barclaycard + the mill: rollercoaster.

In 2008, BBH London created a refreshing and beautifully executed spot for Barclaycard called “Waterslide.” For 2010 they’re back at it, this time with a Nicolai Fuglsig-directed spot called “Rollercoaster.” If you’re wondering what it’s about, the title is pretty self-explanatory.

Created by VFXperts (I just made that term up, I’m not sure I like it, but I’ll keep it for now…) The Mill, the spot is sharp, tight, fearless, and seamless. But despite the technical radness, the best part is that it really does capture the joy behind the idea. It looks good enough to be real and so it feels good enough to be real.

And they were even nice enough to put up a killer making-of vid. I’m always blown away by the level of detail and skill that goes into making motion design of this calibre, and it’s totally worth checking out the process behind “Rollercoaster.”

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Via Motionographer

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david shrigley for pringle of scotland.

David Shrigley is an animation and illustration icon. One of the few animators whose work is so individual that you can usually immediately recognize it’s Shrigley from a single still, his sparsely drawn, seemingly haphazard illustration work is  legendary.

I was a little surprised and worried when I came across a video by Shrigley for luxury knitwear brand Pringle of Scotland. In January I’d seen on one of my favourite blogs, Kitsune Noir, that Pringle had commissioned one of my favourite photographers, Ryan McGinley, to make a film showcasing the Spring/Summer 2010 line that featured the terrifyingly austere Tilda Swinton wandering the misty Scottish highlands in various knits. To me, it was dull and, while beautiful, a waste of McGinley’s phenomenal talents. I was nervous that Shrigley’s work wouldn’t shine either.

I didn’t need to worry. Not only is the video quintessential Shrigley, but it’s totally entertaining; I laughed out loud more than once. Turns out Pringle of Scotland has a refreshing sense of humour, not only about itself but about the entire fashion industry, and they’re not afraid to show it.

Via Motionographer

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dark igloo + the pump: do you eat crap?

Last time I was in New York, we stumbled onto The Pump. We were hungry, we were in a hurry, and we’re the kind of assholes who’d rather starve than eat non-organic bison. Luckily The Pump took care of all of that with a killer menu of organic, healthy, chic “fast food.”

I’m hyped to see that their marketing is as savvy and aware as their menu. Their new witty, satirical, retro-tinged online promo vid subtly taps into part of a larger conversation that been evolving the last few years; of what exactly we’re eating, where it’s coming from, and what it’d doing to us. I’d never really looked at the side of a cereal box until I started reading the frighteningly enlightening work of Michael Pollan. His best-sellers “In Defense Of  Food” and “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” (both highly recommended, by the way) are at the forefront of a social rediscovery of “food.”

Created by Dark Igloo,  “Do You Eat Crap?” speaks to the new food movement with a series of snappy, detailed parodies of a whole series of food ads from the last few decades. The cheese spot above is my fave – it’s a perfect throwback to those ’80s, Doyle Dayne Bernbach-esque copy-heavy prints ads, right down to the font. Oh, what I would give to have been a copywriter during the glory days of long copy. A boy can dream…

To me the best part of the spot is that it’s informed by the growing hyper-awareness of food culture but it’s not sanctimonious in its stance. In fact, the video is totally hilarious, but the more interesting bit to me is that I don’t think the real meaning layered behind the humour would have been possible even five years ago. People just weren’t aware enough. While I think it would be still be funny no matter, what really makes it so killer is that it’s a total insider wink to its target: people who are willing to spend $15 on an organic, free-range lunch  and who want to feel like they’re in on the joke everyone eating at Burger King isn’t. And those people, myself among them, like to be winked at.

Via Kitsune Noir

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daniel kleinman + plane stupid: polar bear.

Ok, so first off, holy fuck! Secondly, this is really not very subtle. I’m not sure when polar bears became the sole animal mascot for global warming (I get it, ice caps melting and all, they’re relatively close to panda bears, but still…) Thirdly, the connection between the carbon footprint of your flight equating to the weight of a polar bear is a little tenuous for me and the message isn’t insightful, just shocking and heavy-handed. But, back to my original thought, which was… holy fuck! It affected me enough to post it, so there must be something going on. Or maybe I’m just stressed out now. Holy fuck.

