Hasta La Creative!

In the US and Canada approximately 80,000 people die of overdoses each year. This is double the rate from just ten years ago and the direct result of fentanyl contaminating the illicit drug supply, causing 40,000 deaths last year alone.

DanceSafe
Founder: Emanuel Sferios
Executive Director: Mitchell Gomez
Chief Legal & Financial Officer: Madalyn McElwain

Creative Agency: The Garden
Creative Director: Shane Ogilvie
Associate Creative Director / Writer: Lindsay Eady
Associate Creative Director / Art Director: Francheska Galloway-Davis
Director: Clay Stang
Strategy Director: Shari Walczak
Project Cultivator / Producer: Mike Kovacs
Director of Visual Media: James Morren

Production
Director of Photography: Darrin Klimek
Editor: Brett Erinas
Audio Capture: Jason Hopfner
Audio Production: Mark Domitric, Ella Kovacs, Grayson Matthews
Colour: Clinton Homuth, Artjail

For the kids at Toronto’s Regent Park School of Music (RPSM), getting the opportunity to work with a Grammy Award-winning producer Frank Dukes, was just the beginning. RPSM students can now count a global superstar among their collaborators.

BBDO Toronto was brought onboard a year ago to help find a way the school could raise money in support of the musical curriculum at RPSM.  When the innovative fundraising program ‘Sample School’ was born and pitched to Frank Dukes, he was so enamoured by the idea he quickly jumped on board.

BBDO Toronto, RPSM and Dukes worked in tandem to produce, record and document the amazing talents of the RPSM students to create this first ever music library to fund musical education.  Toronto-born Dukes spent three days working alongside 14 RPSM students at The Weeknd’s “House of Balloons” studio to create the album called “Parkscapes”. 

This innovative campaign is the first time ever that musical compositions can be transformed directly into donations.  Every time an artist (like Swift) uses a song from the “Parkscapes” album, licensing fees, royalties and residuals will be paid out to the school for the life of the song.  It’s a sustainable donation that keeps giving, year over year.  

“It felt like a great fit for RPSM, because the kids who benefit from the program are now playing a starring role in sustaining it,” says Rana Chatterjee, Associate Creative Director, BBDO Toronto.

Dukes shared one of the compositions with Swift, who decided to incorporate it into her album. She loved the music and the fact that she would be able to support the students at the music school.

When Taylor Swift released her seventh studio album “Lover” on Friday, her song “It’s Nice to Have a Friend” incorporates a composition from the track “Summer in the South” from the “Parkscapes” album. Dukes shared one of the compositions with Swift, who decided to incorporate it into her album. She loved the music and the fact that she would be able to support the students at the music school. On top of using a composition from the students on her album, Swift also made a generous donation to the school.

“Words can’t describe how thrilled we are to hear our students on Taylor Swift’s new album,” says Richard Marsella, Executive Director, Regent Park School of Music. “This exposure is raising awareness and much needed funds for the Regent Park School of Music. The royalties we receive from the use our composition in the song will help fund musical education, and for that we are truly grateful.”

The 11-track album is named from a mash-up of the expression “sonic landscapes” and “Regent Park” and is hosted on Dukes’ Kingsway Music Library, which houses a collection of original samples created by the music producer and composer.

You can hear the composition Taylor Swift used on “It’s Nice to Have a Friend”, and 10 other tracks created by Frank Dukes and the Regent Park School of Music at http://parkscapes.ca

The composition Taylor Swift used in “It’s Nice to Have a Friend” is track 11, “Summer in the South.” 

Listen here https://www.kingswaymusiclibrary.com/products/parkscapes-vol-1

It’s soon 36 years since the first massive demonstration against “Löntagarfonder” took place the very same day as the Swedish  Parliament’s opening, and went from Humlegården to the Chancellor’s House in the Old Town of Stockholm where a letter was delivered requesting that the government stop the “employee funds.”
 

In a lengthy article over at the Jacobin, Kjell Östberg explains the many factors and political waves that eventually led to this, and how close Sweden almost was heading to pure socialism: Sweden’s extraordinary wave of reforms in the 1970s, an era of explosive radicalism, reveal the achievements — and the limits — of social democracy. He will show you how Sweden eventually came up with the idea of wage-earner funds. The idea was that every year, a portion of the profits of Sweden’s large and medium-sized companies, as shares, was to be transferred to funds controlled by the unions. This would be called “Löntagarfonder.”

As your friendly resident adnerd, however, I just wanted to share the ads that helped get people involved. Demonstrations and grassroots engagement doesn’t just spring from nowhere. Political ads are still advertising. Today we may have super PACs and Falun Gong buying tonnes of Facebook ads, while young climate activists are PRed into the press daily and onto covers of men’s magazines on occasion. Back then the politically active youth made buttons, wrote pamphlets and printed up spot colour posters while the business leaders wrote opinion pieces and organized rallies. 

