Blogbook
It’s the Year of the Monkey after Chinese New Year (so, not quite yet), and in anticipation, Pepsi has launched a viral video. To anyone growing up with Chinese TV channels in the ’80s, the subject is instantly familiar: it’s from Journey to the West, a massively iconic tv show based off one of the Chinese classics of the same name. Via Adage:
The video is part of PepsiCo’s annual Spring Festival integrated campaign for China, “Bring Happiness Home,” which has run for five years. It tells the true story of a boy who came from a family of performers that has reenacted the legend of the Monkey King for generations. The performer Zhang Jinlai, commonly known as the “Sixth Little Master,” wasn’t supposed to have the part; his older brother was groomed for it, but he died of leukemia. To play the athletic role for TV, Mr. Zhang had to overcome challenges including nearsightedness.
Some Background
Journey to the West is a Chinese classic published in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty, and has been attributed to Wu Cheng’en. It is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature, along with Water Margin, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Dream of the Red Chamber. It is an extended and fantastical account of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang’s journey to the ‘Western regions’ (Central Asia and India) to obtain sacred texts.
Looking for something to do on the weekend? The NGV’s Ai Weiwei/Andy Warhol exhibition is still up. We took a peek last weekend and loved it! Remember to check out Part 1, Part 2 and the Studio Cats exhibit. From the NGV:
This major international exhibition features two of the most significant artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei.
Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei, developed by the NGV and The Andy Warhol Museum, with the participation of Ai Weiwei, explores the significant influence of these two exemplary artists on modern art and contemporary life, focusing on the parallels, intersections and points of difference between the two artists’ practices. Surveying the scope of both artists’ careers, the exhibition at the NGV presents more than 300 works, including major new commissions, immersive installations and a wide representation of paintings, sculpture, film, photography, publishing and social media.
Embedded above is the trailer of one of Ai Weiwei’s documentaries, ‘Never Sorry’. Worth a watch 🙂 Happy weekend!
Old Spice has selected a new spokesman for its brand, with its #smellegendary campaign, involving the new person riding a whale (while playing tennis) and driving a rocket car that he built without a working knowledge of engineering. The new spokesman joins an existing lineup of the piss-take/Modern Man style advertisement talking heads, including his predecessor Isaiah Mustafa’s series, and Dos Equis’ ‘Most Interesting Man in the World’ ad.
Funniest line:
“The most valuable lesson I have ever learned is that if you fill your brains with knowledge, then there won’t be any room for dreams.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=59&v=giJxJdSuq74
Previously on Old Spice
Previous campaigns for Old Spice included the viral ads involving Mustafa with Wieden+Kennedy, which achieved the ‘holy grail‘ of being able to translate a great TV campaign into a massively successful online campaign. While the online campaign was running, Wieden+Kennedy produced nearly 100 spots a day, with Isaiah Mustafa responding to online enquiries in 30 second ads:
One thing you can sense if you’re lucky enough to be there in the studio is that they’re all having such fun doing this thing. Isaiah is loving it. Everyone who is writing it is loving it. The social media guys are loving it. And that really shines through.
If you are doing something in a social environment, you want it to feel like a place you want to be at.
It’s a really strange thing, but that sense that people are having fun actually manages to transmit itself through the Internet. People gravitate toward things that feel like they’re being done by people who love it. That sense that everyone involved with this is loving it is a huge factor in why this is so successful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7cFXSDN_5k
Stephen Fry welcomes visitors to the UK in this great ad for Heathrow Airport. Via TIME:
In a new commercial for Heathrow Airport, British comedian Stephen Fry offers a few pointers on etiquette for tourists visiting the United Kingdom. Most of his advice is in regards to the art of waiting patiently in line — or the queue, as they say across the pond. The actor‘s spin on why Britons seem so relaxed and unfazed by the wait: “It’s reassuring for us to know that the thing we’ve decided to do is so popular that we’re unable to do it immediately.”
Dolph Lundgren stars in this hilarious ad for National Geographic:
Dolph Lundgren (or, if you prefer, Ivan Drago) has signed up for a commercial project of his own—the promo below for the TV show Brain Games on the National Geographic Channel.
It’s a pretty good role for him, because while the Swedish actor is known mostly for his imposing physique, he’s actually one of the smarter celebrities around.
“Nobody knows that I studied chemical engineering,” he says in the ad, “or that I’ve got an IQ of 160. Or that I’m in Mensa.” (All of which is true, by the way.)
More here.
Happy New Year! We’re back. Hope everyone had a great holiday break. Looking forward to to 2016! In the meantime, here’s our studio dog’s resolutions for the New Year.
Some fun facts about 2016
+ The U.N. General Assembly has designated 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (a grain legume that is high in protein and nutrition)
+ US Presidential Elections! If you like more drama than West Wing can really manage
+ Leap Year
+ Year of the Red Fire Monkey
+ The dates 04/04/2016, 06/06/2016, 08/08/2016, 10/10/2016 and 12/12/2016 are all Mondays
+ Rio de Janeiro is hosting the Summer Olympics. Have you seen their awesome logo?
+ Pot might become legal in more countries this year – esp Canada, Mexico and Australia.
More trivia!
