15 Most Insightful Call for Entries Ads
Posted: May 16, 2013 Filed under: Art, Awards, Belgium, Canada, France, Hungary, Illustration, Press/Outdoor, South Africa, The Philippines, TV/Film, UK, USA | Tags: 15 Most Insightful Call for entries Ads, ADC-UA Awards, advertising, AlmapBBDO, BBDO, Brazil, Call for Entries, Clio Awards, Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, France, funny, Keep Fighting the good fight, Leo Burnett, Press, Taxi Canada, The Art Directors Club Leave a comment1 – ADC-UA Awards (Ukraine)/Agency: Leo Burnett Ukraine
2 – The 2002 Marketing Awards/Agency: Taxi Canada
3 – Art Director’s Club CdF 2006/Photographer Vincent Dixon
4 – The Art Directors Club CfE 2002/Bozell New York
5 – The Singapore Creative Circle Awards 1997/Leo Burnett Singapore
6 – Creative Club of Belgium (Call for entry 2005)/Agency: Duval Guilarme, Brussels
7 – The KBP Radio Awards, C.f.E 2007/Agency: BBDO Guerrera Ortega, Philippines
8 – The Art Director’s Club CdF 2009/Agency: Publicis New York
9 – Clio Awards 2004/Agency: ALMAP/BBDO
10 – The Art Director’s Club Cdf 2011/Agency: DDB New York
11 – Crèa Awards 2007/Agency: BOS, Canada
12 – The One Club Call for Entries 2007/Agency: Jupiter Drawing Room, South Africa
13 – AdAwards Call for Entries 2006/Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Paris
14 – ADC 92° Annual Awards/Agency: The Conquistadors Collective, New York
15 – The Tinta Awards Call for Entries 2012/Agency: Young & Rubicam Philippines
Silent Film Festival’s Trailers – The World First Instagram Film Experience
Posted: April 11, 2013 Filed under: Canada, Digital, Promotion | Tags: Digital, Instagram, Promotion, scroll, Silent Movie, Toronto Silent Film Festival, trailer Leave a comment
The Toronto Silent Film Festival has taken to another new-media platform to promote its upcoming event. The festival has set up three Instagram accounts, which each contain “trailers” for silent movies. There’s tsff_1, which showcases Murnau’s classic Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans; tsff_2, featuring an excerpt from the 1925 feature Tumbleweeds; and tsff_3, taken from the Del Lord short Super-Hooper-Dyne Lizzies. To view each trailer, head to the relevant Instagram account on your smartphone and scroll rapidly though the images to create a flip book-like effect.
The idea for the novel advertising method came from Canadian advertising agency Cossette, which explained its thinking behind the campaign to Creative Review: “It feels appropriate to be using a technology like Instagram to promote the silent film technique,” says co-chief creative officer Matt Litzinger, explaining that silent film was “in its day.. every bit as ground-breaking and innovative as digital platforms are today.”
Agency: Cossette
Co-CCOs, Creative Directors: Matthew Litzinger, David Daga
Copywriter: Sebastian Lyman
Art Director: Pepe Bratanov
Year: 2013
McDonald’s Canada – Our Food. Your Questions.
Posted: October 25, 2012 Filed under: Canada, Case History, Digital, Direct, Testimonial, TV/Film | Tags: Behind the scenes at a McDonald's photo shoot, Big Mac, Canada, Case History, conversation, Digital, Direct, fries, hamburger, Joel Yashinsky, John Betts, McDonald's, mcnugget, Our Food Your Questions, pure beef, trasparent, Tribal DDB 1 Comment
After fielding roughly 6,000 questions online about its food, McDonald’s Canada is taking the conversation “offline” with a new advertising campaign.
In June, McDonald’s Canada launched an interactive digital platform, “Our Food. Your Questions.” in an effort to be more transparent with consumers about where its food comes from and how it’s made. Consumers asked everything from calorie counts of certain menu items to why McDonald’s burgers and fries don’t rot when left out for a long period of time.