SAF, Swedish Employers’ Association, launched two big media campaigns in 1979. “Bet on yourself” (Satsa på dig själv) and “free enterprise is good for Sweden” (Fri företagsamhet – bra för Sverige), with headlines like “Profitable companies give job security” and “Profitable companies do it better.” These billboards were in the subway, and full-page ads were in business magazines.

Employee wage earners’ funds were an idea launched by LO, the Swedish Association of Trade Unions, in the early 1970s, which meant that ownership in the business sector would be transferred to the trade unions with the aim of reducing the owners’ power. A proposal was prepared by LO economist Rudolf Meidner and adopted by the LO Congress in 1976, which meant that 20 percent of a company’s profit each year would be converted into shares and accrued to a union-managed fund.

A growing fear of these funds actually led family-owned and entrepreneurial companies and their founders to pack up and leave Sweden, including some of the most Swedish brand names that you know today like IKEA (Ingvar Kamprand), Tetra Pak (The Rausing family) and H&M (The Persson family). A pamphlet named “Free enterprise or fund socialism” (“Fritt näringsliv eller fondsocialism” ) penned by SAF official and economist Danne Nordling in 1978 was the start of a more organized resistance. Due to this, the Social Democrats avoided the topic completely in the 1982 election campaign.
 

While the Social Democrats may have wanted to avoid the issue during their election campaign, their conservative opposition did not. The Moderates youth party created posters attacking the idea of the wage funds specifically.

“The new parliament house” reads the red headline on a photograph of the Swedish Association of Trade Unions headquarters. “We are heading towards a corporative society. If the funds are implemented, it will be realized “?
 

By using only spot colour, and that somewhat evil-looking image of the LO-building, the youth organisation from the Moderates communicate an urgency as well as an alternative future that looks rather grim.

“Tomorrow he could be your boss” reads this poster, with the sender listed as “free Moderate student group”

The Social Democrats won the 1982 elections, and people thought they may not implement the idea of wage funds. (See one of their campaign ads from 1985, directed by Roy Andersen, here)

When, on June 30, 1983, the government presented a memorandum of ministry with a ready proposal, the public reaction was fierce. At the beginning of July, Småland’s entrepreneurs, led by Gunnar Randholm, CEO and owner of Eldon AB in Nässjö, wrote letters to business organizations and suggested that the country’s entrepreneurs, through a large manifestation, show their opposition to collective wage funds.

Gunnar Nilsson, the chairman of the Swedish Trade Union Confederation, is depicted shaking hands with himself and the headline “In wage fund-Sweden, the unions rule” in another poster created by the youth wing of the Moderate party in 1982.

The largest demonstration against the employee wage funds was on October 4, 1983.

A large proportion of the protesters travelled to Stockholm from all over the country in a gigantic transport apparatus organized by the business organizations. They had arrived in Stockholm in 60 extra rail cars, 200 buses, a number of charter planes and a large number of private cars.

This massive demonstration with over 75,000 people according to media reports and over 100,000 according to the business organisations, failed to stop the introduction of the employee funds, even though the original proposal was somewhat watered down.

The bill on employee funds was adopted by the Swedish Parliament on December 21, 1983 and introduced by the Palme II Government in 1984. It was abolished by the Bildt (from the Moderate party) government after the 1991 bourgeois election victory.

In order to appeal to the brand new extra cynical generation known as “Gen Z”, Doritos are redesigning their looks and using this opportunity to do a campaign with no logo at all. Anywhere. Everywhere!

No logo on Instagram, no name or logo on their youtube channel, no name or logo or even flavour name on the packaging because you already know that ranch is the blue bag. No logo on the posters, just the familiar chip triangle and a reminder of the flavours cool, cheesy, hot and ranch.

Why it’s like, anti-advertising… and it feels like we’ve been here before. Because way back when Generation X started consuming stuff, the silver-haired ad men of the day figured out that we were a bunch of slackers who hated ads. So they launched a Cola, that was simply OK, absent of that hip hype that advertising throws on things. They targeted the people to cool for consumerism. In the words of Bill Hicks; “Oh, you know what Bill’s doing? He’s going for that anti-marketing dollar. That’s a good market. He’s very smart.”
 

(as an aside, these are all of the OK Soda commercials in our commercial archive: Ok soda “exclude some people” 1994 , OK Soda – Elevator / Chain letter ,  OK Soda – Declassified , OK Soda – Launch Ad / Music , OK Soda – Fiancé / Chain letter , OK Soda – OK Index , OK Soda – Like Kudzu / Virus, OK Soda – New Packaging, OK Soda – Secret Code / Chain letter)

This anti-ad generation hype brought us “No Logo”, “Adbusters” and “buy nothing day”, branding anti-branded things targeting them to the new market, and birthing new creatives to join the ad industry.

