Outstanding Vancouver Olympic Ads

Keeping with the Winter Olympic theme i couldn't resist sharing these two spots that i love.

The first is the Coca Cola snowball fight in the Olympic village. I love the fun loving air of playing, i think it's a great light to shine on the olympics because, though it is serious competition - in the end it is all a game isn't it?

The second is this Nike spot appropriately called "Human Chain" from director Brian Beletic of smuggler and VFX from MassMarket. it reminds me a bit of one of my all time favorite spots, "What Goes Around Comes Around" could be why i enjoy it so much. I do love the visual of needing a team of yourself to accomplish your goals, it makes me think of countless training sessions, trial runs, failed attempts and the repetition required to become a champion.

Animated Commercials of the Vancouver Olympics

Like much of the world i have fund myself glued to the Olympic coverage this weekend, more concerned with luge results and biathlons than i even knew possible, and i gotta say, where the Super Bowl spots might have fallen short i think the Vancouver Olympic Games commercials have been rather impressive. Feeling overwhelmed i thought I'd start to tackle the list with some of my favorite animated spots of the 2010 Winter Games.

To start it off, i found this spot for BBC Olympic coverage from AKA and thought it was a must see.


These spots for Diet Coke, directed by Pistachios via Blacklist and W+K are so simple, but i've been really drawn to the simple lately, with so much photoreal, and VFX skill a sweetly animated line drawing is what i find cuts through the clutter to reach me.

Honda Crosstour, i love these throwback animated spots from director Andy Hall of Elastic, though the campaign began late last year the spots are all over the Olympic coverage.




Visa "Julia Manscuso" , a lot of the Visa Go World spots are fantastic for different reasons, (the Dan Jansen spot makes me misty every time i see it) but i love the minimal hand made feel the brand went with for this animated story of drive and accomplishment.

Audi Progress is Beautiful

This new spot for the Audi A4 is another that jumped off of the screen during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. It immediately grabbed my attention, was it another interior paint commercial? wow they are getting good...

Nope a car commercial. The time lapse scene within a home somehow connects to the car outside beautifully, though I admit i had no idea it was a car commercial the first time I saw it, it still grabbed my attention and I watched until the product was unveiled - to me that is a good commercial.



I don't know any credit info at this time, aside from the agency, Venables, Bell & Partners, but will update as soon as I do.

update: The song featured in the spot was an original composition entitled "Notes on Progress" and will be made available for download on www.truthinengineering.com within a few days.

Marvin Gaye Sings in Support of the USA Olympic Basketball Team for Nike

Getting Olympic overload yet? I couldn't help it, when I heard this rendition of the National Anthem performed by Marvin Gaye, with it's soul and marching beat accompanied by those All Stars together it hit me right in the heart strings.

Samsung Olympic Promo from Tronic

This quirky monochromatic animation from New York motion design studio Tronic reiterates the apparent theme of this Olympic games, that it takes many small pieces working in unison to make a whole. The segmented blue athletic figures perform on a stark background high above Times Square before disbanding and ultimately reconfiguring in the form of the Olympic Rings.

United Airlines Debuts Animated Commercials on the Olympics

United Airlines has launched a delightful series of animated spots to coincide with the programing of the Olympic Games. I've been watching the Olympic commercials like they are commercials during the Super Bowl, waiting for something to stand out, and these are the first that really do for me. They are playful, colorful, and just hearing Rhapsody in Blue instantly connects to the brand - I know what spot is on even when in another room.



(pull down on white bar below spot to watch others)

"Sea Orchestra" by South African directing team Shy the Sun."Two Worlds" directed by SSSR, a Norwegian and Japanese team, who was responsible for the monochromatic art and Gaelle Denis, a French director, who was responsible for the colorful animated portions.

"Heart" by director Jamie Caliri who combines stop motion animation and paper puppetry. "Heart" also features a special rendition of Rhapsody in Blue performed by Herbie Hancock and Lang Lang.
You can find lots more about the campaign here.

Toxic Linfen China From VBS.tv

The latest in the Toxic series from VBS.tv focuses on what has been deemed the most polluted city in the world, Toxic Linfen China.

With all of the buzz surrounding Beijing's air quality leading up to the Olympic Games which begin tomorrow, VBS.tv decided to explore the pollution problem themselves starting with the worst of the worst.

Like the Garbage Island piece Toxic Linfen reports from on the ground, interviewing the public and experts on all sides of the issue - how did it get this way and can it change? Linfen is one of 16 Chinese cities in the top 20 most polluted list, primarily because of China's dependence on coal for fuel.




Check in at VBS.tv for the next in a 5 part series.

"Shuang City" the Lastest 2008 Olympic Commercial from Coca Cola

PSYSOP and Stink turn "Shuang City" into a star studded Olympic wonderland with Coca- Cola. Massive Music composed the original music for the spot.




You can also watch a behind the scenes video here.

Gorillaz Team up with the BBC for the 2008 Olympics

In what I found to be a pretty interesting collaboration the Gorillaz (Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett) have become BBC spokesmen for the Olympics. I think the Olympic Games just became a whole lot cooler.

The first animated video, "Journey to the East" plays off of a traditional Chinese tale, "Journey to the West." You can check it out by clicking the image...
Animation was done by Zombie Flesh Eaters and of course the music was produced and composed by Damon Albarn.

Amnest International and Reporters Without Borders Create their own Olympic Campaigns

I couldn't talk about the ads for the 2008 Beijing Olympics without posting some of the human rights centered ads that highlight the injustices that continue to exist in China. I think the handcuffs and the barbed wire motif are both really strong graphic re representations of the iconic logo.

The Amnesty International ads come from MUW Saatchi& Saatchi
The Reporters Without Borders ad was from Alice/Paris.

Freddy Beijing Olympics

This Olympic campaign is from an Italian apparel brand Freddy. There are both print and video ads promoting the athletic wear, a mix between live action and animation, and full of imagination.

Beijing Olympic Commercials

I grew up as a competitive swimmer, so once every four years I remember what it was like to be an athlete - I love watching the Olympics. As we approach the games more and more ads are rolling out from official sponsors, and while some are pretty standard- stock footage montages, some are pretty good, and I'm sure many of the best are yet to come.

The most recent batch is from Coca-Cola, they released a spot featuring Yao Ming and Lebron James, a few days ago "Unity."


"Birds Nest Stadium" is set to roll out in the next few weeks, both spots come from Wieden & Kennedy, "Unity" out of Portland, "Bird's Nest Stadium" via Amsterdam.


This next spot was one of the first I remember seeing in support of the Beijing Games, I think the animation and full concept are pretty amazing, there are number of spots in the campaign. The animation and VFX were completed by Psyop and the creative is from TBWA/China.

Adidas "Together"

This next print ad comes from GE as a part of their Green Inititive, showcasing the Olympic Stadium constructed out of windmills.

I already told you I was a swimmer so I couldn't resist getting at least one Michael Phelps spot up here. It's simple but really well done I think, I love the idea of sharks lurking in the water - It's an analogy I remember hearing once or twice in my own small swimmers world. "Power to Push" is out of Publicis/Dallas.

Power Bar "Power to Push"


This final animated spot, "Higher," is in support of the French Olympic Team, I think it's really sweet and dreamy and different from a lot of the Olympic ads, or any competitive advertising at all. It was directed by Joris Clerte, via Mister Hyde.



I'll be sure to ad more spots to this collection as they roll out...