The Fly and the Eye

“The Fly and the Eye” is the latest from Cisma for OCB's Black Thinking. I'm in love with the Twilight Zone look, feel, and story line.There is also a making of, which I always love, that sheds some light on how film trickery was accomplished.

Enjoy!

Jeremyville Lends His Look to MasterCard Paypass

I found these new Mastercard Paypass spots, on BestAdsonTV (click image to play). "Interception" "Hit" Cute huh? I had to immediately find out more about Animator/Director Jeremyville. The illustrations of Jeremyville have graced apparel and skateboard decks, been made into toys, and of course tons of prints and paintings. Check out some of his work.

School House Rock Pre-Debate Refresher

Happy Friday! In honor of the debates which may only bring frustration and anxiety this evening I thought we'd ease into Politics with some School House Rock.

Three Ring Government


How a Bill Becomes a Law

Shaun Sewter Animates New Boys & Girls Club PSA

I LOVE the work of filmmaker/animator Shaun Sewter and the company that represents him, Moo Studios.

This new stop motion animation is all about "Being Great." It comes from agency McCann Worldgroup in San Francisco.


I also can't help but mention, we are seeing a lot of really amazing Public Service Announcements lately, aren't we? What a great thing!

Get Out the Vote 2008

Every four Years AIGA invites designers from across the United States to create nonpartisan posters that inspire participation in the presidential election by exercising the right to vote.

With the election less than two months away and the pending debate tomorrow evening I wanted to share some of the top submissions.

You can view many more and experience the exhibition at the AIGA National Design Center via the AIGA website.

Jack Johnson Tour Posters

I love the diversity in graphic design for these Limited Edition 2008 Jack Johnson tour posters, very inspirational.




















































Artists clockwise from top: Lively & Motch, Alex Kopps, Harry Daly, Simone Rubi, Todd St. John, Jeff Canham, Lively & Motch, Nathaniel Russell, Lively & Motch, Chivo, Chris Mallloy.

Animated Videos from MTV Switch

The diversity of these three environmentally focused ads is part of what makes them so good. Switch is MTV Networks International's Global Climate Change Campaign. Their website is chock full of media, information, and tips and problems solving ideas to live a more environmentally helpful life. Enjoy the videos and stop on by the website to see loads more!

Green Song



Penguin



Trees Breathing

Matt Costa has Cigarette Eyes

So good. The latest Matt Costa video has the characteristic home made feel of the rest of his media, and this time all in one take. Cigarette Eyes was also directed by The Malloys, the duo responsible for Mr. Pitiful and countless other videos.





Doesn't it look like fun? Reminds me of the plays we used to put on for the old ladies in the neighborhood when I was a kid.

New Dentyne Ads Send a Personal Message

These new ads for Dentyne have shown up in Boston's T, to promote communicating up close and personal in this digital age. Kinda funny to advertise physical closeness in packed public transportation, or is it extremely smart? We've all sat next to the guy with the stinky breath among other things, right?












The Dentyne website is also set up to promote human contact, starting a 3 minute counter upon entering the site to limit your time away from the living. I think it's cute.

The Gloves Comes Off - Obama and McCain BOTH Have a Drinking Problem

Tappening.com promotes ditching the bottle and drinking straight from the tap...and using the candidates sure caught my attention.












The campaign comes from New York agency DiMassimo Goldstein.

Josh Groban Sings Emmy Medley

I loved this! Josh Groban sang a medley of classic television theme songs at last nights Emmy Awards.

The songs included themes from, The Simpsons, The Jeffersons, The Golden Girls, South Park, The Muppet Show, Baywatch and many more. Enjoy it!

Boston AdClub The Edge

Yesterday I attended The Edge, a creative event thrown by Boston's AdClub. The slogan of the event was "It's Where you go to get Inspired" and I know it might sounds cheesy but that's exactly what happened.

The day was packed full of thoughtful and extremely honest presentations, by Brian Collins (COLLINS,) Lance Jensen (Modernista!,) Frank Moss (MIT Media Lab,) and more. Though I'd like to regurgitate the whole thing for you, I won't but I want to share some of the projects and ideas that stood put as highlights to me.