McDonald’s has now launched an integrated advertising campaign to reach even more Canadians and invite them to join the conversation online.
“The initial success of the program is a real testament to the power of creating meaningful and open dialogue with customers,” said Joel Yashinsky, chief marketing officer at McDonald’s Canada. “This level of transparency has resonated with our guests and has created the type of conversation we want to have with them about our food. We’re excited to see how far it can go.”
The campaign from Tribal DDB Toronto includes television, digital and various outdoor media. Since its inception the company’s response team has covered almost 6,000 questions at the site. Answers have been posted using text, photos and video.
“The program exceeded all our expectations and we learned from customer feedback that this is an important opportunity for us to continue and evolve the dialogue with our customers,” said Joel Yashinsky, chief marketing officer at Toronto-based McDonald’s Canada. “We wanted to broaden it so that the reach allowed all customers in Canada to be aware of the program and ask any questions they had about our food.”
The TV spot shows questions from the website with behind-the-scenes shots from McDonald’s operations, for example a burger getting prepped for a photo shoot after the question, “Why does your food look different in the advertising than what’s in store?” Meanwhile, video projections on buildings in urban centres will feature select questions and answers–some still and some full-motion with answers that were done on video. “It will [give] a surprise to people in those areas to see the projection of these questions that are very provocative and raise the awareness of the program,” said Yashinsky. Yashinsky said the platform “is going to run forever… We think this is a great two-way conversation for us to have with our customers that we don’t want to end.”
How McDonald’s Canada Makes their World Famous Fries
Did you know that McDonald’s World Famous Fries are made from whole potatoes harvested mainly from farms in New Brunswick, Alberta, and Manitoba? Watch and see exactly how our fries get made, from the farm to the fryer.
“What is in the sauce that is in the Big Mac?”
Christine H. from Oshawa asked, “What is in the sauce that is in the Big Mac?”
Where McDonald’s Canada Gets Our Hamburger Patties From
You’ve probably heard that every McDonald’s Canada hamburger patty is made with 100% pure Canadian beef. But what does that really mean? To find out, we visited Cargill’s processing plant in northern Alberta to give you an all-access look at exactly what our hamburger patties are made from and how they get made.
“Why don’t you guys grill the patties? Better than microwaves!”
“Why don’t you guys grill the patties? Better than microwaves!” Jeffry B. from Oshawa asked. McDonald’s Canada Manager of National Operations Drew Sadler answered.
Is 100% pure beef the name of a company?
“Is your beef actually 100% pure beef or is that just the name of the company?” That’s what John R., from Toronto asked. Our answer: a corporate title search to see if the company actually exists.
Behind the scenes at a McDonald’s photo shoot
Isabel M from Toronto asked “Why does your food look different in the advertising than what is in the store?”
The McNugget under the microscope
Sheri N. from Saskatoon asked, “Is the thing about the Chicken McNuggets true? They are made from a processed pink sludge of meat and bones ground up with chemicals?”
Real Egg Crackdown
“Does your Egg McMuffin use real eggs? They look to perfect” To answer this question our Crew Members were brought in to prove that McDonald’s® Canada uses real freshly cracked Canada Grade A eggs so often, they’ve got skills.
“Why is the food at McDonald’s so cheap?”
“Why is the food at mcdonalds so cheap?” Joanne S., from Toronto asked. McDonald’s Canada President and CEO John Betts answered.
Advertising Agency: Tribal DDB, Toronto, Canada
Creative Director: Louis-Philippe Tremblay
Copywriter:Ryan Lawrence
Art Director:Benson Ngo
Agency Producer: Melanie Lambertsen
Account Director: Miles Savage
Production Company: Family Style
Directors: John Weyman, Torey Kohara
Line Producer: Liz Dussault
Post-Production Company: School – Various
Editor: School – Various
Audio House: RNW
Talent: Real People (McDonald’s Employees, suppliers)
Coca-Cola Happiness Truck around the World – Where Will Happiness Strike Next?
