More Scrabble - Animated!

I know the illustrated Scrabble ads are cool - but there is also an animated commercial component to the campaign, so good! Check 'em out...

hula


yoga


sumo

Am I Collective Illusrates Every Word Score for Scrabble

This campaign via Ogilvy+ Mather, Paris caught my eye right away, not only is it a creative take on the classic word game, but it's a little dark which I thought was an interesting choice for a traditionally family. Maybe they finally are targeting the young adult generation of players? The illustrations come from the Am I Collective, who have an expansive collection of work which I intend to showcase in the near future, and the interactivity that the ads remind me of that Virgin Music illustration few years back with all of the band names hidden in it. Do I see a camel, volcano, neck tie? And is that a brontosaurus rainbow?

Another Cardboard Creation for UPS - Circus

Check out the second in the Cardboard campaign from Pysop for UPS, this time instead of a Gladiator scene, it's set under the Big Top.

Fly Jet Blue and Avoid the Seat Monster

The latest from againstallodds, Production Company Blacklist, and JWT is this perfectly on brand animated spot for Jet Blue featuring the 'Seat Monster.' The animation is so cute, and I love that they are advertising a feature other than the seat back TV's (though I'm not gonna lie I do miss having my own TV when I fly other airlines.) Check it out!

Animation Boutique Brings back the Hummingbirds

Finland's Animation Boutique created a trio of Hummingbirds- one for each flavor of Kopparberg Cider - decked out to match their fruit. Personally I like the cheeky Kiwi bird...

Guess 2009 from Photographer Matthias Vriens

My dear from Andrea tipped be off to this latest campaign for Guess that started showing up on billboards in the LA area for the Summer 2009 line. They are almost like a modern take on the classic pin up, with enough sex appeal for the new millennium. The photographer is Matthias Vriens, and it turns out the Fall/Winter campaign was also amazing if not even more fabulously retro glam. How gorgeous is that red head?!

A New Look at Animation, with a Paper Shredder for Oi Va Voi "Everytime"

How cool is this? THis music video is being featured on Vimeo today, the creators, Katarzyna Kijek & Przemysław Adamski, blended frames of the film with shredded versions of the frames - giving this somewhat stop-motion feel and so much room to play and animate. Beautiful stuff, and so creative!


Oi Va Voi "Everytime" from Katarzyna Kijek on Vimeo.

Pian-Toes

We've seen the guys who can paint masterpieces with their toes, I love Bubble Toes, and have been told I have weird monkey toes - but never have I seen Piano- toes. At first I was a little grossed out (I think the black paint translated to dirty for me,) but then the fun of the performance just took over. Check it out.

Bruins Hockey Rules

Boston Ad Agency Mullen has created some great ads to compliment the Boston Bruins road to the Stanley Cup playoffs. My personal fave showed up last night after the B's swept the Canadiens, check out the Bear's Victory Dance.



The other spots warn against dating an opposing team and tucking in your jersey...

Waste Deep Vintage Muppet PSA

In honor of Earth Day I was looking for some retro PSA's about recycling and green topics because I keep thinking how sad it is that the kids of my generation, (the 80's) have been learning to live green since a young age - but it took until 2008/2009 to become a trend in the states.

Here is a spot from The Better World Society, winner of a Telly Award in 1990, featuring Kermit and a cast of Muppet monsters in "Waste Deep."

adidas Every Runner is Different in the Boston Marathon

Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching Mike participate in the outstanding accomplishment of the 113th Boston Marathon to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation in the name of our dear friend Jon. Being a Bostonian I've always participated in the celebration surrounding Marathon Monday but have never seen it through the perspective of being so close to some one who has run it. From the months and months of training and ice packs, to the dropping Mike off on the Common to be bussed 26 miles out of the city and told to run back, the anticipation, the unity, the sense of community, and the pride in seeing him round Boylston Street to the finish line sporting his charity's colors is a feeling I know I can't transcribe here.

...though, I couldnt help but notice, sponsor adidas did a pretty good job of isolating the pride of the individual runners accomplishments in their 2009 Boston Marathon ad campaign.

The Wolf and The Pig Stop Motion Chase Film

This little gem has been circling the web the last few days, for good reason, and was just sent to me by my friend Pete over at Neoscape.

The film is make of an insane collection of still photos as a wolf chases a pig all over town, and all over this apartment...



thanks Pete!

New From The Viral Factory Samsung Camera Trick Challenge

This just came in from The Viral Factory in London. A fun little video shot with the new Samsung HD camera phone - the challenge? How did they do it? Comment with your guesses - a making of will explain it all in about 3 weeks - what do you think?

