Hasta La Creative!

M&C Saatchi LA Shines Spotlight on the San Diego Zoo’s New “Africa Rocks” Exhibit With Vibrant, Multiplatform Campaign – see full article and collected films here

M&C Saatchi LA Shines Spotlight on the San Diego Zoo’s New “Africa Rocks” Exhibit With Vibrant, Multiplatform Campaign – see full article and collected films here.

M&C Saatchi LA Shines Spotlight on the San Diego Zoo’s New “Africa Rocks” Exhibit With Vibrant, Multiplatform Campaign – see full article and collected films here.

M&C Saatchi turned to Gentleman Scholar, Kyle Lambert, and SCROJO for talent in creating a colorful multiplatform campaign. SCROJO’s posters look like 60s psychedelic music posters, and the above billboard looks like an ad for a huge concert.

Nearly two years after the historic groundbreaking ceremony for the largest expansion in its 101-year history, the San Diego Zoo Global launches the Conrad Prebys Africa Rocks exhibit. To introduce the expansive and diverse experience, dedicated to plant and animal species from six different African habitats, M&C Saatchi LA developed creative content for an integrated marketing campaign to engage people of all ages. The “Africa Rocks,” campaign will enjoy a multi-channel “tour,” complete with broadcast, posters, out of home, and social throughout the summer.

“By choosing the name “Africa Rocks” for the Zoo’s newest habitat, we knew rock and roll would play an important part in telling our story,” says Ted Molter, Chief Marketing Officer for San Diego Zoo Global. “Our collaboration with M&C Saatchi LA and their creative partners brought the spirit, nostalgia and diversity of rock to this amazing collection of engaging content, setting the stage for an unexpected African experience showcasing the Zoo’s Rock-stars – penguins, lemurs, baboons, meerkats, crocodiles and leopards.”

San Diego Zoo “Africa Rocks” – Montage (2017) (USA)

“The team was given an incredible creative opportunity with the exhibit’s name ‘Africa Rocks.’ We were inspired to illustrate the diversity of habitats & animals through familiar rock themes and iconography we all grew up with,” notes M&C Saatchi LA Associate Creative Director/AD Ron Tapia. “By implementing a different style for each media and habitat, the “Rock” theme was consistent, but every piece of creative felt both fresh and a little familiar at the same time, appealing to the San Diego Zoo’s wide audience.”

The vibrant design-driven campaign includes a :30 “Africa Rocks” Montage Anthem TV/web spot (above), six :15 spots, radio spots, as well as the gig style posters and other out of home advertising. To produce the campaign, M&C Saatchi partnered with noted designer SCROJO (known for his work with Moby and The Red Hot Chili Peppers) for the gig style posters, which will be wild flyered in select locations, and with illustrator & digital Kyle Lambert (Stranger Things, Super 8) on the print media. Award-winning production company Gentleman Scholar created the animated video campaign, described as “Bleacher Report meets MTV for the Animal Kingdom.”

San Diego Zoo – Africa Rocks / Cape Fynbos (2017) :15 (USA)

“Six of the world’s most fascinating animals, six of the most iconic animation styles in history, and six spectacular mini stories with dynamic transitions: That’s definitely worthy of any superlative we can think of,” comments Gentleman Scholar Co-Director Will Johnson.

Each animal’s actions are previewed in the “Africa Rocks” spot; with hero animals presented within their own habitats in the :15s. This gave the Gentleman Scholar designers the opportunity for story depth leading to iconic “Africa Rocks” logo treatments. Bombastic music – from metal to 80’s synth, to sitars and record scratches – sonically transport viewers to various decades and genres in this rock tour of the animal kingdom. The Madagascar forests, to the west african forests to the Ethiopian highlands.

San Diego Zoo “Africa Rocks” – Acacia Woodlands (2017) :15 (USA)

The School of Communication Arts in London has launched a clever fundraiser in these pre-Cannes days. Buy a bottle of their elitist expensive vintage bubbly, and you help raise money for scholarships to the greatest school of creativity in the world. I’m allowed to say that, I’m alumn and dropped many £pounds on this.

