Hasta La Creative!

360i has launched a new campaign promoting the latest installment in Toyota’s teen driving safety initiative, TeenDrive365.

Based on safety research by Toyota and the University of Michigan Transportation Institute (UMTRI), the campaign aims to influence teens by targeting the number one influence on how they drive: their parents. The latest additions to the initiative include online tools, expert advice, local events and social media elements. To promote the effort, 360i worked with Toyota on a series of videos targeting parents of teen drivers.

Two of these videos focus on “Parents Who Drive Bad Anonymous,” a fictional (and grammatically challenged) support group for parents who drive poorly and are worried that they’re passing on their questionable practices to their children. In the above video, Deb attends a meeting and admits to texting while driving. “I know I’ve been a bad example. I’ve been texting while I drive and it’s got to stop,” she says to a mannequin wearing headphones, presumably a stand-in for her son. Another “Parents Who Drive Bad Anonymous” video focuses on a dad obsessed with checking on his fantasy team. Another video, part of the “Masters of the Wheel” series, focuses on NHRA driver Antron Brown and his teen daughter.

“As a mother of a teenager, I often remind myself that the things I do behind the wheel go a long way in setting a powerful example,” said Dr. Tina Sayer, Toyota Collaborative Safety Research Center principal engineer and teen safe driving expert. “Experience and education certainly help your teen become a safe and more confident driver, but our research shows us that the biggest factor in how teens will drive is their parents.” (more…)

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Digital design/development shop Wondersauce and Dan Savage (no, not that Dan Savage but this one) have spearheaded a new spin on the yule log, created by President and C.E.O. of WPIX, Inc. Fred M. Thrower in 1966 as a gift to apartment-dwelling New Yorkers. Yule Log 2.0 re-imagines the yule log”through a collection of short films by illustrators, animators, directors, and creative coders.”

The style and quality of the animations vary widely, but they should all make you feel warm and toasty. Some take a relatively straightforward approach to depicting a yule log, while others — such as “Octopusmas,” “Thermofile,” “Cosmic Log” and “Dear Seer” — take the concept to unexpected places. Cultural references also abound, as in “Log OS 7.0,” “Eames Yule,” “Yulecraft,” and “Vince Guaraldi’s Living Room.” It’s a fun little project, and a good way for the 66 graphic artists involved to strut their stuff. You’ll be surprised by their inventive twists on the yule log, as well as the sheer quantity of content for the project. We’ve included a few of our favorites above and after the jump, but head on over Yule Log 2.0 for the full experience. continued…

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