So Doritos drops the name, and the logo, but keeps all the easily recognisable brand features. Consumers can “triangle” themselves on snapchat, the blue and red bags are still there, and that Doritos-dust is ownable too. The ad may say “this is an ad with no logos, no jingles, no gimmicks” in an attempt to sweet-talk the generation who hates being pitched to, but the ad is in fact one giant gimmick.

Which, come to think of it, is really Doritos brand ethos. Every big campaign they did during the Superbowl, for example, was a gimmick. From user-generated ads to Chance the Rapper singing with the Backstreet Boys.

Ad agency. Goodby Silverstein and Partners.

Jeremy Renner has played many roles. Like Hawkeye in Avengers. And Hawkeye in Thor. And Hawkeye in Captain America: Civil War. And Hawkeye in Avengers: Age of Ultron. And The Bourne Legacy, the movie that didn’t star Matt Damon. And Avengers: Endgame. And once upon a time, The Hurt Locker. And other stuff. 

Now he stars as a Tortured Actor™ who can’t stand formal parties because he is a Regular Guy™ who has to follow his True Calling™ which is making heavily auto-tuned music, guaranteed to offend no one and impress no one except CMO starfuckers. Well that and getting paid lots of money to star in commercials where nothing is required except to show up, drive and lip sync on an outdoor stage by a roadhouse that is packed with central casting models. 

Client: Fiat Chrysler

Agency: DDB

“This is what happens when you win a house in a Jimmy John’s delivery zone. And you realize ‘Holy Moly, we won a house in a JImmy John’s delivery zone.'”

SO dry. I love it.

“Becuase, sandwich” as a tagline, I don’t love as much. It reminds me of “we have the meats for sandwiches.” We get it you sell sandwiches. Pretty certain Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches– your name– is all the giveaway I need.

But speaking of giveaways–  it’s kind of bananas they are going to buy a home for people in the five-mile radius delivery zone. Makes for great press. But at the end of the day great press is all it is for a regular ol’ sweepstakes with astronomically low odds of winning.

Now if they sold me on why I should want to try a one of their sammies, I’d be more impressed. But that would be brand building. And who has time for that, amirite? I don’t even have time to read the insane amount of legal copy on this ad.

 Anyway, if you want to get in the mix for a new house, go to Dreamhomeinthezone.

Credits:

Credits

Advertising Agency: WorkInProgress (WIP), Boulder, CO (USA)        

Partner, Creative: Matt Talbot

Creative Director: Stephen Dalton

Creative Director: Lauren Perlow

Associate Creative Director: Josh Shelton

Associate Creative Director: Haley Garyet

Senior Designer: Jimmy Rosen

Partner, Production: Stafford Bosak

Executive Producer: Molly Schaaf

Partner, Account & Strategy: Alex Guerri

Partner, Account & Strategy: Evan Russack

Director, Account & Strategy: Stacy Moss

Supervisor, Account & Strategy: Sally Kubancik

Partner, Technology: Harold Jones

Production Company: Arts & Sciences

Production Service Company: Animals

Director: Adam & Dave

Director of Photography: Benn Martenson

Executive Producer: Marc Marrie

Line Producer: Gillian Marr

Editorial Company: Mackcut NYC

Editor: Ryan Steele

Assistant Editor: Devon Flint

Executive Producer: Gina Pagano

Color:  Company 3

Colorist            Tim Masick

Producer          Kevin Breheny

VFX & Finishing Company: Framestore

Flame Artist: Theo Maniatis (Lead), Eric Bruno

President, Advertising North America: James Razzall

Head of Production: Bethan Thomas

VFX Producer: Georgina Poushkine

Production Coordinator: Jamie Runkle

Music House   APM Music

Mix House:  Coupe Studios

Audio Engineer & Sound Designer: Greg Mcrae

Audio Executive Producers: Aaron Lasko & Eric Singer

Client: Jimmy John’s  

Chief Marketing Officer: John Shea

Director of Consumer Engagement: Nathan Louer

Director of Customer Acquisition & Loyalty: Suzanne Derouchie

Senior Designer: Chris Phillips

Marketing Operations Senior Manager: Kristi Kaiser

Head Of Consumer Video & Chief Editor: Spencer Liautaud

Joanna Monteiro, Chief Creative Officer at FCB Brasil, joined AD STARS 2019 as an Executive Judge. She says: “I have loved the experience of judging AD STARS because no other awards show gives back to our industry this way – not only is it free to enter AD STARS, but if you win Grand Prix of the Year you are rewarded with US$10,000, which is amazing.”

