Blogbook

A Coughing Billboard

January 18, 2017

The Coughing Billboard: great interactive advertising by Akestam Holst – it coughs whenever someone smokes near it, using smoke detectors. Via CNN:

The innovative advertisement is paid for by a Swedish pharmacy chain that wants to encourage smokers to kick their smelly habit. At first glance, the digital screen positioned outside a metro station shows only a simple photo of a model. But walk by with a lit cigarette and the man in the picture starts coughing, clearly bothered by the smoke.

The screen then changes again, offering various products sold by pharmacy chain Apotek Hjartat that can help smokers quit. Akestam Holst, the agency behind the campaign, created the effect by attaching smoke detectors to the digital advertising screen. They chose a location where people often smoke — Stockholm’s Odenplan square — and let the coughing begin.

The agency filmed the reactions of smokers — some express surprise, others react with laughter. The resulting video has been posted online and is being shared widely. “The purpose was to drive the conversation about this topic, documenting the reactions, encouraging people to live a healthy lifestyle,” said Fredrik Kullberg, marketing director at Apotek Hjartat. “The reaction has been mostly really positive.”

The timing of the campaign was deliberate. “We released this initiative that aims to help people with one of the most common New Year’s resolutions — quit smoking,” said Ida Persson, spokeswoman for the agency.

Kyle Irving, Questlove and Nike Basketball

January 17, 2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXbiY8oli78

Kyle Irving and Questlove play a mesmerising basketball and drums duet for Nike Basketball that debuted on Christmas Day. Via Vibe:

Thanks to the drums and the rock, the newest Nike ad for Kyrie Irving’s signature shoe, the Kyrie 3s, is pretty awesome.

In the 60-second commercial, The Roots’ Questlove can be seen sitting at a drum set, while the Cleveland Cavaliers’ point guard dribbles down the court to the beat, contributing to the infectious sound. According to Nike, the Kyrie 3s “maximize speed and control with traction pods and adaptive forefoot band.”

Basketball fans have taken notice that the spot bears resemblance to a 2000 Nike ad featuring Vince Carter and Jason Williams.

For those unfamiliar with The Roots, they’re an American hip hop band on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show, formed in 1987 by Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson in Philadelphia.

Credits

Client: Nike
Agency: R/GA Los Angeles
Executive Creative Director: Brandon Mugar
VP, Executive Creative Director: Sammi Needham
Creative Director: Jack Jensen
Creative Director: Frank Dattalo
Senior Art Director: Josh Kopeika
Senior Copywriter: Newton Stern
VP, Strategy: Jessica Greenwood
Executive Producer: Warren Kinney
Senior Producer: Chris Lockett
Production Company: Hoffman Bros.
Directors: Hoffman Bros.

Hidden Figures

January 16, 2017

Hidden Figures is a film about the untold story of African American women working at NASA who were the brains behind the John Glenn orbital launch, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big. Via the New York Times:

“Hidden Figures” takes us back to 1961, when racial segregation and workplace sexism were widely accepted facts of life and the word “computer” referred to a person, not a machine. Though a gigantic IBM mainframe does appear in the movie — big enough to fill a room and probably less powerful than the phone in your pocket — the most important computers are three African-American women who work at NASA headquarters in Hampton, Va. Assigned to data entry jobs and denied recognition or promotion, they would go on to play crucial roles in the American space program.

Based on Margot Lee Shetterly’s nonfiction book of the same title, the film, directed by Theodore Melfi (who wrote the script with Allison Schroeder), turns the entwined careers of Katherine Goble (later Johnson), Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan into a rousing celebration of merit rewarded and perseverance repaid. Like many movies about the overcoming of racism, it offers belated acknowledgment of bravery and talent and an overdue reckoning with the sins of the past.

It’d be out in Australia in February. Looking forward to it!

Supporting Film / Voor Film

January 13, 2017

Supporting Film / Voor Film is about the experience and ritual of watching film, as seens through people of diverse perspectives. Via Short of the Week:

A short film about film, Douwe Dijkstra’s Supporting Film is a collection of views and opinions about cinema and the effect is has on us. A must-watch for movie lovers, this 12-minute experimental doc seamlessly blends audio interviews with playful and inventive visual representations of the points being made, resulting in an entertaining, meta short that we all should be able to relate to.

