watch over you - (2012) :90 (UK)

Dabitch — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:39:23 +0000

Protective father's evolving relationship with his daughter goes from sheilding her from rain, to boys and eventually when she is due to fly the nest his protective act is to get her into the safest car he knows.

There's rumbling on the interwebs that the song in this spot is too close of a soundalike to the Beach House song "Take Care".

Update Beach House released a statement on their facebook page that they were approached to licence the song but declined the offer.

Hate to have to address this VW ad story during our release week, but an important part of information wasn't included in the news story. The ad agency actively tried to license "take care" from us for weeks, to which we politely declined. People's comments/ anger should not be directed towards VW or us. It was the ad agency that made these moves. I hope this also clarifies to fans and non- fans just how "take care" and the vw ad song are related. We will release a proper statement weeks from now when we don't have more interesting things to do/ talk about.

Look on the bright side kids, had you not have to address this story during release week, lots of people would not know it was your release week.

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

Canadian Beef Bacon Company - Kosher Bacon - (2012) :30 (Canada)

Dabitch — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:15:53 +0000

Red Lion, and FamilyStyle directors Jon & Torey, went to Israel to find out what people might be willing to give up for a chance at some bacon. Their cigarettes, the red sea, their goat ... and their wife. Hell, they'll even give up candy. For what? Kosher Bacon. Kosher what?

"Of course the idea is very tongue-in-cheek," says Brett Channer, Chief Creative Officer, Red Lion. "We felt comfortable asking it because we are promoting a product that is respectful to the Jewish Culture."

Ah okay. So you've made kosher bacon. Sorta, It's beef, not pig. What mishegoss.

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

Kens Dressing - Heist - (2012) :30

Dabitch — Fri, 18 May 2012 07:21:23 +0000

Watch out for those cute little bunny rabbits. They have sharp teeth. See also Kens Dressing "Guard"

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

Kens Dressing - Guard - (2012) :15

Dabitch — Fri, 18 May 2012 07:20:02 +0000

He may look like a fluffy bunny rabbit, but he's a monster. See also Kens dressing: Heist

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

Taco Del Mar - Shrimp Tostada / Snorkler - (2012) :17 (USA)

Dabitch — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:41:11 +0000

"Hanging with my best friend Dave!"

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

Taco Del Mar - Shrimp Tostada & Dolphins 3 - (2012) :30 (USA)

Dabitch — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:41:11 +0000

Variation on: "You, didn't even try"

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

Taco Del Mar - Shrimp Tostada & Dolphins 1 - (2012) :15 (USA)

Dabitch — Wed, 16 May 2012 21:41:11 +0000

"Why didn't you even.. You didn't even try..."

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

Mayor's Office - Made in New York - (2012) :30 (US)

trust — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:26:36 +0000

The New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment has released its latest Reel Jobs campaign, and the message is clear: this is the place to be, to live, and to work if you want to make TV or movies. The five-spot effort, directed by Artists Company's Mike Rowles, features a skillful edit from Fluid Editorial and beautiful color grading, conform and mastering from Nice Shoes (all three companies are - no surprise - based in NYC).

Each of the five :30s explores a different facet of the city's vibrant film industry, unfolding in a rippling split-screen montage of stunning city scenes, interviews, and action shots. The Kirshoff family talks about the city's gorgeous scenery while calmly blowing up an SUV. Christina discusses her Queens, NY roots and the network of NYC-based suppliers who help her create sets for Gossip Girl. Manny, a self-styled special-ops soldier of the TV and film industries, prowls the streets in a full-body steadicam mount while waxing poetic about New York's diverse culture. Damon scours New York for shoot locations, reinforcing his claim that the production armies overtaking the streets comprise mostly New Yorkers. John and Lisa explain how local vendors make the elaborate period pieces in the expansive wardrobe they design for HBO's Boardwalk Empire.

"We had some big stories to tell in just 30 seconds," stated Fluid EP Laura Relovsky. "Using a dynamic split screen gave us an awesome vehicle to tell each story and show how magical the city can be for a commercial or film backdrop - plus it allowed us to use as much of Mike's amazing footage as possible. At Fluid, we are constantly pushing the boundaries of visual storytelling, and the delicate balance of multiple images simultaneously appearing onscreen was enormously fun challenge that delivered something most people haven't seen before."

The editorial team of Peter Sabatino, Zeke O'Donnell, Michael Equi and Heather Danosky worked with Nice Shoes' color and finishing artists Chris Ryan, Russ Bigsby, and Vin Roma to deliver the full complement of very complicated spots, a process streamlined considerably by the hands-off, let-the-talent-work attitude of the mayor's office.

As Fluid assembled, Nice Shoes worked on color grading, conforming and mastering the spots, preparing various versions for play in Cinemas, on TV and in NYC taxis. The studio's powerful pipeline allowed them to breeze from color to conform and deliver the finished spots very quickly.

"The biggest challenge for us was trying to deliver a cohesive look to the campaign from so many different editors," said Nice Shoes Senior Producer Pat Portela. "Integrating the small variations within each edit and finessing the montages requires attention to detail and creative insight, but luckily we have the technology and the talent to handle just about anything," said Nice Shoes Colorist and Partner Chris Ryan. "The Baselight is the only system that allowed us to simulate this complex editorial piece and color correct them all at the same time. Being able to work like this was really helpful in executing Mike's vision."

Fluid and Nice Shoes had both worked with Rowles in the past, and the edit company worked especially closely with him throughout the creative process this time, from writing the script to stitching the final spots together. "We have an implicit trust in each other's instincts and talent," noted Fluid Editorial Editor Peter Sabatino. "Mike not only is a great director, but he also respects the insights of the editor, which makes for a very creative and efficient process. He had a vision for these spots and knew that it would be realized by letting the amazing editors at Fluid get to work." Ryan added, "I've been working with Mike since Nice Shoes opened its doors. I've always loved his photography and his aesthetic; he's always interested in experimenting with multiple looks within a single spot. We've always had a good relationship. Even though he's a Detroit Red Wings fan."

Ultimately, the project, with its opportunities to showcase such a broad range of industry talent, delivered a level of personal satisfaction for the production-oriented minds behind its creation. "This is our industry, it's what we do, and what we love," stated Relovsky. "This project felt personal and we were very happy to have a part in telling this story."

Manny first aired at the TriBeCa Film Festival, with the full package of spots running in taxis and in theaters across the city, among other places.

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None

Staples - Screensaver - (2012) - (Argentina)

Dabitch — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:40:37 +0000

She answers the phone "Unlimitech Solutions" and we pan out to find that the office is even worse than the name. It's so bad in fact that the boss asks her to tiden the place up a bit before their visitors arrive, starting with cleaning up her computer desktop. "Screensaver?".. and you know where this suddenly goes, lets try screensaving everything.

Or, you know, you could go to Staples and get a set of matching binders.

Superbowl Commercials Position:

None