Jureeporn Thaidumrong, Chief Creative Officer at GREYnJ United, says: “Perhaps the best thing about AD STARS is that agencies don’t have to spend a lot of money on entry fees as we do at other award shows, which means smaller independent companies have a chance to enter. It is supported by Busan Metropolitan City, it is very well organised – there are so many good things about this show.”

Twelve Grand Prix trophies were awarded to the following 9 agencies:

• –  Impact BBDO, United Arab Emirates, ‘The Blank Edition’ (Media Grand Prix, PR Grand

  Prix and Social & Influencer Grand Prix)

• –  FCB New York, USA, ‘The Whopper Detour’ (Direct Grand Prix & Mobile Grand Prix)

• –  TBWA Hakuhodo, Japan, ‘The Most Challenging Ping Pong table’ (Design Grand Prix)

• –  Colenso BBDO, New Zealand, ‘I’m Drinking it for you’ (Film Grand Prix)

• –  Serviceplan Korea, Dot Mini (Interactive Grand Prix)

• –  Ogilvy Group Thailand, ‘Deer’ (Print Grand Prix)

• –  GREYnJ United Bangkok, Thailand, ‘FACE/OFF’ (Video Stars Grand Prix)

• –  Casanova/McCann, USA, ‘Second Chances’ (Public Service Announcement Grand Prix)

• –  BBDO Atlanta, USA, ‘Stop Traffick’ (Public Service Announcement Grand Prix)

Hwan-Jin Choi, Chairperson of the AD STARS Executive Committee, says: “AD STARS is a festival where creativity and technology converge. Its core value is ‘humanity’ – we exist to share creative solutions that change the world. Many of this year’s winners are contributing to humanity in exciting ways, and we would like to congratulate them for their work.”

Film & Video Stars

In the Film category, Colenso BBDO New Zealand won Grand Prix for ‘I’m Drinking it for You’, created for DB Breweries to encourage beer lovers to drink low-carb beer for the sake of their partners.

“From strategy through to storytelling, this campaign defies the clichés of low-carb beer. Usually positioned as the beer for people who work out, Colenso BBDO positioned drinking low-carb beer as one of the most selfless acts you can do,” explains Executive Judge Robin Fitzgerald, Chief Creative Officer at BBDO Atlanta.

There were also 8 Gold trophies awarded across the Film category:

–       Artplan Sao Paulo, Brasil, ‘The Beatbox Catalogue’ for Etna Home & Décor, won 2 Golds

–       Leo Burnett Taiwan, ‘Souvenirs From Travel’ for China Airlines

–       GREYnJ United, Thailand ‘FACE/OFF’ for Kasikornbank

–       Wolf Bangkok, Thailand, ‘Second job’ for Central Department

–       Grey Tokyo, Japan, ‘Hankograph’ for WILDAID

–       C.Ray Corporation, Japan, ‘The Nanto Family’ for The Nanto Bank

–       Colenso BBDO, New Zealand, ‘I’m Drinking it For You’ for DB Breweries

Harshad Rajadhyaksha, Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy India (West), also judged Film & Video Stars: “All the Gold winners stood out taller than the other finalists. The Nanto Family, for instance, takes the extremely complicated issue of a last will and inheritance and adds loads of un-missable entertainment in a way that has to be delightfully remembered! All of us in the jury room couldn’t stop laughing when we were judging it. Or take the Beatbox Catalogue: they have converted a tough brief into such an unexpected, fun, surprising and yet super hardworking ad through the sheer use of creativity.”

In the Video Stars category, the Grand Prix was awarded to GreynJ United, Thailand for ‘FACE/OFF’ (Kasikornbank).

“This is such compelling content, and once we learned how quickly ‘FACE/OFF’ became popular, we agreed it really deserved to win Grand Prix. It takes chances with direction and casting, and made something as simple as updating an app feel relatable and compelling. For a financial institution to take these kinds of risks in its storytelling is really great,” says Fitzgerald.

Rajadhyaksha adds: “I love its absolutely brilliant Thai brand of humour used to tackle what must have been a complicated and slightly technical brief. Getting people to understand why their banking app needed constant updates, and doing so with this brilliance, deserved nothing but a Grand Prix.”

There were four Gold winners in Video Stars:

–       Ogilvy New Zealand, ‘The Most Dangerous Stunt in the World’ (Auckland Transport) won two Golds

–       J. Walter Thompson, Taiwan, ‘My variety father’ for E-Life Home Appliances

–       Casanova/McCann, USA, ‘Second Chances’ (Donate Life California)

Design & Print

In Design, the Grand Prix was awarded to TBWA Hakuhodo for ‘The Most Challenging Ping Pong Table’, created for the Japan Para Table Tennis Association.