Posted: October 1, 2012 Filed under: Argentina, Beverages, Brazil, Canada, Case History, Coca-Cola, Event, France, India, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Promotion, Russia, The Nederlands, The Philippines, Turkey, Viral | Tags: Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola's 125th Anniversary, Coca-Cola's Semangat Truck, coke and meals, Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, Happiness Truck, Olympic edition, rio de janeiro, The Cheering Truck, uefa edition, Viral, Where Will Happiness Strike Next? Leave a comment
Inspired by the vending machine that dispensed Coca-Cola and other “doses of happiness” on a college campus in New York and quickly became a global viral video sensation; a specially rigged Coca-Cola delivery truck took to the streets of Rio de Janeiro recently to spread refreshment and smiles to passers-by.
All the action is captured in a two-and-a-half-minute film. In the video, several unsuspecting Brazilians push a button on the back of the truck to dispense Coca-Cola and other fun items such as soccer balls, surfboards and sunglasses.
“‘Happiness Machine’ connected with so many people because the emotion was authentic, unscripted and contagious,” said A.J. Brustein, Global Senior Brand Manager, Coca-Cola. “We wanted to inspire that same feeling again by creating something consumers would respond to and want to share with others because it put a smile on their face.”
Happiness Truck is one of many videos that can be found on the Facebook hub for “Where Will Happiness Strike Next?”. The hub features more than 25 films from around the world that have been created by local Coca-Cola teams to continue the theme of the award-winning “Happiness Machine,” which has generated more than 3 million online views. The interactive site lets consumers search for videos by country and even vote for where they’d like to see happiness strike next.
“We weren’t trying to replace ‘Happiness Machine’ with the ‘Happiness Truck,'” said Christy Amador, Digital Marketing Manager, Global Content Excellence. “We wanted to build on this great idea and continue to answer the question, ‘Where Will Happiness Strike Next?’ by spreading a message of happiness around the globe. These videos from markets all over the world help us to do just that.”
Two of the new films on the hub include a version of “Happiness Truck” filmed in the Philippines and “Happiness Store,” where convenience store customers in Rio are surprised with confetti, lights, live music and more upon grabbing a Coca-Cola from the cooler. “Happiness Machine” – which cost very little to produce – proved that we don’t need to spend millions to produce winning creative, and that great ideas and content can be sourced from anywhere.
Happiness Truck in Rio De Janeiro
A Coca-Cola delivery truck is converted into a happiness machine on wheels delivering “doses” of happiness in the streets of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Where will happiness strike next?
Happiness Truck in Canada
A Coca-Cola delivery truck is converted into a happiness machine on wheels delivering “doses” of happiness in the streets of Toronto, Vancouver & Montreal, Canada. After a full day of sharing happiness, the experience culminated in a 3-city simultaneous musical celebration featuring Kardinal Offishall in Toronto, These Kids Wear Crowns in Vancouver & Duke Squad in Montreal, to celebrate Coca-Cola’s 125th Anniversary. Where will happiness strike next?
Happiness Truck in Philippines
A Coca-Cola delivery truck is converted into a happiness machine on wheels delivering “doses” of happiness in the streets of Marikina, Philippines. Where will happiness strike next?
Happiness Truck in Kenya
Happiness Truck in Malaysia
The town with a population of over 150,000 kicked off its evening with a surprise from Coca-Cola’s Semangat Truck. What a nice prelude to dinner.
Happiness Truck in Venezuela
Happiness Truck in Ecuador
Happiness Truck in India
Happiness Truck in Russia (CHRISTMAS Edition)
Happiness Truck in France (UEFA Edition and OLYMPIC Edition)
Happiness Truck in Honduras
Happiness Truck in Turkey
Happiness Truck in Naples (COKE & MEALS Edition)
A Coca-Cola delivery truck is transformed into a happiness table in a small square in Naples. Famous chef Simone Rugiati is on a mission asking people
to eat together delivering “doses” of happiness through a magic food cloche.