With director Dijkstra revealing he “set out to create what I would like to see in a cinema as a pre-feature short film”, Supporting Film provides some fresh point-of-views on the cinema experience. From being a theatre-goer with a visual impairment, to trying to hide your tears from fellow audience members, this is a film that really gets you thinking about how we digest film.

“It would be great if the film provides you with some new perspectives of looking”, Dijkstra explains when discussing the aims of his short with Short of the Week. “An important part of seeing a movie in a cinema is the fact that you are not alone, something I wanted to celebrate (opposed to the contemporary individual tv/computer watching) by showing you the eclectic views of different people towards films”.

Essentially setting out to answer that never-more relevant question – why do we go to the movies? – Dijkstra started creating his film by first recording interviews with people and then editing them into a kind of radio documentary before moving onto the visuals of his short.

Furkids Animal Shelter Ad

January 11, 2017

Furkids and their low budget animal shelter ad has gone viral. It’s a hilarious ad parodying used car/property commercials. Adopt a pet today! Via Adage:

Sometimes you don’t need to be an expert to make a great campaign. Contractor Paul Preston’s charmingly improvised video riffing off some tried-and-true advertising conventions is working wonders in urging people to adopt homeless animals. The video, for the city’s Furkids Animal Rescue and Shelters, is making a star of Mr. Preston and his kitty compatriots on social media.

The Furkids “Kitty Kommercial” sends up language generally used in hard sell-informercials and local TV spots. The online spot, conceived, produced and hosted by Atlantan Mr. Preston, who works at a rental property management company, has attracted international attention. The video features Mr. Preston playing the part of an exaggerated but endearing salesman working hard to find homes for Furkids shelter animals. The video was originally posted to YouTube, where it garnered over 1.2 million views, and the Furkids Facebook page. It has since made the rounds at Reddit, Huffpo and much more.

“Our excitement at the incredible response from the world is beyond measure,” said Furkids founder and Executive Director Samantha Shelton. “While our adoption rates have been strong, we always have more animals than adopters, and we’re grateful for Paul Preston’s humorous approach to adoption. His piece has resonated powerfully and made us recognize that humor touches and motivates people,” she said. (Hopefully Sarah McLaughlin will agree.)

Ms. Shelton added that Furkids has seen a rise in donations and queries about adopting cats and dogs since the ad was first posted Dec. 23. “Some viewers have even asked about adopting Paul Preston,” she said.

Device Like No Other

January 10, 2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lu1vuuKD2U

Nick Offerman trolls CES with the unveiling of a “device like no other”, in a American Greetings campaign pushing paper greeting cards. Via Adweek:

Nick Offerman, noted actor and woodworker, is not exactly known as a high-tech pioneer. So, it shouldn’t be too surprising that his appearance at CES this week turned out to have a significant plot twist.
Offerman was enlisted to help unveiled a #DeviceLikeNoOther—one that was billed as “ultrathin, has unlimited memory and offers more meaningful ways to connect than ever thought possible.”

Yes, once again, American Greetings has crashed a tech conference to promote a decidedly analog experience—the sending of paper greeting cards. The brand, and agency MullenLowe, did a similar thing at SXSW last March.

The #DeviceLikeNoOther concept is also reminiscent of the fun Ikea “Bookbook” campaign from a few years ago that promoted the paper Ikea catalog as a high-tech device. As part of its CES activation, American Greetings gave attendees the chance to customize limited-edition CES greeting cards with American Greetings illustrators and writers. Randi Zuckerberg was also on hand as another endorser.

“I was sincerely honored to be asked to represent the venerated sentiment-delivery system known as the greeting card by American Greetings,” Offerman said. “In my family, we rely on cards to signify moments of great magnitude as well as just simple affection, a warm practice I am happy to share with my fellow Americans.”