Melvin Mangada, Chief Creative Officer at TBWASantiago Mangada Puno in Manila, led the Design & Print categories as Executive Judge. He said: “The jury was unanimous in rewarding the Grand Prix for Design, which stood out above all on craft, elegant design and user experience. We felt that the work celebrated should pave the way for disruptive ideas in design and print craft using new and old tools.”

The judges awarded 13 Gold trophies in Design:

–       Cheil Worldwide Hong Kong’s ‘Homework’ and ‘A Sweet Escape’ for Chupa Chups won two Golds

–       TBWA Santiago Mangada Puno, Philippines also won two Golds for ‘This is a tree’ for Pacific Paint (Boysen); and Baybayan’ for Cultural Center of the Philippines

–       Hakuhodo Indonesia, ‘Clever Cash’ for Save Street Child Sidoarjo

–       TBWA Hakuhodo, Japan, ‘The restaurant of mistaken orders’ for DAIKI Angel Help Inc.  

–       The Brand Agency, Australia, ‘Hungry Puffs’ for Foodbank WA

–       The Electric Factory, Uruguay, ‘Chivas Regal Eternity’ for Pernod Ricard

–       Serviceplan Korea, ‘Dot Mini – The First Smart Media Device for the visually impaired’ for Dot Incorporation

–       Colenso BBDO, New Zealand, ‘Kupu’ for Spark

–       MullenLowe Singapore, ‘Cavities (Bubblegum)’ for Unilever Asia

–       Innocean Worldwide, Korea, ‘The Quiet Taxi’ for Hyundai Motor Group

–       Cheil Worldwide, Hong Kong, ‘Gatsby’ for Penguin Random House

In Print, the Grand Prix was awarded to Ogilvy Group Thailand’s ‘Deer’ campaign for Freeland Foundation, which also won one Gold and Bronze trophy. “This piece of work excelled in both concept and execution. It was the only campaign in the category that won in both Craft and Products and Services. The jury was intent on rewarding work that reflected more than just the aesthetic of the work. We considered concept and a strong purposeful message, too,” said Mangada.

The judges awarded 7 Gold trophies in Print:

–       Cheil Worldwide, Hong Kong won two Gold awards for ‘Gatsby’ for Penguin Random House, and ‘Homework’ for Chupa Chups

–       RedBank China, ‘SHUSH’ for 360 QIKU

–       Impact BBDO, United Arab Emirates, ‘Mutilated Words’ for 28 Too Many

–       MullenLowe Singapore, ‘Cavities (Bubblegum)’ for Unilever Asia

–       Ogilvy Group Thailand, ‘Deer’ for Freeland Foundation

–       DDB Mudra, India ‘Hashtags don’t heal’ for Khalsa Aid

Public Service Advertising Diverse Insights, Outdoor, Place Brand, Radio & Audio

In Public Service Advertising (PSA), there were two Grand Prix winners: Casanova/McCann, USA, ‘Second Chances’ for Donate Life California; and BBDO Atlanta’s ‘Stop Traffick’ for Street Grace. There were also three Gold PSA winners: Hakuhodo Indonesia’s ‘Clever Cash’ for Save Street Child Sidoarjo; and Serviceplan Korea’s ‘Dot Mini’ for Dot Incorporation, and Cheil Worldwide, Hong Kong’s ‘Fatal Recognition’ for The Hong Kong Stroke Association.

Ali Rez, Regional ECD at Impact BBDO, Middle East/Pakistan, helped to judge this category. “Casanova/McCann gives a second chance to organ donors and puts them in the shoes of someone who gets a second chance at life. ‘Stop Traffick’ is brilliant in its scale. It’s easy to throw around statistics, but people become desensitized to them. This campaign makes a statistic about human sex trafficking come alive. Both campaigns take very engaging, novel approaches.”

No Grand Prix trophies were awarded in Diverse Insights, Outdoor, Place Brand or Radio & Audio.

In Diverse Insights, VMLY&R Australia’s ‘The Half Biscuit’ for RSA won Gold. Jureeporn Thaidumrong, Chief Creative Officer at GREYnJ United, led these categories as Executive Judge. She explains: “This category is about promoting cultural diversity and ‘The Half Biscuit’ was the best example of how local insights can drive the creative solution.”

In Outdoor, there were six Gold trophies awarded:

–       DDB Sydney, Australia, ‘Grave of Thrones’ for Foxtel won 2 Golds

–       FCB New York, USA, ‘Whopper Detour’ for Burger King

–       Casanova/McCann, USA, ‘Second Chances’ for Donate Life California

–       BBDO Bangkok, Thailand, ‘7:1 Furniture Collection’ for Homepro

–       Impact BBDO, United Arab Emirates, ‘Toxic Flag’ for Green Peace & Waste Management Coalition

“I loved the effort that went into ‘Grave of Thrones’ in terms of craft, and ‘Toxic Flag’ is amazing work,” says Thaidumrong.