Happiness Truck/The Cheering Truck in Argentina (FOOTBALL Edition)
This time, Coca-Cola outfitted a special red truck with a recording booth and has been travelling around Argentina collecting the cheers of football (or soccer depending on where you are from) fans to support the Argentinean team. Fans are encouraged to record their cheer to be heard by millions.
The truck drove through 19 different provinces in Argentina as it collected the cheer of over a million different voices. On the day of the match, the Coca-Cola Cheering Truck drove into a stadium that only had room for 50 thousand fans and played the recordings of over a million fans chanting and cheering for the team. Way to rally the troop Coca-Cola!
Coca-cola has been doing some really creative marketing campaigns that have utilized a traveling truck concept (see The Happiness Truck). It’s their way of spreading happiness throughout the world…not to mention strengthening their brand!
Happiness Truck in Hong Kong (TRANSFORMERS Edition)
Happiness Truck in Mongolia
Happiness Truck in Nederland
Happiness Truck in Poland (Euro 2012 Edition)
Happiness Truck in Azerbaijan
Where will happiness strike next? Of course in Baku, Azerbaijan. A Coca-Cola delivery truck has been converted to a happiness machine, which rides through Baku streets and shares the 125 year old happiness with Azeri people.
Happiness Truck in Ucraine
Happiness Truck in Egypt (RAMADAN Edition)
Coca-Cola Egypt gives people more reasons to believe using its Happiness Truck to spread happiness and joy in Cairo making Ramadan 2011 better for all Egyptians.
Happiness Truck in Mexico
Lowe Roche for Pfaff Auto – The First Instant Direct Mail
Posted: September 14, 2012 Filed under: Canada, Car, Case History, Direct, Promotion | Tags: Car, Dave Douglass, Direct, direct mail, Lowe Roche, Pete Breton, Pfaff Auto, Porsche, The First Instant Direct Mail Leave a commentWith a camera, laptop, printer and Porsche, Lowe Roche created the first instant direct mail piece for Pfaff Auto, Toronto.
Usually, when someone sneaks up to a rich guy’s house and drives off with a Porsche, it’s a reason to call the police. This time, it might be a reason to call an auto dealership. In a clever spin on direct mail for Toronto’s Pfaff Automotive, Canadian agency Lowe Roche photographed one of the dealership’s Porsches in the driveways of affluent homes, then used each image to create an ad left at the home where it was shot. The headline: “It’s closer than you think.” The result, according to the agency’s case study video below, was a 32 percent response rate to a site where recipients could schedule a test drive. Direct mail is typically about hitting as many people as possible for as low a cost as possible, but this creative idea shows that for luxury brands, a smaller effort can sometimes go a long way.
Advertising Agency: Lowe Roche, Toronto, Canada
Creative Directors: Dave Douglass, Pete Breton
Art Director: JP Gravina
Copywriter: Simon Craig
Video Production: Motion Pantry
Director / Cameraman / Editor: Dean Vargas
Year: 2012
Cundari Toronto for BMW – The Viral side of BMW
Posted: July 2, 2012 Filed under: Agency, Art, Canada, Cannes Lions, Car, Viral | Tags: BMW, BMW 1M, BMW M5, Brent Choi, Brian Murray, Bullet, Cannes Lions, Cundari Toronto, Helipad, Mike Mouse McCoys, Raul Garcia, Viral, walls Leave a commentBMW 1M – Walls
BMW Canada presents: the 1 Series M Coupe versus concrete walls. As stunt driving goes, this is some seriously bad-ass stuff. “Walls” is a web film featuring custom made concrete walls and precision driving. Filming was shot on a closed track so don’t even think about trying this on the motorway!
Advertising Agency: Cundari Toronto
Chief Creative Officer: Brent Choi
Copywriter: Brian Murray
Associate Creative Director/Art director: Raul Garcia
Production Company: Bandito Brothers, L.A.