Beats by Dre

December 19, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dDJEC_d3Uw

Beats by Dre has a new, high energy spot featuring 23 of the world’s top athletes, rocking out to White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army”. Via Adweek:

Beats by Dre has a proud history of tapping into sports superstars, going back to “The Game Before the Game” with Brazilian soccer star Neymar and the “Hear What You Want” work with Kevin Garnett, Richard Sherman, Colin Kaepernick and Cesc Fabregas. Now, the brand is back with a rocking new spot—with no fewer than 23 of the world’s top athletes.
The spot, by Anomaly, features Tom Brady, LeBron James, Michael Phelps, Serena Williams, Cam Newton, Kevin Durant, Simone Biles and Nigel Sylvester, among other stars. They’re all seen beating their chests to the pulsing baseline of “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes, which has become a great sports anthem in its own right over the years.
The theme of the new spot is, “Be heard.”

Credits

Client: Beats by Dre
Agency: Anomaly
Starring: Cam Newton, LeBron James, Serena Williams, Owen Farrell, Tom Brady, Kevin Debruyne, Kevin Durant, Anthony Joshua, Simone Biles, Nigel Sylvester, Conor McGregor, Antoine Griezmann, Thierry Henry, Leticia Bufoni, Antonio Conte, César Azpilicueta , Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Bastian Schweinsteiger , Alexander Ovechkin, Michael Phelps , Arjen Robben

The Expanse Season 2

December 16, 2016

Acclaimed Syfy science fiction tv show The Expanse is rolling into Season 2 in February 2017, and the third trailer is out! Adapting James Corey’s great books for tv, the Expanse is a really credible effort which makes for amazing tv. “James Corey” is in fact really two authors, one of whom used to be George RR Martin’s assistant. Official synopsis via Den of Geek:

“The Expanse is firing on all cylinders creatively, building a passionate fan base among viewers and critics alike, and delivering on Syfy’s promise of smart, provocative science fiction entertainment. We can’t wait to see where the story takes us in season two,” said Dave Howe, President, Syfy and Chiller in a statement when The Expanse season 2 was confirmed.

“The story of THE EXPANSE unfolds across a colonized galaxy 200 years in the future, when two strangers – a hardened detective, Joe Miller (Thomas Jane), and a rogue ship’s captain, James Holden (Steven Strait) – become unwittingly swept up in a vast conspiracy to cover up a horrific human experiment. As Season 2 kicks off with interplanetary tensions at an all-time high, the cold war between Earth and Mars is on the brink of an all-out battle.”

The latest book, Babylon’s Ashes, is also just hot off the press. Check it out!

Oxfam Refugees "I Hear You"

December 15, 2016

Oxfam has released a new campaign titled “I Hear You”, where celebrities like John Cho tell stories of vulnerable refugees. Via Vanity Fair:

“More than 65 million people around the world have been forced to leave their homes because of violence, persecution, and war,” said Oxfam president Raymond Offenheiser in a statement. “These are not just numbers. These are people, with individual stories just like every one of us. Now is a time for solidarity and compassion; not a time to close our minds, our hearts, or our borders.”

For Driver, this project aims to bring people together in their activism and their concerns for the state of the world and the well-being of refugees from Syria and other countries.

“I hope that this project helps to remind people of their fundamental humanity and the kindness and love we can and must extend to one another,” she said. “Love is better than anything.”

Donate / see the rest of the videos here.

Cup Noodle FFXV Product Placement

December 14, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvaTAgkWy6c

In the age of product placement, Cup Noodle has a very extensive feature, for some reason, in the highly anticipated JRPG Final Fantasy XV. Via Dualshockers:

The fact that Final Fantasy XV features quite a few cases of product placement is no mystery, and one of those is the partnership with every Japanese’s most beloved cheap food, the Nissin cup noodles.

It was hilariously announced right in the middle of a stage event at Tokyo Game show, almost like it was some sort of spectacular feature. But let’s be honest, the Japanese love their cup noodles, and so do I. They have given me energy to write news for you many times during my sleepless nights in a Japanese hotel room.

[…]

Thanks to an accompanying press release received by DualShockers (yes, they actually sent press releases to gaming websites), we learn that “the currently airing Final Fantasy XV commercial has been reprocessed scene by scene and converted into the Cup Noodles format – transforming the majestic and atmospheric world of Final Fantasy through brute force into the Cup Noodles universe.”

It’s also mentioned that the collaboration was made possible due to the “neighborly friendship” between Nissin and Square Enix, with offices located only a three minutes walk apart from each other.

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