L’artiste Evan Lorenzen est derrière le livre « The Mini Book of Major Events », qu’il a écrit, illustré et édité. Ce minuscule livre retrace les grands événements et évolutions de notre Histoire : de premiers signes de vie à la découverte du feu en passant par l’extinction des dinosaures. Une jolie réalisation, à découvrir en images.
We here at the Spy couldn’t help but be reminded of Mike Judge‘s highly underrated 2006 film, Idiocracy, when checking out these shorts from Toronto-based agency, Capital C. The shop paints a bleak portrait of a social media-addled future hinged on 6-second sound bites versus long-form content and one which lacks any thought-provoking communique. Yes folks, behold the “Stupidification of Society,” which Capital C created pro-bono for the TEDxColumbiaSIPA conference that took place in New York on May 8. According to the agency’s chief creative officer, Gary Watson, the films “The Vine Effect” (above) and “The Glass Era” (below) “…very much play into cultural and digital trends. Shortened attention spans. Technology overload. Things that get in the way of spending time with inspirational content that ultimately makes a difference in our lives.”
Short films lamenting the loss of longer-form content? Oh, the irony, but perhaps that’s the point of all this to begin with. Full credits after the jump.
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Well, the time has come and with this, we’ll put the ADC coverage to bed for a while. Yes, the fifth and final installment of the ADC’s video series highlighting the happenings from last year’s first-ever Portfolio Night All-Stars event. Perhaps you saw episode 4 featuring AKQA CCO Rei Inamoto yesterday and now, the finale takes us to the presentation portion where the six all-star teams actually pitch for Ford representatives. The peculiar thing about this clip is you really don’t see/hear any of the actual pitches being made (we assume because Ford wants to keep things close to the hip). Well, at least this entire series still has a quick runtime than one actual episode of AMC’s The Pitch. FYI, the winner’s announced just past the 5:00 mark. You can check out the full series here, and in case you were wondering, this year’s PN event takes place May 21.
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Electronics retail chain Radio Shack, online collaborative Quirky and Austin-based, Omnicom-owned GSD&M have teamed up to extend the brand’s “Do It Together” mission by launching an invention challenge for kids and budding inventors. The Shack is inviting its target audience to contribute “smart” toy ideas with the opportunity for the best one to become a sellable product on the chain’s shelves. It doesn’t look like there’s much time (well, seriously, there isn’t much time), but you can check out the site here to submit your concepts, which will be judged live on June 5 at Quirky.com. This effort marks the latest partnership between Radio Shack and GSD&M, which began working with the brand last year and created their well-received, 80′s-loving Super Bowl spot. And if you can bear the crap weather here today in NYC, tonight, the brand and Quirky are hosting a Sketch and Design night at the Radio Shack Concept store on 150 E. 42nd St. from 4-7. Enjoy, kids.
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In an efforts to repair decades of feuding between Turkey and Armenia, Moscow-based TWIGA Communications Group worked with Tango Network on a stunt that had two men, one Armenian and one Turkish, shake hands for 43 hours, setting a new world record.
It was all to call attention to the fact borders between countries can be closed but not between people. The work received much press coverage across 250 media outlets in 11 countries but more importantly, it led to the foreign ministers of each country re-opening dialog…and shaking hands for the first time in five years.
And it appears it’s still working. Just a few days ago, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan offered condolences for the killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule during World War I in 1915.
Are you planning an event? Are you a marketing event planner? Did your boss just ask you to organize a one day conference and the closest thing you’ve ever planned was a trip to the grocery store? Fear not. Formstack, a company that does just what it sounds like it does, is out with an infographic (hey, they’re easy to digest) entitled The Anatomy of A Perfect Event that will give you a few basic pointers.
The basics? Use email. Use hashtags. But don’t use more than one hashtag. Start promoting 3-10 weeks in advance of the event. Have a live stream of the event. Use Foursquare to promote the event. Use Twitter to expand the reach of your event. Use Facebook to promote your event. 78% of planners use it. Follow up with email after the event. Do a post-event survey.
As we mentioned earlier this week, here is the first of five episodes launching from ADC regarding its Portfolio Night All-Stars. The happenings went on at the ADC Gallery in Chelsea, NY and feature the likes of DDB worldwide CCO, Amir Kassaei. The mission involved? Rethink the Ford Focus. Let’s see what the kids come up with.
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Warning: For your own safety, do not attempt to watch the video embedded above unless you are an extreme masochist.
We were kind of hoping that if we ignored it, this one would just go away but it appears we’re not that lucky, so let’s talk about “Let’s Get Social,” the social media marketing anthem from hell.