In the Place Brand category, Airbag Australia picked up the category’s sole trophy, winning Bronze for ‘Carriberrie’.

In Radio & Audio, Colenso BBDO, New Zealand won Gold for ‘I’m Drinking it for You’ for DB Breweries. “We’ve seen great songs composed for brands before, but in this instance the idea is good, the execution is great, and the copywriting is brilliant,” says Thaidumrong.

Interactive, Integrated, Innovation, Mobile, Data Insights, Social & Influencer

Serviceplan Korea won the Interactive Grand Prix for ‘Dot Mini – The First Smart Media Device for the Visually Impaired’ (Dot Incorporation), while Impact BBDO, United Arab Emirates won Gold for ‘The Blank Edition’ (An-Nahar).

“We felt ‘Dot Mini’ deserved a Grand Prix because it gives the industry a view of what we want to see more of. It pushes into the realm of innovation and shows our industry can do more than drive awareness – our ideas can manifest as products or services,” says Joanna Monteiro, Chief Creative Officer at FCB Brasil, who led these categories as Executive Judge.

There were no Grand Prix winners in Integrated and Innovation, but Serviceplan Korea also won Gold in Innovation for ‘Dot Mini’. 

In Mobile, the Grand Prix was awarded to FCB New York for ‘Whopper Detour’ (Burger King). There were also two Gold winners: Cheil Worldwide, Korea, ‘REDCEIPT’ (Kakao Corp.) and Serviceplan Korea’s Dot Mini (Dot Incorporation).

AD STARS introduced the Data Insights and Social & Influencer categories last year. In Data Insights, FCB Brasil won the category’s only Gold trophy for ‘Trending Botics’, created for Congresso em Foco.

Keith Byrne, Creative Director at Digitas, Singapore, also judged this category. He says: “It’s clear that agencies and brands are really starting to focus on how they use data to sell a product or improve a service, and there were actually a lot of entries in this category. However, a lot of the work we judged seemed to be created without real purpose and felt a bit gimmicky. ‘Congresso em Foco’ was a really effective, purpose-driven campaign but what won it Gold was actually its data visualisation. The campaign was built around simple, beautiful, shareable and most importantly effective graphic design.”

The Social & Influencer Grand Prix was awarded to Impact BBDO, United Arab Emirates for ‘The Blank Edition’ (An-Nahar). There was also one Gold awarded to Wunderman Thompson in Thailand for ‘Narcos – The Censor’s Cut’ (Netflix).

Direct, Media, Promotion, PR

‘The Whopper Detour’ by FCB New York won Direct Grand Prix and a Gold in Direct.

“There is no mistaking the intent of this campaign: it is designed to get the brand noticed and to drive profits. They could have simply handed out Burger King coupons, but instead they found a way to generate eyeballs and start a conversation. When you can’t outspend your competition, you have to outsmart them,” says Ted Lim, Regional Chief Creative Officer at Dentsu Asia Pacific, who led these categories as Executive Judge.

There were 3 more Gold winners in Direct:

–       The Brand Agency, Australia, ‘Hungry Puffs’ (Foodbank WA)

–       Impact BBDO, United Arab Emirates for ‘The Blank Edition’ (An-Nahar)

–       Casanova/McCann, USA, ‘Second Chances’ (Donate Life California)

In Media, Impact BBDO, United Arab Emirates won Grand Prix and a Gold trophy for ‘The Blank Edition’ (An-Nahar). ADK Japan also won Gold for ‘Make it a runway’ (PVH Japan).

“The political context in which ‘The Blank Edition’ was published made it a very brave decision. One act of bravery brought about political and social change,” says Lim. “In the context of what we do as an industry: I believe we are in the business previously known as advertising. Whether we are selling shampoo or bringing about social change, we have to bring purpose to whatever we are working on.”

In the Promotion category, there were also two Gold winners: FCB New York’s ‘The Whopper Detour’ (Burger King) and Casanova/McCann, USA, ‘Second Chances’ (Donate Life California).

The PR Grand Prix was awarded to Impact BBDO, United Arab Emirates for ‘The Blank Edition’ (An-Nahar), which also won Gold.

There were two more Gold winners in the PR category:

–       DDB Sydney, Australia’s ‘Grave of Thrones’ (Foxtel)

–       FCB New York’s ‘Whopper Detour’ (Burger King).

AD STARS will return in 2020 for its 13^th annual festival and awards show. For more information, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn or visit adstars.org

Carousell, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Asia, today unveiled a fresh new look which includes a revamped logo, brand positioning and visual identity developed by next generation, creative brand agency, Superunion. The updated look is being rolled out across Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia

The new branding captures the power of positive experiences and possibilities living in the Carousell ecosystem, an app-first, peer-to-peer, digital marketplace where consumers and businesses exchange goods and services, including personal items like fashion and electronics, as well as cars and properties.