All over the world in advertising the hot button topic has long been about “diversity”, we need more women, we need more non-white people, we need more left handed creatives. Every since I was a student well over twenty years ago, I felt that the conversation ignored money and opportunity. I was extremely fortunate in that I was able to secure state student loans, combined with work that allowed me to pay rent and school tuition abroad. I was also extremely lucky to get accepted to schools based on my portfolio alone, so my sex didn’t stop me.
When it came time to begin working in London, the unpaid placement system so prevalent there kicked me right back into my moms house, because unlike the UK born, I could not sign up for the dole while toiling away on a placement couch in a London agency somewhere. I recognised immediately that what keeps the less privileged out from advertising was money. If you are wondering why everyone is of the same socio-economic class and colour and gender in advertising agencies all over the world, well that’s the obvious reason.

Marc Lewis, the Dean of the current Scool of communication arts, is angry. He’s frustrated, just like I am, that the dialogue about diversity in advertising consistently ignores money and opportunity. While Brian Bronaugh , President at Mullen recognises that kids need opportunity and he has set about to create that for them, most of the people discussing diversity in advertising spend their days charging people to hold speeches about it, doing nothing to change the status quo and effectively diverting funds from the possible change.

Not I. Not Mark. We know that there’s talent out there, great talent that needs an assist in form of schooling, who may not be able to afford it. Talent from all walks of life, from all over the world. True diversity. But if they can’t get to school, they can’t get the opportunities to learn from some of the best creative minds in Europe. They won’t get the chance to prove themselves at a placement in an agency somewhere in London.

So to all you ad people out there tirelessly talking – or just tweeting – about the need for diversity. Put your money where your mouth is, for once. Buy a bottle of really expensive elitist snobby champagne, which will help fund scholarships for the talented but less fortunate. It will help give opportunities to the clever kid from the wrong side of the tracks. It will place young men and women at the top agencies in London where all they have to do is roll up their sleeves and show how smart they are. If you want more diversity, stop talking, help make it happen and get your laughing gear around some bubbly.

Heineken -Majorca – (1985) :30 (UK)

IAMS presents: Adult cats move in. In this case, they’ve got a grand piano and expensive art on the walls. But they are still attracted to boxes. That never changes. These are fun ways to demonstrate the fact IAMS has a cat food for every life stage including adult, where the nutrients are formulated to create strong muscles.

Like you, your cat goes through different life stages. That’s why IAMS healthy senior helps cats eleven years and older maintain healthy joints and bones. They are so cute. I can’t stand it.

In an unusually humoristic clip, for Apple, the brand envisions a world without apps. The Appocalypse. The new guy has been relegated to sit in the server room and unplugs the entire world. We then see how people all over the world begin swearing at their phones as they’re wiped of all apps. Helpless without their yelps, Waze, navigation and whatnot civilisation breaks down. At some point, as all the cars crashed into each other, I wondered if the Android users were carrying on their merry way. In the app-less mad max future a black market of real world apps appears, with llamas in Farmville and a table where you can crush candies with a hammer. People face-swap at the plastic surgeon. Hunks pose in Tinder and a horse-drawn junk-car is “looking for Brian” as they are the new Lyft. While it’s all rather amusing, it’s also kind of pointless. I have a OnePlus android, Apple, what are you trying to tell me? Oh, that’s right “keep making apps, the world depends on you” – welcome to the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2017. Perhaps your app will be the next global success.

Naming a beer “Drink Responsibly” is such a good idea we were kicking ourselves for not thinking of it first when we first shared the UK campaign created by McCann Milan and Craft London. Well, others had indeed thought of it first, so now we have this quadruple Badlander, thanks to a little nudge from our good friend the Badlander ninja Joe la pompe. He points out that a beer created by Calder Bateman for the Alberta Liquor & Gaming Commission in 2013 had the same name and zero alcohol concept.

But wait, there’s more, Nebraska Brewing Co makes a lovely Belgian with 13% ABV, so that ends the “low alcohol” concept, but I’m sure they still want you to “drink responsibly.” Zooming back even further in time, this “Drink responsibly” name was an idea submitted to the Chip Chop awards in 2010.

McCann Milan and Craft London didn’t just stop at the name, they made these ads to go with it. And the low alcohol beer is on the market, so why not enjoy some responsibly low alcohol beer this summer? It is a good idea to drink responsibly after all.

UBREW Responsibly “Drink with Moderation” (2017) :15 (UK)

UBREW Responsibly “Thanks” (2017) :28 (UK)

UBREW responsibly “Jingle” (2017) :58 (UK)

As part of their Canadian road trip which eventually was edited into Chevrolet the Canadian Dream, directing trio Co.Lab filmed founder Cara at her “Newcomer Kitchen” in Toronto, which helps Syrian refugees.