New Year’s used to be celebrated in March by ancient Babylon, around 4,000 years ago – not January 1. It was an 11 day festival celebrating the beginning of spring and crops being planted for the year to come. It only became a January 1 event 400 years ago by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, when he declared that January 1 would be New Year’s Day. Since then, it’s become an event for most of the world: although the Lunar New Year events tend to be larger holidays in Asia.
Fast Forward Girls pays tribute to several key cultural moments this year, from Amy Schumer’s “Girl, You Don’t Need Makeup” sketch, Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj’s video for “Feeling Myself,” and Misty Copeland becoming the first African-American principal ballerina at the American Ballet Theatre:
With the launch of Fast-Forward Girls, we’re celebrating today’s role models and the generation of girls they’ve inspired – the girls who have broken the mold, blazed a trail, and made it happen. In 2015, these ten women in politics, entertainment, sport, and STEM are the leading ladies that we all hope to grow up to be, proving that anything – and we mean anything – is possible.
Each superstar is played by a mini-superstar in the making, including Sophia Grace, Heaven King, Jillian from EvanTube, Sam Gordon, RadioJH Audrey, Annie & Hayley from Bratayley, and Flippin’ Katie.
From Elle:
GoldieBlox hired an all-female team to create the ad, which featured vocals from little Sophia Grace, the pint-sized rapper made famous by Ellen DeGeneres. There are also cameos from soccer star Abby Wambach, engineer Isis Anchalee, and football coach Jen Welter. And because it’s 2015 after all, the girls featured are Internet famous in their own right, and many have their own YouTube following. Even Beyoncé wasn’t this productive in elementary school.
We bet most of you guys are either watching Star Wars today or this weekend, so here’s a Modern Lightsaber Duel (no spoilers!) to celebrate.
What’s so funny?
The duel was inspired by the first Star Wars: The Force Awakens ad, which had Kylo Ren activating his red ‘saber – and then the crossguard. As with many things that come out of a franchise with so many fans and so much history, this was immediately controversial. Slashfilm had an explainer out before the film aired:
Theories on the hilt with the new side-blades have included the lightsaber being crudely built (especially when considering the look and sound of the blade) or that they’re merely exhaust vents for the weapon, though that was something lightsabers didn’t need before. And it turns out, both of those theories are right. Right now, Disneyland is in the midst of being taken over by the Season of the Force celebration. And along with things like Hyperspace Mountain, the heart of Tomorrowland also has a bunch of props and wardrobes on display, and some new details on Kylo Ren’s lightsaber were revealed on a new plaque situated next to one of the props from the movie: “Kylo Ren’s unusual lightsaber is an ancient design, although the one he carries is recently constructed. The crossguard blades, or quillons, are raw power vented from the primary central blade.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRy9oBGp8IA
Amazon Prime goes straight for the cute jugular with this new ad involving a mini horse who can’t quite seem to make friends. The ad is by Joint London and directed by Kevin Thomas at Thomas Thomas Films. It’s the third film for Amazon Prime by the agency, with the others involving stories like one about an injured dog being unable to play with the other dogs.
Some immediate questions
What kind of horse is that: it’s most probably Acer, a mini horse with dwarfism that lives in Corringham, England:
One thing that is somewhat accurate with the commercial, is that he doesn’t have a lot of horse friends. This isn’t because they don’t like him due to his differences, but more because he’s forbidden to be around the adult horses due to the fear that he might get hurt. Yet, this doesn’t stop him from making friends with other animals. As the video shows, he has a best friend named Demon, who is the owner’s black Labrador. His owner, Maureen O’Sullivan, believes that because they are both relatively the same size they get along great, in fact, they get along so well that she claims most the time Acer believes he’s more of a dog than a horse.
Hilarious satire by Missouri-based comedy show ‘The Mystery Hour’ shows the sad lives of the husbands of Instagram stars. More about the Mystery Hour:
The Mystery Hour began in the original basement theatre of the Skinny Improv as a conspicuously fake TV show. Over 5 pre-televised seasons, it grew through grassroots word of mouth to become an underground phenomenon. Now with an Emmy win, 3 Emmy nominations, syndication on multiple Fox networks, and live audiences of 700+ people, the Mystery Hour is in its fifth season on television. Hosted by “Mystery” Jeff Houghton, the show features fascinating guests, incredible music and hilarious comedy sketches. The Mystery Hour is filmed in front of a live studio audience at the historic Gillioz Theatre in Downtown Springfield, MO, and airs on Fox 5, Saturday Nights at 9:00 PM, and on Fox 14 Saturday Nights at Midnight. [The host] Jeff just won an Emmy for On-Camera Talent – Performer/Host. In addition to hosting, Jeff is also a writer, actor, and stand up comedian. He worked for the Late Show with David Letterman, appearing in numerous nationally televised sketches. He can also be seen in various regional and national commercials, and starred in the viral hit, “Missouri is Awesome.” Jeff works as on air talent for FOX 5 as well as a freelance writer for 417 Magazine, among others. He has performed stand up at the Comedy Store, has worked with Funny or Die, and trained at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles.
The BBC was curious as to whether Instagram Husbands was really a thing (Ans: Not really).