Introduced as “a very special treat,” which could just as accurately be applied to waterboarding, the song is an assault on the ears and any semblance of intelligence in the listener. With soul-sucking lines like “I’m hoping you’ll share my stuff, and tweet it to the world,” over a bland generic backing track, there are really no redeeming qualities about “Let’s Get Social.” The lead singer (who I’ve chosen not to name out of compassion) doesn’t have a bad voice, and that’s about the only positive thing you can say. Unfortunately, during the chorus the guy who introduced her (again, not including names) joins in with some truly awful backing vocals. After about a minute, when you think there’s no way they could possibly keep this going and/or about the time you start banging your head against the desk hoping to render yourself unconscious, the second verse begins. The audience is invited to join in for a break to post selfies and shit, because this is a song about social media, after all. Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, background guy begins the most terrible rap you’ve ever heard, which forms a bridge back to the chorus (just what you were hoping for!). It’s an unholy clusterfuck of social media marketing self-importance and people making music who really shouldn’t have anything to do with music. You’ve been warned.
This abomination, in case you were wondering, was a warm-up for a keynote panel at this year’s Social Media Marketing World. Hopefully none of you people were there to suffer through this first-hand.
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All good things must come to an end as they say and with that, here’s the final recap of the 2014 ADC Festival of Art + Craft that wrapped up yesterday in Miami. Once again, here’s a quick snapshot of the third and final day of the festivities courtesy of ADC content manager, Brett McKenzie. As mentioned below, the big winners for at the actual ADC awards included Stockholm’s Forsman & Bodenfors, which picked up the almighty Black Cube for the Van Damme splits work for Volvo Trucks (full winners list here). Well, for our sake, there’s always next year. Take it away, B.
“The 2014 edition of the ADC Festival of Art + Craft in Advertising and Design is now in the history books, after the third and final day of intriguing workshops and meals, not to mention the finale of the ADC 93rd Annual Awards, the unveiling of Laser Cat and not one but two blowout after parties.Beginning at sunrise with some beachside yoga and a breakfast open only to ADC Members, Day Three of the Festival featured some of the event’s most popular workshops. Attendees donned aprons and picked up knives and chisels to build guitar frames with Dick Boak, experimented with computer code with Sub Rosa’s Joshua Davis, unleashed imaginations and inhibitions with street artist Kazilla and peered into the unsettlingly bizarre mind if legendary illustrator Gary Baseman.The evening’s gala took place at the beautiful New World Center. If you are looking for the full laundry list of Cube winners, visit http://adcglobal.org/adc-93rd-annual-awards-winners-part-two/ but the one sentence version is that the night belonged to Forsman and Bodenfors, Volvo Trucks and Van Damme’s epic splits, whose checked luggage going back home to Sweden will likely be overweight.Immediately after all the Cubes were handed out, Hungry Castle unveiled it’s much anticipated Laser Cat installment, beaming the personal projects of thousands of creatives onto the walls of the venue.After Laser Cat’s reveal, Festival attendees danced the night away on the New World Center’s rooftop, and when the lights came on at that venue, they hurried on to a nightclub for several more hours of celebration.This morning there were a lot of happily comatose Festival attendees, shaking hands and promising to keep in touch, already getting excited for 2015. We hope you’ll join them next year!”
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And so, the party continues in Miami at the 2014 ADC Festival of Art + Craft. With day two in the books, we give you yet another snapshot of the event from ADC content manager, Brett McKenzie, The party still sounds pretty fun. Send us a postcard, will ya?
“The second day of the ADC Festival of Art + Craft in Advertising and Design was full of inspiration and creative rejuvenation, from a sunrise yoga session overlooking the Atlantic, all the way to a blowout blast at the famous Bass Museum, where the Design, Illustration, Photography and Print Advertising winners of the ADC 93rd Annual Awards were displayed and awarded.
During the day there were amazing workshops by Mariscal, ADC Young Gun Ivan Cash and architect supreme Clive Wilkinson, as well as the premiere of the new ADC film series InspirADCion, featuring the one and only Lee Clow.
The temperamental South Beach weather forced us to move the award ceremonies indoors, but the intimate setting ended up being ideal for two kickass presentations, one by design legend Mariscal and the other by ADC Hall of Famer George Lois. And afterwards, the (unofficial) party continued poolside at the James Royal Palm Hotel, ensuring plenty of hangovers for Day Three.”