Director/Driver: Mike Mouse McCoys
Year: 2011
BMW 1M – Helipad
Following high-speed skids through car-shaped gaps in thick (supposedly) concrete walls, BMW Canada presents more insane stunt driving to promote its 1 Series M Coupe. Now, the brand wants to flip the bird at mortality by spinning doughnuts on the world’s highest rooftop helipad. The only problem: It’s not clear that the feat is actually real. “I can tell you that the intent right from the beginning was to create videos that were so amazing, people had to debate how we did it.” says Ad agency Cundari’s chief creative officer, Brent Choi. He then referred us to the client, who has yet to reply. Choi sheds some light on the driver, who worked on movies like The Fast and the Furious and The Bourne Identity. Odds seem decent that both videos aren’t quite what they appear—and therefore much less death-defying and much less insane.
Advertising Agency: Cundari Toronto
Chief Creative Officer: Brent Choi
Copywriter: Brian Murray
Associate Creative Director/Art director: Raul Garcia
Production Company: Bandito Brothers, L.A.
Director/Driver: Mike Mouse McCoys
Year: 2011
Shortlist
BMW M5 – Bullet
The new BMW M5 isn’t just really fast—it’s pretty, too. In “Bullet,” a new two-minute ad from agency Cundari BMW Canada, the new model is touted as the world’s fastest sedan. The concept is simple: The car revs its engines in a long tunnel—constructed to look like the barrel of a gun—before shooting out into the desert, shattering a series of giant props including a glass apple, water balloons and a bull’s-eye, in slow-motion “bullet time.”
The brand calls it “High Performance Art” because it wouldn’t be advertising without a pun. It feels more like car porn. Still, as that genre goes, it’s pretty good—gorgeously shot and engaging enough, especially for a long-form spot sans copy. The landscape—Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats Speedway—serves as a stunning backdrop, and the deliberately “delicate” classical music, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, works nicely as a contrast for a revving engine and screeching tires, alluding to the car’s luxury sheen as well as its power.
Advertising Agency: Cundari, Toronto
Chief Creative Officer: Brent Choi
Associate Creative Director, Art Director: Raul Garcia
Associate Creative Director, Copywriter: Brian Murray
Production Company: Big Block
Director: Mark Glaser
Year: 2012
Taxi Toronto for Viagra (Case History, 2002/2011) – If you want a Lion, talk to your doctor
Posted: May 29, 2012 Filed under: Agency, Awards, Canada, Cannes Lions, TV/Film | Tags: antiquing, apologies, beep, Cannes Lions, Case History, Clive Desmond, Darren Clarke, funny, gold lion, good morning, Jason Hill, Lance Martin, Michael Murray, Pfizer, reading, Ron Smrczeck, strolling, talk to your doctor, Taxi Toronto, the international language of viagra, TV/Film, Viagra, wombleminki, wubbleflaps, Zac Mroueh Leave a comment
In their January 2002 press release Pfizer, the producer of Viagra, announced that they were ready to market the antidote to male erectile dysfunction in Canada. Pfizer commissioned Taxi Toronto to provide their angle on the campaign for Viagra. They had to overcome perceptions built up by jokes on late night comedy shows. They had to show that this drug was likely to benefit not just old men and sex fanatics but ordinary men. They aimed at visibility, universality, subtlety and vitality. In doing so they had to be careful not to say a single word about Viagra as a product because of the Canadian laws on pharmaceutical advertising.
Viagra (2002) – GOOD MORNING
The ad starts with an energetic man on his way to work with the soundtrack of “Good morning” from the musical “Singing in the rain.” He bounces down the footpath, past the white picket fence, past the postie and neighbours, hops down the hop skip and jump game, slam dunks a basketball, dances past Mario’s barber’s shop, bounds up the stairs from the train, chases the pigeons, leap frogs the Journal newspaper, cartwheels up to the front door of his office. As he walks into the lift/elevator the word “Viagra” appears on screen, with the encouragement to “Talk to your doctor”.