Ambrish Chaundry, Managing Strategy Director Asia said: “Working on the Carousell rebranding project has been very exciting for us. As they build momentum around regional expansion and widen their offering, it’s a perfect time to remind the world what makes Carousell special – a community of real people, “Carousellers”, who all want what is best for each other.”

Cassandra Leong, Brand Marketing Lead for Carousell, said: “Working with Superunion was a pleasure as they engaged the whole organisation, across departments and seniority, in arriving at a narrative and identity that captures our best selves. They have been true to what we stand for and yet have pushed us forward in terms of the brand identity and customer experience.”

The big idea behind Carousell’s new visual identity is that behind every Carousell transaction is a win-win story. What sets Carousell apart from other online shopping platforms is that two real people, a buyer and seller, come together to make an exchange happen, creating a ‘magic moment.’ The new visual identity leverages pops of colour, charming illustrations, motion and overlapping shapes to bring these magic moments to life.

The Carousell platform itself has also been updated to be in line with the visual identity, simplifying its user interface and marketing communications to focus on Carousellers’ items and stories.

Carousell Logo:

The updated symbol mark maintains the original inspiration of the Carousell name and logo, the Kodak carousel, alluding to the cyclical nature of items going round and round. Superunion modernised the logotype and wordmark to reflect a vibrant yet trusted marketplace, and enabled the brand to live successfully in a digital-first environment. The five outward ‘fins’ in the symbol mark represent the company’s five core values, strongly embodied throughout Carousell’s product and culture.

Colours:

Red remains the core Carousell brand colour, now brighter, to represent the ambition of the brand looking into the future. A new suite of secondary colours have also been included to showcase the diversity of the Carousell marketplace.

Motion:

As a natural extension of the digital brand, motion has been incorporated into the visual identity, celebrating energy and movement, representative of the liveliness of the platform itself and serendipitous moments which occurs in its ecosystem.

The new visual identity is being rolled out formally in the coming weeks, beginning with app changes, as well as a brand campaign which will launch in September.

CREDITS

Scott Lambert, Creative Director – Superunion

Pete Tong, Designer – Superunion

Danley Stone, Client Director – Superunion
Charlotte Cheong, Client Executive – Superunion

Ambrish Chaudhry, Managing Strategy Director – Superunion

Sherman Chia, Senior Designer – Superunion

Cassandra Leong, Brand Marketing Lead – Carousell

Jem Seow, Senior Brand Marketing Specialist – Carousell

Davina Tjandra, Creative Design Lead – Carousell

Quek Siu Rui, Founder – Carousell

Marcus Tan, Founder – Carousell

Lucas Ngoo, Founder – Carousell

Creative agency Roger and full-service production company Big Machine announced a strategic merger today that will expand the creative capabilities for their respective agency, brand, and entertainment clients. The LA-based studios will retain the Roger name and continue all operations at their newly renovated facility in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Representing Roger in the business partnership is Terence Lee, creative director, Dane Macbeth, creative director, and Josh Libitsky, executive producer; and Steve Petersen, director, Ken Carlson, creative director, and Sean Owolo, business development, for Big Machine.

With expanded creative firepower, Roger aims to set a new benchmark for multidisciplinary creative studios, offering the best in talent and resources for projects that require branding, design, animation, VFX, VR/AR, live-action, and content development.

“Big Machine and Roger have always looked at ways to partner on projects and organically expand our reach into new markets,” says Lee. “We just genuinely click as creatives and as friends, and share a vision for what it takes to bring together talent, ideas, and resources to create awesome work.”

“We saw a tremendous opportunity to make an impact within the industry in a way that wouldn’t be possible without joining forces,” adds Owolo. “Roger’s breakthrough creative for major brands and Big Machine’s Emmy-winning content know-how allow us to offer our clients a truly complete package for every aspect of their brand.”

Since the merger, the studio is already embarking on a number of projects, including major creative campaigns for Disney and Sony Pictures.

Custom-designed from the ground up to foster a collaborative working environment, Roger’s new 6,500-square-foot studio includes four private offices, three editing suites, two conference rooms, an empty shooting space for green screen work, a kitchen, and lounge.

“Existing clients will appreciate the breadth of experience we have under one roof now,” concludes Libitsky. “We can assemble highly strategic and super-talented teams tailored to a specific project — or combine all of our resources in tandem to develop a fully integrated experience from the top down. We’re equally excited about how the merger positions us to explore and experiment with new mediums and areas of business.”

About Roger:

Roger is a Los Angeles-based creative studio specializing in branding, advertising, and content development for screens of all sizes. We partner with agencies, brands, and entertainment companies that are as passionate about creativity and innovation as we are. From strategy to execution, we bring their unique vision to life with a diverse team of makers and storytellers spanning live-action, design, animation, and VFX. Our recent clients include Discovery, General Mills, Adidas, and History. We’re Roger. Loud and clear.