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Just like last year, we here at the Spy are providing a brief snapshot of the revelry likely taking place at the ADC Festival of Art + Craft, which kicked off in Miami yesterday. Since we’re not there (of course), we’ll let ADC content manager Brett Mackenzie handle the duties. Take it away, Brett
“So we are knee deep in the second day of the ADC Festival of Art & Craft of Advertising and Design, and part of Day Two means getting Day One edited.We’ve just posted the Day One recap on the Festival site right here. http://adcglobal.org/adc-festival-day-one/But if you really wanted to boil the first day down to its essence, it ended up being all about Hungry Castle and Lionel Richie’s Head (and not just because I got to play Lionel Richie.) https://vimeo.com/91441383.Day One ended with the 2014 Tomorrow Awards ceremony, poolside at the James Royal Palm Hotel. You can see all five winners here http://adcglobal.org/adc-celebrates-2014-tomorrow-awards-winners”
Seems like fun, we suppose, and who can deny a Lionel Richie likeness. More images the goings-on follow after the jump.
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In case you haven’t heard, the ADC Festival of Art + Craft will be invading Miami Beach from April 7-9 and among the notable events that will take place is the premiere of a new documentary film series from former Ogilvy CCO/VCU Brandcenter director, Rick Boyko, dubbed InspirADCion (don’t shoot the messenger in regards to the title). The first installment in the series, which will premiere April 8, features TBWA\Chiat\Day figurehead, Lee Clow. Sure, his agency’s taken a couple of hits in the last month or so (now reportedly Crate + Barrel loss, too, which spies were hinting at last week), but Clow remains arguably one of the most notable names in the industry and will likely draw a fair amount of ADC Fest attendees to the film (well, we can only assume since we’ll be stuck in NYC). As you’ll see above and below, Clow shares his thoughts and insights on everything from agency namesakes Jay Chiat and Guy Day to Steve Jobs as well as topics like education (after the jump). Guess we’ll just have to wait for the full film to pop up online eventually.
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We will conclude any and all SXSWi 2014 coverage with this final installment from Randall Stone, director of experience innovation at NYC-based brand strategy/design shop, Lippincott. Here’s yet another view from the grounds at the event in case you missed out on the affair. Take it away, sir.
Wow. “South By”, as I quickly learned to refer to it as, was a true experience. And, why shouldn’t it be? It combines intelligence and brilliance with casual unsophistication. It is a dynamic event unlike any other – an intellectual party of sorts – most definitely not a conference, yet way more substantive than drinks with strangers. It uniquely combines relevant and just plain interesting insights, the Austin backdrop and thousands of people who care about what you do.
You don’t “do” SX. It’s too big, too sprawling, too diverse. You experience it. You have to come to Austin, let go, and hand yourself over to friendly people with whom you enjoy talking. You can’t attend. You have to participate. And, isn’t that what any great experience is? A two way encounter of surprise and delight. Our world is not siloed or linear. We like liked-minded people, but none of us are exactly alike.
Despite running on empty, you keep running. And, why not? Inspiring sessions from the most unlikely sources keep you stimulated, unique brand experiences keep you on your toes, food trucks keep you satiated, Lone Star keeps you hydrated and the parties and networking keep you social and awake. At SX, be prepared to be entertained to the point of feeling guilty and to embrace a spirit of sharing, networking and learning unlike any other.
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JWT Toronto worked with director Jonathan Bensimon to create the above zombie-themed spot promoting the Canadian Film Festival, which runs from March 20-22.
The 2:49 effort follows the story of Antoine Zombé, a zombie actor who is an actual zombie and also happens to be Canadian (so he’s a polite zombie). “Canadian Zombie” traces Antoine’s career arc from his early days struggling with auditions — “More zombie, less polite Canadian,” one director tells him — to his success as a movie star (complete with zombie takes on popular hits, like “Raging Zombie,” “Eating Private Bryan,” and “I, Zombie.” It’s a fun, tongue-in-cheek approach to promoting the Canadian Film Festival, where “The films are great” and, like Antoine, “they just happen to be Canadian.” Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…
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A pair of creative lads from Atlanta-based Moxie, both of whom happen to be named Dustin — Dustin Thompson and Dustin Thomas — are documenting all things SXSW with a customized site.
Dustin and Dustin are also tracking their SXSW adventures using the #DXDT hashtag, if you care to follow along on Twitter. If you’re at SXSW, or you just want a fun way to catch up with what’s going, their site is a fun way to keep tabs on the action. They even have a SXSW Google Glass count. As the pair puts it themselves, “It might get weird — so weird you’d swear you were there!”
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This year, for the first time ever, there will be a sports component to SXSW in Austin, Texas. To celebrate this, and to help festival goers select from the seemingly endless list of panels, LA-based sports and entertainment creative shop Zambezi created “SXsports Playbook.”