Creative Team: Alan Madill and Terry Drummond
Production Company: Avion Films
Director: Martin Granger
Viagra (2003) – CHAMPIONS
Queen’s track: “We are the champions” plays as a man bursts through his front door with arms raised. He joins others in the street in the kind of spontaneous celebration that takes after a world cup victory. The viagra pill supers on screen. We understand the real cause for celebration
Creative Team: Alan Madill and Terry Drummond
Production Company: Avion Films
Director: Martin Granger
Viagra (2005) – OFFICE/COACH/GOLF/ELEVATOR
A constant single non-musical tone completely drowns out a conversation. You see a man drop an amazing put and still he continues to tell his friend about his morning under this tone, while a Viagra logo appears over his mouth. Chuckles are heard. Talk to your doctor.
Creative Director: Zac Mroueh, Lance Martin
Copywriter: Irfan Khan
Art Director: Ron Smrczek
Production Company: The Partner Film Company, Toronto
Director: Joakim Back
Gold Lion for the Campaign
Viagra (2007) – WOMBLEMINKI/WUBBLEFLAPS
In Canada, ad drug regulations prevented us from talking about the benefits of Viagra. So we decided to show people talking in a made-up language that was punctuated with the word Viagra.
Executive Creative Director: Tom Goudie
Creative Director: Zac Mroueh, Ron Smrczeck
Copywriter: Michael Murray
Art Director: Jason Hill
Production Company: Partizan, Toronto
Director: Eric Lynne
Gold Lion & Silver Lion for the Campaign
Viagra (2008) – DENISE/VIVIAN/BOBBY/MICHELLE
In Canada, drug regulations prevent us from saying what a product does. Yet our brief was to communicate that Viagra equals great sex. So we created the Viagra Intermission- the sexiest Intermission the world has ever seen.
Executive Creative Director: Terry O’Reilly, Chris Tait
Creative Director: Ron Smrczeck
Copywriter: Michael Murray
Art Director: Jason Hill
Production Company: Radke Film Group, Toronto
Director: Eric Lynne
Shortlist
Viagra (2009) – ANTIQUING/READING/STROLLING
When couples stop having sex, they start filling that void with other activities. And while ‘couple’ activities like antiquing, strolling, reading and watching sports seem harmless at first, they can end up taking over couples’ lives. Viagra helps them get back to just having sex again. The campaign uses outdoor/print to raise awareness of these sex replacement activities. And the television spots share stories of couples who took their activities too far. With the help of Viagra, they were able to find their way back to the bedroom. Follow-up commercials ask couples if they too suffer from chronic ‘activities’.
Executive Creative Director: Darren Clarke, Clive Desmond
Creative Director: Ron Smrczeck
Copywriter: Stefan Wegner, Nathan Monteith
Art Director: Nathan Monteith, Stefan Wegner
Production Company: Soft Citizen
Director: The Perlorian Brothers
Gold Lion for the Campaign
Viagra (2011) – VIAGRA APOLOGIES
When men take Viagra having sex becomes the priority, so it’s no surprise they want to spend ‘quality time’ with their wives. Unfortunately, this can come at the expense of missing some scheduled time with their buddies.
Just so there’s no hard feelings, Viagra has given these men an opportunity to apologize to their friends.
Executive Creative Director: Steve Mykolyn
Creative Director: Darren Clarke
Copywriter: Mark Lewis
Art Director: Nicole Ellerton
Production Company: Go Film
Director: Christopher Guest
Bronze Lion
Contagion’s Microbial Billboard
Posted: April 12, 2012 Filed under: Ambient, Canada, Case History, Event, Guerilla, Installation, Press/Outdoor, Promotion, Typography | Tags: billboards, Contagion, Contagion's Microbial Billboard, Lowe Roche, Mark Biernacki, Steph Mackie, Steven Soderbergh, virus, Warner Bros. Pictures Leave a comment
Building on its reputation for always being ahead of the curve, Warner Bros. Pictures Canada created a unique outdoor installation merging science and advertising that is guaranteed to leave movie lovers, science buffs and art enthusiasts in ‘awe’ or ‘eww’.
