Hasta La Creative!

My father owned a Beetle. I’ve owned two VW GTIs and one VW Passat. Volkswagen, it seems, is in our blood. And so it was with great pleasure to see this documentary Toronto-based Red Urban created which tells the 58 years story of VW Beetle VIN #903847.

After stumbling upon archival pictures featuring a man and his 1955 Beetle, Volkswagen Canada along with Red Urban, knew they had a story to tell. Tracking down 82-year old Paul Loofs, the man in the pictures, was just the beginning of a year-long project to bring the story of VIN 903847 to life.

Working closely with director Hubert Davis, of Untitled Films, and Paul Jutras, of Rooster Post, Red Urban created the thirty-minute documentary ‘Once More, The Story of VIN 903847’, which premiered on Discovery Channel and Bravo in January.

Of the project, VW Brand Marketing Manager Lynne Piette said, “We feel that it really speaks to our fans, not only reinforcing the emotional connection so many people have to the brand, but celebrating the truly remarkable stories that so many of our owners have. It is not so much about a single car, although this Beetle is remarkable, it is more about how one car connects so many different people and their experiences, proving itself as The People’s Car.”

When my Dad sold his VW Beetle after owning it for over ten years, I was too young to put up a fight. Were I a bit older, I might have had something to say.

VW Beetle VIN 903857 has 184,000 miles on it and is still on the road. My 1999 VW Passat, VIN WVWMD63B2XE215477, has 204,000 miles on it and it’s still going. It hasn’t been around the world three times and its 204,000 miles consist mostly of mundane interstate travel in the Northeast but it gets me where I need to go. Even if it is leaking oil and making funny creaking sounds when I turn.

Facebook has allowed over 1 billion people to be their most narcissistic selves online. But with a growing segment of its users seeking anonymous venues to express their true selves freely, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has succumbed to market pressures, saying last month that Facebook will be developing apps allowing users to sign in anonymously.

But can users trust that Facebook will uphold their anonymity?

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When they stumbled upon archival pictures of a man and his 1955 Beetle, Volkswagen Canada and Toronto-based agency Red Urban realized they had a story to tell. As it turns out, that story is pretty amazing. They tracked down the man in the photo, Paul Loofs, who has driven the car around the world three times. Amazingly enough, that car is still running.

So Volkswagen Canada and Red Urban teamed up with Academy-nominated director Hubert Davis to tell his story in an (approximately) 30-minute documentary film. That documentary, Once More, The Story of VIN 903847, premiered on Discovery Channel and Bravo in January and is featured above (not a bad way to spend a lunch break). It tells the story of Loof’s unlikely, low-budget solo treks around the globe, which included many obstacles and unexpected, fortuitous events. Loofs eventually sold the car back to Volkswagen for use in an advertising campaign. A man named Emmanuel Thuillier bought the car and tracked down Loofs on the Internet, then surprised him by reuniting him with the vehicle for the first time since 1967.

“We feel that it really speaks to our fans, not only reinforcing the emotional connection so many people have to the brand, but celebrating the truly remarkable stories that so many of our owners have. It is not so much about a single car, although this Beetle is remarkable, it is more about how one car connects so many different people and their experiences, proving itself as The People’s Car,” said Volkswagen Brand Marketing manager, Lynne Piette. The documentary will continue to air on Discovery Channel and Bravo until February, with the following showtimes:

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

(TrendHunter.com) These Disney drinks take what’s good from popular Disney films and mixes them into delicious alcoholic beverages. Whether it’s Cinderella, Maleficent or Snow White, Cocktails by cod has…

If his profile being removed from the leadership page wasn’t proof enough, a phone call has confirmed that John Antinori is no longer at R/GA. Not sure about the details of his departure or if he’s headed somewhere else as of yet, but we’re checking. Anyhow, if you didn’t know, Antinori had been with the agency for the digital age for nearly 15  years and spent the last eight heading up its production department, first under the title of SVP/managing director, production and then the more fancier position of EVP/chief production officer. Prior to his lengthy stay at R/GA, Antinori worked as a producer/game designer for the likes of Take 2 Interactive.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Sponsors of the Winter Olympics in Sochi are portrayed as the “partners in crime” of a “maniacal Russian despot” in a parody of the Hunger Games film franchise.

In any relationship, there are pros and cons, ups and downs, likes and dislikes, adorations and annoyances. But in any good relationship — one that truly works — each must take the good with the bad.

This Valentines Day-themed commercial created by BBDO Germany for Schwarzkopf Nectra Color celebrates this truism beautifully. It avoids cliche anc cheese and simply delivers wonder. Via.

Shutterstock, just like iStock did in December, is out with its collection of design trends for 20014. In a data-packed infographic, Shutter stock shares what’s to come in the area of design universally, locally, what design elements people are searching for, what’s trending in video and typography and what’s being shared socially.

Here are the highlights:

– Filtered photos are in. Up 661% in 2013
– Flat design is in with a 200% increase in flat design queries
– Authentic representation is in. Searches for real-life style images are up 347%

– Canada is into conceptual icons
– Mexico is into family
– Japan in into traditional floral paintings
– Brazil is into geometric patterns
– Argentina is into rituals and customs
– America is into business and technology
– Russia is into vivid color

– Searches for infographics are up 332%
– Searches for appetizing imagery are up 401%
– Searches for BYOD imagery are up 407%
– Searches for adorable imagery are up 450%
– Searches for responsive design-related imagery are up
– Searches for 3D printing imagery are up 581%
– Searches for Gatsby-related imagery are up 625%

– Searches for cityscape video are up 94%
– Searches for 3D rendering videos are up 66%
– Searches for transportation videos are up 97%
– Searches for education videos are up 98%

– Searches for analog typographic are up 14%
– Searches for geometric typography are up 75%
– Searches for signage-inspired typography are up 36%

– Popular imagery shared on social include landscapes, vibrant colors, depth of field, typography quotes, simplicity.

Check out the infographic below.

Manu Warikoo

In the last Winter Olympics, NBC only featured short online VOD clips. This year, NBC is streaming the all of the Olympic events, and also streaming via iPad App. That’s a very strong indicator of the future of TV as a digital medium.

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