Rokkan Puts The Russo Brothers in the Driver’s Seat For Cadillac Campaign

XT6 Launch campaign continues to prove this isn’t your grandfather’s Cadillac

Continuing its string of disruptive work for the Cadillac brand, Rokkan has set a new bar with the launch of the Crew Ready, 3-row, XT6 SUV. In order to standout in the ever-crowded Lux-3 SUV segment, Rokkan collaborated with A-list, power-house directors The Russo Brothers and production company Bullitt. World famous superhero style with a twist defines the XT6 Crew Ready campaign and further defines the bold new direction of the Cadillac brand.

The campaign is comprised of a dynamic series of films showing off the XT6’s spacious 3-row interior, sporty design and rich technology suite – cementing its status as the perfect SUV for every squad, fam, or posse. In essence, XT6 Crew Ready is a celebration of size and style – performance and presence told through a cast of crews. They are both heroic and familiar –modern, tech-forward and cut from every cloth. The campaign also features the bombastic track, “Welcome To The Party,” by Diplo. The track adds a commanding layer of energy to the films for a brand whose legacy in music is unmatched.

“Our team has continued to push the boundaries of what the world expects from a Cadillac, and this campaign continues that dynamic creative trajectory.” Said Brian Carley, CCO of Rokkan. “We set out to uproot the idea that a 3 row SUV has to be marketed in an expected and uniform way and The Russo Brothers were the perfect partners to do just that with Crew Ready.”

This new work is a prime example of Rokkan’s disruptive and culturally relevant approach as the 19 year-young creative shop does what it does best: push the boundaries with clients to make an impact—not just on their business, but on culture at large.
 

Bullitt is a filmmakers’ collective and creative studio founded in collaboration with The Russo Brothers and Justin Lin. Combining the power of both entertainment and advertising, Bullitt harnesses the talent of innovative directors and other creators to forge experiences that connect to any desired audience. Brand supported films, AR and VR, and commercial campaigns, are just some of the projects to which Bullitt has developed, designed, and delivered, earning Cannes Lions and millions of eyeballs for its captivating and imaginative work.

Client: Cadillac

Chief Marketing Officer: Deborah Wahl

Associate Director: Content Benjamin Haynes

Director / Product Marketing: Jason Sledziewski

Marketing Manager: Bob Benbow

Assistant Manager / Content: Rob Whitley

Marketing Coordinator: Lisa Redinger

Agency: Rokkan New York

Chief Creative Officer: Brian Carley

Chief Creative Officer: Bob Winter

Executive Creative Director: Alex Lea

VP / Group Creative Director: Bill Carlson

Creative Director: Austin Muncy

Creative Director: Rob Rooney

Campaign Photographer: Justin Jamison

Creative Operations: Hank Romero

Head of Production: Bruce Andreini

Executive Producer: Jenny Lee

EVP / Chief Client Officer, Matt Garcia

EVP / Global Client Lead, Paul Mareski

EVP / Director, Emily Shahady

Vice President, Group Account Director: Scott Durday

Account Supervisor: Amanda Koegler

Account Supervisor: Maggie Decker

Chief Strategy Officer: Nicolas Chidiac

Group Strategy Director: Steve Lampert

Strategist: Spice Walker

Associate Strategist: Emma Pindel

Production: Bullitt

Directors: The Russo Brothers

2nd Unit Director: Ari Costa

Executive Producer: Luke Ricci

Executive Producer/HOP: Jenni Sprunger

Executive Vice President, Sales & Development: Allison Amon

Producer: Jeremy Barrett

Director of Photography: Trent Opalach

Editorial: Final Cut

Editors: Crispin Struthers + James Rosen

Social Media Asset Editor: Geoff Hastings

Assistant Editors: Mike Radforth + Cutler Gray

Executive Producer: Sarah Roebuck

Head of Production: Penny Ensley

VFX: MPC

Executive Producer: Camila De Biaggi

Producer: Aiste Akelaityte

Production Coordinator: Stephen Dierks

VFX Supervisor: Rob Walker

2D Leads: Rob Walker, Bilali Mack, Tamir Sapir

2D Tean: Giulia Bartra, Esther Song, David Anger, Renato Carone, Lawrence Merrill, John Shafto, Julien Aucouturier, Thiago Porto, David Piombino, Hector Cabrera, Luis Artigas, Kataleah Cowham

Color: The Mill

Colorist: Mike Rossiter

Producer: Evan Bauer

Audio: Heard City

Sound Design + Mix: Phil Loeb

Executive Producer: Sasha Awn

Producer: Andi Lewis