A road safety ad by AMV BBDO is sparking cries of victim-blaming in the U.K. for warning cyclists to hang back from trucks that are making left turns—the driver’s blind side on that country’s roads.
Stunning choice of music–Canadian folksinger Bonnie Dobson’s haunting “Morning Dew,” from 1969.
I normally criticize long-form as desperately needing scissors, but there is not one wasted frame in this one. Great freaking job.
In one spot, a large golden bear appears in the den of a white-washed bungalow and makes a pitch to camera about how easy it is to save energy. He’s affable, but shows he’s still a bear as he growls at a production assistant when he flubs a line. He then cheerfully directs viewers to the website for Energy Upgrade California.
In additional spots, the bear invites viewers into other rooms of his home while offering tips on low-flow showerheads, LED lighting and upgrading appliances. The tagline is “It’s Easy to Stay Golden.”
The bear that appears in the spot was an animatronic creature operated by a trio of puppet-eers. To keep things fresh, Green recorded the bear’s performances live, with a voiceover actor, positioned just off stage, speaking its lines. “It was a lot of fun working with the puppeteers,” Green recalls. “They could do just about anything and react on the fly to what the voice-over actor was doing. The amount of personality they brought to it was amazing.”
Green says that the bear’s character flaws make him all the more endearing. “Most of the time, he can compose himself like a human being, but every now and then the bear comes through,” he explains. “The trick was to find those moments when he reveals his animal side.”
The spots are simply, but precisely art directed. The monotone walls and green-grass carpet of the set subtly recall the colors and design of the California state flag. “By using a chic minimalist styling tied into our all-white design, we created a cool, modern, welcoming den for our California Bear’s life,” Green says.
(TrendHunter.com) Researchers from Florida Atlantic University have developed an aquatic robot prototype that swims in the same way as a knifefish, and those researchers’ efforts have led to a grant from the US…
(TrendHunter.com) When it comes to headphones a person usually has to take a gamble on a singular pair, but the ‘Krome’ music headphones are designed to be augmented to suit different genres. Different…
(TrendHunter.com) Urban cyclists will likely find the design of the DCA Optic biker helmet to be a winner when it comes to providing a bevy of connected features that will make staying safe on the road easier….
(TrendHunter.com) Trying to get some shuteye in the airport is no easy task, so the ‘aDream’ sleep pods are designed as a revolutionary way to let travelers partake in a little bit of rest. Designed by…
(TrendHunter.com) German automaker BMW has decided to take advantage of the ongoing Paris Motor Show to go ahead and unveil a gorgeous new concept SUV, dubbed the BMW X2 Concept, that is designed to add a dash of…
(TrendHunter.com) Of the acts of reducing, reusing and recycling, reuse is one of the themes that is revisited most in the top October 2016 eco design ideas. Noteworthy eco designs include enventive products, decor…
(TrendHunter.com) In the top October 2016 toy ideas, childhood pastimes like hide-and-seek, blowing bubbles and playing arcade games are reinvented in a variety of new forms with help from technology. Some of the…
(TrendHunter.com) If you happen to be in the market for an adventure trailer, look no further than the Utility Go-Anywhere Off-Road Adventure Trailer (UGOAT), a trailer whose self-explanatory name doesn’t even…
(TrendHunter.com) Innovation-focused e-commerce lingerie company Adore Me is launching an eye-catching new activewear collection that is designed to help women look and feel their best when they’re working out….
(TrendHunter.com) When it comes to the glamorous world of sports motorbikes, a lot of people make the mistake of assessing these vehicles based on horsepower alone, but while these specs are undeniably important,…
Category: Beyond Madison Avenue
Summary: Data beget facts. Facts beget principles.
Without facts and principles, data is useless.
After years of studying planetary motions, and compiling data, Copernicus uncovered a fact. The fact was that the Earth revolved around the sun. Until then, the data made no sense.
After years of studying the facts of bodies in motion, Isaac Newton developed a principle…
The Hillary Clinton campaign released a video that week designed to bridge the enthusiasm gap. The ad features Barack and Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and was initially called “Squad Goals.” It’s a good ad, says Ad Age Editor Ken Wheaton, but that she’s still playing to the base at this point in the game isn’t necessarily a good sign.
Video by David Hall
Ruth Stubbs, who has spent five years expanding iProspect’s business in Asia, is now global president of the Dentsu Aegis Network-owned digital performance marketing agency.
Ms. Stubbs, CEO for iProspect in Asia Pacific since 2011, will remain in Singapore to oversee the agency’s 83 global offices and over 3,800 staff. She takes over from Ben Wood, who was based in London until he left in August for a role at Facebook, managing relationships with agencies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Dentsu Aegis Network now has two global agency leaders based in Asia; Jean Lin has run Isobar’s global business from Shanghai since 2014.
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on CBS is usually pre-recorded earlier in the evening for its 11:35 p.m. ET time slot, but last night it aired live so Colbert could capitalize on the Vice Presidential Debate between Gov. Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Kaine (the show did the same thing for the first Presidential Debate). After noting the general lack of interest in the candidates (at one point flashing an ABC News headline on screen that read “More Than 40 Percent of Americans Cannot Name VP Candidates”), Colbert said, “They say these vice presidential debates don’t matter — and Hillary Clinton had better hope so. Because, uh, both men, you know, tried their hardest, but it was like watching a loaf of white bread get pistol-whipped by a jar of mayonnaise. Not a lot of flavor, but there was a clear winner, OK?”
Simon Dumenco, aka Media Guy, is an Ad Age editor-at-large. You can follow him on Twitter @simondumenco.
Sometimes, it’s relatively easy for media companies to make money. How easy can it be? In exchange for lending its name to a building in the Philippines, Forbes Media has collected an upfront fee plus a promise of a share in lease revenue and condomium sales once the tower opens in 2019.
“We have all kinds of interests in making sure the quality and every use of the name is done in the proper way,” Forbes Media CEO Mike Perlis said. But, he concluded, “It’s a very low-cost relationship to the return we receive.”
Forbes Media is already looking for other, similar real estate opportunities. The company is also interested in opening up Forbes-branded business clubs around the world, but particularly in Asia, where the brand is especially popular with businesspeople.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
