Famous for its opening theatrics, the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase in Cannes was as much a mesmerizing technical show as it was a bit of foreshadowing of the content to come.
With a pink, glowing pyramid on center stage dubbed the Dream Object, the show began with an ethereal future-voice greeting the audience with “You have made it to the other side”. As a group of flying mini-drone machines started a riveting choreographed lighted dance the voice continued, “You need not fear the great unknown anymore. Soon all will be revealed.”
While the space lady literally meant the year’s chosen directors were to be revealed, the body of work selected by Saatchi & Saatchi’s global creatives tells a story about the brave new world that modern upstart directors face, one where invention and proactive creativity prevails.
Nike+ Fuelband and Curators of Sweden win the top prize for digital marketing at Cannes.
Principles of interconnectedness and interactivity were the guiding forces for the jury of the Cyber Lions in Cannes, said jury president, Google Creative Lab executive creative director Iain Tait as Curators of Sweden from the Swedish Institute and Nike+ Fuelband from Nike and R/GA were revealed as the two Grand Prix winners for the category—in other words, the best digital marketing initiatives that the brand world has to offer.
They’re a necessary evil, and when done right, are crucial in telling a creative story. But still, case study films have become the stuff of eye-rolling parody and the risk is that the focus is on the stat-packed overview, not the actual creative idea and experience. Here, top agency leaders—and award show jurors—weigh in on how to make the best case.
Co.Create editor Teressa Iezzi is filing updates from The International Festival of Advertising Creativity, aka Cannes, this week. Follow her at fccanneslions.
Guess who thought up this portable wooden house that is self-powered and completely off the grid? An advertising agency.
The home is powered mainly by an organic photovoltaic film on the structure and by the Nissan Leaf electric car (acting as a generator), which generates 24 kW per hour. The designers believe that these two power sources combined can provide all the energy the house might need.
SunRun’s new ad campaign focuses on the financial realities of solar power: In many places it’s really cheap and the company will install your panels for free.
“Our aggregate, quantifiable numbers, as well as knowledge of our brands’s ad spend, show the speed at which brand advertisers are investing into Facebook. Companies that spent $1 million last year are spending $5 million this year. Companies that spent $10 million last year are upping spend to $25 million or more.”
Zynga, a publicly traded company, is trying to prove it spent hundreds of millions of dollars on more than just a blank piece of paper and a few digital crayons. Yesterday, the company’s advertising platform for Draw Something was unveiled for the first time—and, if not handled with some finesse, it’s a great potential example of forced brand interaction.
Advertisers now have the option to purchase drawing terms related to their brands. When a user opens Draw Something, the game gives three options to choose from—say, tennis, pancake, or snowball—which players then doodle for a friend, who in turn has to guess what that user has drawn. Soon, however, users will start to see brands among the fun options typically available—imagine trying to draw Hewlett-Packard or Toyota—which could quickly turn the game into a mobile version of Brand Tags. The NHL is one of the earliest advertisers on the platform, hoping to promote the Stanley Cup playoffs. But not all brands are as player-friendly as the hockey league.
After arriving at an agreed-upon treatment with Nike for its latest commercial, director Casey Neistat literally took the money and ran—filming a trip around the world on Nike’s dime, and presenting the footage as the ad. Here’s why.
“My vision for it was forget about what Nike is, forget about sneakers, forget everything; what does ‘make it count’ mean to me?” Neistat says. “And what it means to me is take a huge chance. Consequences aside, if I could do anything in the world, what would it be? Do I really want to produce another regular advertisement? No. I would take this production budget and go around the world and see all these places I want to see.”
As the mobile ad space evolves, more creative energy is being spent on interactive outdoor advertising. Here, a roundup of the best digital and otherwise interactive outdoor creativity—from facial recognition, augmented reality, and location-aware ads to poop bags. For more photos follow the link…
Skype’s first international advertising campaign drives home the dehumanizing effects of its non-televisual competition, Facebook and Twitter. See more->
