Great initiative from Stella Artois out of Mother NY. In the spirit of Christmas Stella has created a rather lovely Christmas Jazz album (think more Diana Krall, less fucking Bublé). It’s a free download, cute little site, and definately gets you into the festive spirit. Get over to Under The Holiday Star to pick up your copy.
An interesting experiment here from Playstation Store. To promote the website and concept of ‘Great Films Fill Rooms‘, Studio Output and Marshmallow Laser Factory have created 3 virals. The trick is that all of these spots are created in real time. The contrast of human interaction (with the strange mimes directing props in varied directions) and the admittedly impressive digital visuals is at times pretty jarring. You could make an argument that a concept like this removes the ‘magic’ of creating ads like this, (see Brylcreem ad from a few years back), but, the visuals themselves, and the general spirit of the executions helps it win out.
Here’s the other two. Transformers and Pirates Of The Caribbean.
So over at the (recently discovered) Design Chapel blog, North Kingdom founder Robert Lindström gives us a detailed breakdown of their new work (in collaboration with Forsman & Bodenfors) for Volvo. Volvo Cross Country Travels is a multi platform experience that brings to life 25 of the most spectacular adventures in Scandinavia.
To be honest, Robert’s detailed breakdown on his own blog does a far superior job than I ever could of explaining the reasoning behind each creative decision. I want to focus on what a fully realised, and excellent project this is. Every single touchpoint; the awesomely well executed website, (which acts in it’s own right as the best tourist guide to Scandinavia you’ll find on the web), which works seemlessly across tablet and mobile platforms, to the films shot for each experience, are flawlessly executed.
The sense of an adventure is enhanced by the smaller touches of integration through the experience. The badges (see below) are cute touch that work across your digital prescence, e.g checking into Foursquare, and integrated into Google Maps as well as being real world objects, collectable in the same way that scout badges were for us as kids. It’s a little thing, that makes a huge difference to the overall effect.
This is always what you imagine a Volvo car should be doing, even though it’ll spend most of it’s time ferrying the kids to and from school and that’s some pretty powerful brand association. This project also shows (obviously you might say) the value of attention to detail in cross platform delivery and is another excellent example of a maturation of interactive experiences in 2011.
Kudos to all involved.
This is one of the smartest things I’ve seen recently, and, by proxy, one of the most inspiring. Ana Andjelic, a planner (and visual thinker – her words) based in NYC, recently scored a pretty plum gig at everyone’s super-cool-boutique-agency-not-named-Anomaly®, Droga5.
Now, Droga5 aren’t mugs, they probably get resume’s from dozens and dozens of people every day, touting there wares with varying degrees of zaniness and blandness. Cutting through that noise takes smarts. So how do you cut through?
Well, having a strong social presence is usually a good start, but more than that, you need to illustrate your value, and your point of view, in an interesting and compelling way. Ana got this spot on by presenting herself, her story and her work in a clear, and smart narrative. Her presentation lets you really get an understanding of not just what you are buying (skills), but also the personality behind those skills.
You might think this might sound like the most obvious thing in the world to do. And it is. But it’s so much harder to achieve in practice. It’s easy to get lost into a rabbit hole where the work we do defines us as people within the industry, whereas, the people we are, the influences we have, and things we do beyond the walls of work are actually as crucial, if not more important, because they help make the work better, because we embrace the very things that make us better at our jobs. Culture.
This presentation, helped me remember that. Offered clarity. Thanks Ana for your generosity, and good luck in your new role. (Sending something your way now…)
A couple of cute ads from CPB promoting their ‘Back to College’ packages of Windows 7 and an xBox. Not the easiest brief I suspect, which makes the use of MasterChief from the Halo series not only a smart strategic thought, but opens up the opportunity for some nice executions see here above. Check ‘em out.
(Via Agency Spy)
Well, Cannes Lions 2011 has passed. Another chapter in Advertising’s sordid history with booze and awards has been written. This is the first Cannes I’ve followed intensely, helped along my road to jealousy by Instagram especially among other usual suspects. However, the quality of work on show was excellent, and there were some really inspiring pieces that were awarded beyond the obvious ones that we all know and *love* (and therefore don’t have to mention here).
But the real interesting action seemed to be happening in the margins. Both in development of applications surrounding the festival, and also in critiques of the Lions relevancy. Friends, Creative Social put in a good effort with their work of Instacanneslions, as well as the ‘Gutter Barometer’, but also providing one of the most thoughtful posts on the whole Cannes scene and some great behind the scenes thoughts from the judging panels.
There was also a healthy round of talks, symposiums and what-nots to feed the hungry mind, (though not neccesarily the thirsty Rosé palette or fresh seafood deprived tastebuds). With that in mind, @jessedee has compiled the 100 most beautiful slides from Cannes. Not only are some of these well put together (which makes a change), they are also informative, and worth a perusal at your leisure.
Enjoy.
Last month, was the first ‘Creative Social Presents’ event. I originally was going to blog about the night in as much detail as I could remember through the slightly drunken post-event haze, but, the guys at the Social have done the hard work and created a great little summary over at their website. Which luckily, now includes a short video summary too! (Posted above)
As ever, the night it proved to be a useful, fun and a thought provoking semi-anarchic alternative to the seemingly endless treadmill of conventions and talks, which can be a bit of a circle jerk these days…
No doubt the provocative title of the night helped fuel debate, and opposing perspectives. Highlights such as the “greatest animated gif of all time” an exploding dog, the obilgatory ‘Haters Gonna Hate’ image, and the underused phrase ‘eugoogilization of the internet’ showed that the internet was still as irreverent as you wanted it to be, but also undergoing it’s maturation as a medium, not just a distraction tool. But, it is everyone’s to use in their own way. ”We Are The Internet” (As Nathan pointed out) serves as a short, fitting way to describe where and what the Internet is. As fun, or as serious or as useful, or as irrenverent as it needs to be for you and your peers.
You can find the complete presentations over at Slideshare.
Via Creative Social.