In support of Academy Award ® winner Steven Soderbergh’s latest film “Contagion” — in theatres September 9th, Warner Bros. Pictures Canada teamed up with microbiologists and immunologists from around the world to create a one-of-a-kind bacteria message board located at 409 Queen Street West in an abandoned store-front window. On August 28th, two large Petri dishes were inoculated with live bacteria including penicillin, mold and pigmented bacteria and almost overnight have revealed the true Contagion — an artistic interpretation of the spread of a virus as depicted in the film.
The public was invited to witness first-hand the remarkable growing power of natural bacteria on Wednesday August 31st from 11:00 AM — 2:00 PM. The first 50 people who arrived received passes to see “Contagion” in theatres and other themed prizes.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
Don’t Call It Viral Marketing: The Story Behind Contagion‘s Microbial Billboard
The jury is still out on whether the star-studded viral outbreak movie Contagion will be a Hollywood blockbuster, but don’t blame Patrick Hickey if it isn’t. The Scottish mycologist recently led a team that used living bacteria and fungi to create two sinister-looking billboards meant to lure, or scare, people into seeing the movie. The microbes, seeded on stenciled letters in a pair of giant acrylic dishes, gradually grew to form the movie’s title behind glass windows erected in an empty storefront in Toronto, where Contagion was premiering at a film festival. The billboards were erected in late August, but gained even greater international attention last week when a time-lapse video showing how the project was done, and the eerie result, was placed on YouTube. “We picked [microbes] that would look dangerous,” says Hickey. “It’s a fusion of art and science.”
Hickey, who is director of innovation at a company called NIPHT, worked with the British firm CURB Media on the Contagion project, having teamed up with them in the past on marketing efforts using bioluminescent fungi and bacteria. He and colleagues typically spend considerable time in a lab investigating how various microbes will grow, and look, before moving out into the field. “It takes us a few weeks to see how fast things grow under certain conditions,” says Hickey. “There’s a lot of R&D going on.” This time, however, he was given such short notice that his team was still testing ideas back in Edinburgh, and e-mailing him photos, as he flew to Toronto.
Hickey says the 35 or so microbes used in the Contagion billboards were obtained from suppliers in Canada — he thought better of carrying luggage filled with bacterial and fungal containers on a flight to North America. Canadian officials provided a list of potentially dangerous microbes that were forbidden, but Hickey says he employed harmless ones, many available in school kits. Once in Toronto, he, staff members at the Canadian advertising agency Lowe Roche, and a local construction crew built and installed the 6-foot-long by 2-foot-high Petri dishes, filling each with about 10 liters of a growth-promoting agar gel. (The team has asked the Guinness World Records to investigate if these are the largest-ever Petri dishes.) One billboard was primarily composed of the same kind of fungi that produces penicillin and the other of several bacteria. Hickey is reluctant to reveal his team’s “trade secrets,” but he acknowledges that the billboard’s striking blood-like color comes from the red-pigmented bacterium Serratia marcescens. Some of the visual impact was due to chance, he adds; bacteria and mold from the outside air also took hold in each billboard before they were sealed.
Hickley had to fly back to Scotland before he saw the end result of his work, so he was even impressed by the time-lapse video. “I was amazed how it grew,” he says. Ironically, Hickey admits he still hasn’t seen Contagion. It premieres in the United Kingdom next month.
Advertising Agency: Lowe Roche, Toronto
Creative Director: Steph Mackie, Mark Biernacki
Art Director: Glen D’Souza
Copywriter: Mike Takasaki
Year: 2011
Looks! There’s a MINI on the wall!