Animated Parallelostory from Impactist

As i mentioned yesterday Impactist is not only a photography team but also a directing team composed of husband and wife Daniel Elwing and Kelly Meador.

Their latest adventure is this sweet animated love story Parallelostory.


Parallelostory from impactist on Vimeo.

Here's a bit about the creative process from Kelly - if you weren't in love with Impactist already you will be once you hear from them in their own words - we should all be so lucky to inspire and be inspired by the ones we love! Thanks Kelly!

It's really a combination of things we enjoy that came together for this short story. Like never before, understanding of our universe and the idea of multiple universes seems to be popping up more and more in contemporary culture. We've always liked learning about these ideas and how they can interact with regular everyday life. Hence, the pairing of this with a small little quasi-love story. Simple, but a relatable way to bring in these slightly abstract notions like the way classic Twilight Zone episodes would wrap similarly grand ideas in easy to digest storytelling. And, we're married so that probably lets the sappiness seep into our work, smile!

Additionally, the visual style we developed, using paper textures and a muted palette, were so much fun on a prior project that we wanted a longer story to further explore this technique.

String Series - New from Impactist

Kelly from Impactist (one of my favorite creative duos) just sent over their latest photo series, Strings. The series is in a similar vein as the Paper Series I featured a few months back, handmade patterns with tactile materials are then photographed, the result - beautiful compositions of color, light and form. I love the white on white!
Impactist is a photography and filmmaking duo comprised of Kelly Meador and Daniel Elwing.

Post Office

I rarely rant in this forum, but as i just made my yearly pilgrimage to the post office to mail my last minute tax info I can't help but pause for a moment on what a miserable place it is. Not because it was a mob scene, i live in a small town, but because there are 6 people behind the counter, only one working with a customer at all times, and not a single smile or occurrence of eye contact in the duration of my stay.

I can't help but want to revisit one of my favorite reads, "Post Office" by Charles Bukowski. Check out cross section of cover art for the novel. "…He was always high on drugs. I was not a drug man, but in case I wanted to hide from myself for a few days, I knew I could get anything I wanted from him." — Charles Bukowski, Post Office

Sprint Palm Pre Commercial

"233,000 people just Twittered on Twitter. 26% of you viewing this have no idea what that means"...

That did it for me, the first commercial to grab my attention on air in a while now (I think the economic trickle down has affected creativity in advertising) was this one for Sprint...



twitter @twoifbysee

Zappos.com Perfect Airport Ad Placement

Nowadays most of our airport time is not spent sitting at the gate, but in the security check, right? It's cool, we're all used to it, and it's just part of the routine.

If you've flown out of LAX lately you might have noticed some smart advertisement placement in those security bins when you unload your laptop, baggie of toiletries, shoes, belts and pocket change. Zappos.com speaks directly to us and the exact moment we are experiencing. I couldn't help but notice and chuckle, I did wear good socks today, but what was i thinking with the boots? Talk about making an awkward transition even worse, "excuse me sir can i lean on you while i unzip these puppies?"
This smart move was courtesy of New York Ad Agency The Ad Store.

Cardboard Animated Gladiator for UPS

I've been waiting for this spot to hit the internet to find out who made it, I should've just guessed that it came from the genius of Pysop.


(click through image for spot)

Illustration and Design Inspiration from Spike Press

Judging by his portfolio I would have to say Spike Press, Chicago-based illustrator and designer John Solimine, is one of the coolest designers out there. His screen printed posters read like an indie rock station set list, The National, Vampire Weekend, and The Cold War kids. Check out some of my favorites below...

I found Spike Press over at Communication Arts.

Wardrobe Stylings from Andrea Zaplin

Speaking of talented friends, one of my dearest but furthest away, Andrea Zaplin recently styled a series of fabulously realized shots for photographer Jon McKee in Los Angeles. Though many of the pieces are vintage the culmination is anything but, compliments of Andrea's residence on the pulse of fashion, mixing in unexpected pops of color and modern accessories with classic plaids and textures.

Select pieces courtesy of Glam Vintage Soul; photography Jon McKee; model Megan Davis, make up and hair Paul Anthony Castro.

Anna Kriger at Guilded Boston

Since I've started going back to school I've been surrounded by more talented people than ever before and couldn't be more excited to share their gifts with the world. One of them is painter, designer, Anna Kriger.

Anna had a show with fellow Mass Art alum Kit Lagreze at Guilded Boston Friday where she displayed a selection of her oil paintings. Much of Anna's subject matter is nature or her immediate surroundings; the city of Boston; landscapes; and her studio; all with a fascinating treatment of color. Branches of winter trees act like stained glass, the color of light unique through every crevice, elevating light and shadow to center stage in each and every piece. For more from Anna, and to contact her about the work, check out her website.