Brian Collins, Chief Creative Officer and Chairman of COLLINS, started the day out discussing the creative process and the of idea community and collaboration to maximize ideas- a theme of the day. Some of the projects he explored in detail were the BP Helio House, a greener gas station, and my favorite new organization we (wecansolveit.org) which Collins so poetically opened and closed with...beginning with "me"...and flipping to add an exclaimation point to the power of "we" and his presentation. (update - one of the things Collins mentioned has stuck with me for more than a week now, I keep thinking about it. I can't fully explain it as elequently or visually as he did - but he made this connection between JFK and the Space Race; which led to futuristic - optomistic themed media, advertising, and televsion shows and therefore way of American life; and George W. and the declaration of revenge post 911; and the rugged military based and fear based media and lifestyle that has resulted. The one direct correlation was Batman. In the early 60's the Batmobile was futuristic, open to the world and new ideas, and the newest Batmobile is practically a tank, completely closed off and shut in from the surroundings. Not sure if that makes sense but man, I keep coming back to it - thanks so much Brian!)



















The next presentation I want to mention was from YouTube Director of Sales and Marketing Suzie Reider. Unfortunately her presentation was DURING lunch, (AdClub maybe rethink this next time?) but she offered a lot of good case studies to demonstrate the value of User Generated Content to propel a marketing campaign beyond its initial intended means.



The next item Suzie showed was a response to this video...




I love that EA sports is so in tune with their direct audience that they tailored a commercial directly to them, for this specific intended medium. Amazing.

The final presenter I want to tell you about is Frank Moss from The Media Lab, but I have so much to say I think I am going to do a separate entry. Say Tuned!

iPod Nano Chromatic

I can't help it, I think this new Nano ad is just so pretty - makes me smile every time I see it.

...and I love the color splatter mac logo...

Fashion Targets Breast Cancer Awarness in the Office

This new pair of spots, "Elevator" and "Office" from director Aleysa Young give men an excuse to talk to a woman's chest, to a very funny end.

My favorite of the two, "Office," is in a throwback educational video style tale of a man who just can't help but offend as he compliments his female coworker's Target Breast Cancer tee.

Publish Post

Vaseline Intensive Care So Men Won't Rust

This commercial caught my eye last night, I love the visual of the peeling rust. I happened to see the spot without the sound I was stuck to the TV until the brand was revealed. I was completely surprised to see the brand was Vaseline, I thought Gatorade, or Nike perhaps - but I was totally satisfied with the message and impressed with the visual sophistication that Vaseline has created once again.



I don't have any credit info yet but I will post as soon as I do!

Mad Men Adds to it's Trophy Shelf at the 2008 Creative Arts Emmy's

The Creative Arts Emmy's were held on Saturday - which are basically the Emmy's for the people that don't have personal stylists to dress them for the event, the people behind the scenes.

Mad Men picked up three - a good start leading to this Sunday's Primetime Emmy's where they are expected to leave with a few more.

The first Emmy's on the shelf are for Best Art Direction Single Camera Show, Best Cinematography Single camera Show, and best Title Design.


You can learn more about the title design, created by Imaginary Forces, on the Mad Men Website.

Also, one of my favorite spots of the year, BudLight Swear Jar won the Emmy for Best Commercial.

The Getty Center, Can't get it Out of Your Head

Oh The Getty Center, now that is a part of LA I truly miss. The gardens, the architecture, and of course the art - and all a free gift to the city of Los Angeles.

Director Peter Martin from Sleeper Film's illustrates so literally, and creatively that the things you see at The Getty really stay with you.



The "Getty Heads" remind me of one of my other favorite recent campaigns, the Vespa Heads.

Wecansolveit.org

I thought this commercial for wecansolveit.org was done so well, it took no dialog, only visuals and a message laid out plainly in white text to be affective. I immediately made my way to the website, of course I want to be a part of the cause, this is something i will proudly standing up for. The term that hit me the hardest was "free ourselves from our addiction to oil," I think addiction is the perfect word to illustrate the relearning that we will need to go through as a people, and it also implies the admittance that we have a problem that we all need to work hard to break.



Message from We Can Solve It

Together, We Can Repower America

Real change can happen real fast. We can strengthen our economy, lower fuel costs, free ourselves from our addiction to oil, and help solve the climate crisis. We can do this by switching to clean, free energy sources like the wind and sun -- and to do it within 10 years. Meeting this ambitious goal would create millions of new jobs, lead to permanently lower energy costs for families and help America lead the fight against global warming.