No holds barred work for the Plane Stupid campaign from Mother London, directed by Daniel Kleinman and produced by Rattling Stick.

Via Feed

syfy channel + brett foraker: house of imagination.

We’ve got helium-filled wild animals, a remote controlled dinosaur, origami unicorns, and Lou Diamond Phillips. This house party is the shit.

The Sci Fi Channel has rebranded into the SyFy Channel. Tying in with their new tag, “Imagine Greater”, they’ve kicked off the rebrand with an absolutely kick ass new trailer and accompanying website, “House of Imagination.”

Directed by 4Creative’s Brett Foraker and with post from Moving Picture Company.

Via Feed

adidas originals + kosai sekine: split up service.

I first started following Japanese director Kosai Sekine after I saw his stellar vid for Jemapur’s “Maledict Car.” He does that whole light-filled-Tokyo-nothing-is-ever-as-it-seems-here vibe so well. His work has a sheeny, clean vibe and always feels like it moving down a very, very fast highway.

I don’t even know where to start on Adidas anymore. It’s my favourite brand in the world. I’ve spent a lot of time raving about how much I love Adidas (here, here, here, here… here, and here, too. oh, and here. and here and here… and one more here).

So yeah. Will someone at Adidas please hire me already?

When Adidas Originals UK and Kosai Sekine teamed up to make “Split Up Service” I knew it was guaranteed win. And so it is:

martin de thurah + ikea: home.

This is a match made in advertising heaven. The brilliant Martin de Thurah (whose recent vid for Fever Ray’s “When I  Grew Up” kicked some serious ass…) worked with advertising innovator and fearless marketers Ikea (who, besides having a history of working with the world’s best directors also promote tolerance and human rights with their forward-thinking depictions of “families” – check out my post on their hilarious and controversial ‘Tidy Up” campaign) to create “Home.” 

This gorgeous ad is a perfect example of what advertising can and should be: simple, beautiful, artistic, and willing to slowly draw you in until you wonder what’s going on instead of bashing you over the head in fear that you won’t get it. 

I really need to move to Sweden.

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(Agency: Robert/Boisen & Like-Minded. Post: Duckling.)

 

Via No Fat Clips!

hardcuore: suco de laranja 100% fruta.

When I first saw this sweet little stop motion vid I loved it (I’m a total sucker for anything involving a Rubick’s Cube) but luckily by beautiful Brazilian friend Kelly explained what was going on for me. Do Bem is a Brazilian orange juice brand, animated by Breno Pineschi and Rafael Cazes at Hardcuore.

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diem chau + publicis hal riney: crayons.

I don’t know anything about U.S. Cellular except they have a really boring, literal company name. I am impressed, though, with their new Publicis & Hal Riney created spot “Crayons.” Way impressed.

Taking the incredible crayon sculptures of Diem Chau, melting them, and then rolling the film backwards, the rainbow pools of wax climb back up into works of art. Visually, it’s a poetic and beautiful metaphor for something as dull as backing up your mobile phone contacts.

(Agency: Publicis & Hal Riney. Director: Tim Godsall Post: Biscuit Filmworks.)

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patrick hughes: signs.

So I’m a little behind the curve on this one, because it’s already topped one million YouTube views, but I just found it. And it’s cute. Really cute. The perfect balance of cute that girls will swoon and guys won’t feel emasculated for feeling its undeniable cuteness. 

Directed by @RadicalMedia’s Patrick Hughes for the Schweppes Short Film Festival, this is some high-end classy ass online marketing. Sure, it’s for Schweppes  – no denying that – but it’s just so… cute! If you’re going to pretend to put on your own film festival, it either has to be so grassroots amateur grimy that people thing real people did it or it has to be like this: beautifully shot, nicely soundtracked, and emotionally impactful.

This is a quality little short – and it mostly made me believe that maybe Schweppes is a brand that creates art for the sake of art and not for promotion… until I saw the fucking product shot at 6:30. WTF? Why? WHY?? It totally pulled me out of the story. It’s like everyone at the table totally got what was going on, but then there was one old dinosaur Marketing VP who insisted there be a product shot. If they thought they could sneak it in there with nobody calling cheese, they were wrong. 

But it’s so cute, I forgive them.