SXsports Playbook is a website where visitors fill out a survey of 12 either/or questions. At the conclusion of the survey, users are “directed to one of five curated panel groupings comprised of a ‘must-see’ sports lineup to suit their individual interests (and maybe even an option to avoid them altogether).” It’s a formula we’ve seen plenty of times before, but this time it just may end up being useful for those caught navigating the labyrinth of events at SXSW. Give it a try for yourself if you’re headed to SXSW, and stick around for credits after the jump. continued…
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Brooklyn-based design agency HUSH (who you may remember from their unique way of ringing in 2014) were tasked with launching Lyve, a startup offering a new solution to the problem of information overload, at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. To do this, they transformed two suites in the Venetian Hotel in the heart of Vegas into a completely branded space, complete with “lights, displays, and visuals to showcase Lyve’s unique offering.”
HUSH’s installation was “anchored by a large central screen flanked by a custom designed product display. The screens [showed] a collection of personal images and videos breaking into fragments and transforming into colored lighting illuminating the assortment of tablets, phones, and other devices arrayed on glowing physical pedestals below.” The visuals were designed as a kind of metaphor for Lyve’s collecting, sorting and protecting service.
As HUSH creative partner David Schwarz explains, “Lyve is an elegant solution to a persistent technological problem, and we were happy to help them define this product while introducing it to the wider world. In words, the offering sounds complex, but showing it visually feels simple – so we created a metaphor to discuss how the different technology platforms capture and share content all to one central product.”
While I’m sure you’d have to have been there in person to get the full experience, you can watch HUSH’s CES installation for Lyve in the video above, and be sure to stick around for credits after the jump. continued…
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Why brands feel they have to do scripted interviews rather than, you know, actual interviews where people actually think about the question in a mystery. But if you’ve ever been to CES or any other big marketing event, you are familiar with this cringe-worthy experience.
Speaking of cringe-worthy, how does a marketer make a cringe-worthy event even more cringe-worthy? Well if you’re Samsung and you invite Michael Bay to a keynote Q&A and he screws up his TelePrompTer lines, that’s how.
When the Transformers director took the stage along with Samsung America EVP Joe Stinziano, Bay began by saying, “My job as a director is that I get to dream for a living.” He then skipped a line and became flustered. Stinziano, after an uncomfortable period of silence, tried to coach him along but, ultimately, Bay became embarrassed and walked off stage.
And what’s with that girlish leg lift he does when he first comes one stage?
We’ve spoken publicly before and it can be a challenge at times. But as we all know, reading off slides is much more of a disaster waiting to happen than simply responding to questions in an unscripted fashion like a normal human being.
Lesson learned? Save your money on celebrity talent and hire people who have a proven track record of public speaking. That or don’t force them to read crap off a teleprompter.
More Movember business, this time from San Diego shop i.d.e.a. Not only are they raising money for prostate cancer research in the name of hairy upperlips, but they’ve gone ahead and created an entire character, Harry Mustachio, who asks you to monate money instead of being a stachehole. Clearly, the folks at i.d.e.a like puns, but stachehole does have a certain ring to it. Above, you can watch a short biopic-style dramatic parody on Mustachio.
The goal is to raise $5000, compared to the agency’s $2306 total from last year. To donate and learn more about the crazy life of being a puppet with a mustache, visit the campaign’s website. Below, there’s also a video of Harry Mustachio interviewing people on the street. The clip may be a bit creepy, but Tom Selleck gets a few shout-outs, which is always a good thing.
After the jump, you can watch i.d.e.a.’s 2012 Movember campaign video, which features the “We Need You Mo Than Ever” rethinking of a pop classic. Puns can be bad, but that is well done.
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I’m not sure where the “myth” that gum-chewing gives a bad impression comes from, but Beldent and Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi set out to disprove it in a social experiment called “Almost Identical,” which was conducted October 1st at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Buenos Aires.
The experiment, conducted under the assumption that such a myth exists, employed five pairs of identical twins. Each pair of twins were dressed and presented identically, with the only difference being that one of the twins was chewing gum. Onlookers were then asked a series of questions about their impressions of the twins, ranging from “Which one seems like he has more friends?” to “Which of these bosses would give you a raise?” to “Which one has a better sex life?” The gum-chewing twin received the more positive answer 73% of the time. Beldent would like that to mean that they’ve proven that “chewing gum doesn’t give a bad impression” but, rather, does the opposite. Obviously, that’s extrapolating a bit much from the limited survey, but this is marketing, not social science. I just feel bad for the twins that had to chew gum all day. That must have been hell on their jaws. Credits after the jump. continued…
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