The Work of Nagi Noda

Nagi Noda, the director of one of my favorite spots of all time, Coca-Cola "What Goes Around Comes Around" passed away earlier this week from complications from a car accident. She was only 33. In her short career she made some of the most innovative and beautifully art directed films I've ever seen.

Coca-Cola What Goes Around Comes Around


TIGA Far From Home


YUKI Sentimental Journey


Scissor Sisters Shes My Man

30 Sec. to See No Evil from Amnesty International

Yep, ads that come with instructions.

Click the images to enlarge. Stare at the red cross for 30 seconds then tilt your head back, look at the ceiling and blink your eyes slowly.

You can see more from Amnesty International's See No Evil campaign at Ads of the World.

New Sia Music Video, Soon We'll Be Found

Sia's newest video, "Soon We'll be Found," is a colorful ballet. A story told through sign language in conjunction with shadow puppets, and glow in the dark 'hand-made' scenery.


The video is directed by Claire Carre of Partizan. Sia says about the video "I've always been obsessed with the beauty of sign language. The movement and expression just appears, to ignorant-hearing-me as a dance... a beautiful, emotive dance. But the real beauty is that, hidden in these perfect shapes, is communication."

You can read more about the video on Sia's Blog.

True Blood Opening Credit Sequence

Following suit True Blood, the new HBO Vampire series by Alan Ball jumps out of the gates with an intense show open, full of sex, blood, religion, and decay. I see something new every time I watch it, insects emerging from cocoons, baptisms, reptile fangs and children in KKK cloaks.



The sequence is from Digital Kitchen, and the song is "Bad Things" by Jace Everett. You can view a high-rez version on the DK website.

Digital Kitchen was also responsible for Ball's Six Feet Under opening. You can look through the making of the sequence here.

Absolute Moves into the Green Monster

There has been some big news from Fenway Park the last day or so. Red Sox Nation set a record for the 456th consecutive sold out game at Fenway last night, and Absolute Vodka released a new Ad campaign illustrating a Sox Fan moving to the Green Moster, settling in for the fast approaching playoffs. I don't think they sell hard alcohol inthe park do they? I'm pretty sure it's just beer drinking going on it the bleachers - but maybe that will change?

As The Herald article points out, this ad shows a departure from the bottle shaped Absolute Ads of the last 20 years, depicting instead a story line about an Absolute World.

Timberland Podium

It's officially feeling fall here in New England, the leaves are changing colors and this Timberland commercial paints a perfect picture of the lifestyle personified by this local New England brand.



Timberland is a true environmental leader, a little while back I attended a Q&A with Timberland and Mullen media agency MediaHub about their Earthkeeper campaign, promoting their boot made with recycled rubber and plastics. The campaign itself took extra steps to live true to their Green Identity, including offsetting media purchases with wind energy credits and even recycling the canvas banner ads by having them made into tote bags and later sold at the Timberland stores.

The spot is via agency Leagas Delaney and production company Rattling Stick.

Mercedes-Benz Ghostly Projections

I was mesmerized by this commercial as it played throughout college football last night. Funny I see a lot of the best commercials in loud bars...I guess that's living in Boston.

Anyway, the first time I saw it I was speechless, and each time it aired afterwards i was equally enthralled. A ghostly past and vivid present intertwine, almost like a trace of a slide show of life's past moments, or in this case past commercials, in relation to the Mercedes E class. The ghostly images reminded me a little of the projections used in Disney's Haunted Mansion Ride, layered onto the present time but just a shadow of what they used to be.


The agency is Merkley + Partners, the director is Adam Berg of Smuggler, and the beautiful VFX work was handled by Smoke & Mirrors.

Orla Kiely Lookbook Photographed by Sandra Freij

When I saw the new Orla Kiely Fall/Winter 2008 spread the first question that came to mind was - Who was the photographer? Yes, the line is beautifully styled, and the scenes well art directed to compliment the clothing and accessories, but I still thought there was something soft and feminine and insightful about the photos.























The photographer is Sandra Freij , I love the way she plays with soft natural looking light, location, and movement, (or the lack there of.) It works so well with the sophisticated hues in the line.

Here is an older spread from Freij for Mixte Magazine, I love the color, energy, and playfulness of light once again.