Posted: March 1, 2012 Filed under: Ambient, Canada, Cannes Lions, Car, Case History, Event, Germany, Installation, Italy, Press/Outdoor, UK, USA | Tags: Alex Bogusky, Ambient, Bcube, Car, Case History, climbing mini, clubman, Countryman, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Francesco Bozza, getaway billboard, Giuseppe Mastromatteo, installation, Lance Martin, Luca Scotto Di Carlo, Mini, mini on the wall, Outdoor, Taxi Toronto, times square, union jack, Vending Machine, yo-yo 1 CommentMINI UK – Climbing MINI
Advertising Agency: WCRS, UK
Creative Director: Leon Jaume
Copywriter: Andy Brittain
Art Director: Yu Kung
Year: 2002
MINI Canada – Corner
Advertising Agency: Taxi, Toronto
Creative Director: Zack Mroue
Copywriter: Zack Mroue
Art Director: Lance Martin
Year: 2003
MINI Canada – Union Jack
Advertising Agency: Taxi, Toronto
Creative Director: Zack Mroue
Copywriter: Zack Mroue
Art Director: Lance Martin
Year: 2003
MINI Canada – Luge
Advertising Agency: Taxi, Toronto
Creative Director: Zack Mroue
Copywriter: Michael Meyers
Art Director: Lance Martin
Year: 2004
Shortlist
MINI Canada – Agrippez-vous
Advertising Agency: Taxi, Toronto
Creative Director: Zack Mroue
Copywriter: Jane Murray, Gaetan Naumoric
Art Director: Rose Sauquillo
Year: 2004
MINI USA – 3D Robot
Advertising Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Miami
Creative Director: Alex Bogusky
Copywriter: Rogar Hoard, Mike Lear, Bob Cianfrone
Art Director: Dave Swartz, Paoul Keister
Year: 2005
MINI Cabrio – YO-YO
Advertising Agency: D’Adda, Lorenzini, Vigorelli, BBDO
Creative Director: Giuseppe Mastromatteo, Luca Scotto Di Carlo
Copywriter: Cristino Battista
Art Director: Dario Agnello
Photographer: Armando Rebatto
Year: 2006
Shortlist
MINI Canada – Let There Be Xenon
Advertising Agency: Taxi, Toronto
Creative Director: Lance Martin
Copywriter: Jordan Doucette/Ryan Wagman
Art Director: Troy McGuinness
Year: 2007
Bronze Lion
MINI JAPAN – Missing
The Brief
To build and to maximize a new value of Mini in a Japanese way, and to arouse interest and attract attention toward Mini from not only Mini fans but also from those who had no interest. Taking an opportunity of the updated New Mini launch on the “Mini Day (promotional anniversary in Japan)”.
The creative execution
To describe the New Mini’s exciting charm by putting it into the Japanese favourite “Manga” story-“the New Mini escaped with its own will.”
To expand the New Mini’s fascination and to generate penetration in the market by involving the Japanese audience into Mini’s escape story in the theatrical campaign. The campaign was aimed at 35-49 year olds the liberals of high society. It is the progressive trendsetter that becomes the core target as they invent the fashion. The campaign is developed mainly on Outdoor advertisement and website, without using other mass media. However it was taken up by TV, magazine and outdoor advertising. The story development of the campaign succeeded in having not only a simple recognition of the product but also a deeper personal communication.
Advertising Agency: ADK, Tokyo
Creative Director: Tatsuyuki Hamada
Copywriter: Keisuke Yosahida
Art Director: Toshiaki Oikawa
Year: 2007
Shortlist
MINI COOPER S – Base Jump
In 2006, the MINI was re-launched. Its key feature: more power. And while the new engine creates the familiar “go-cart feeling”, a simple switch of the (tiptronic) button to the “Sport” mode causes the power steering and the gas pedal to respond even more directly. The re-launch’s campaign slogan was “Incredibly MINI. The new MINI.“ And when MINI says “incredible”, they mean incredible. As incredible as a jump from one rooftop to another.
On the one side the ramp, on the other the brand-new MINI Cooper S: for every driver crossing the bridge near this twin high-rise, it had to look as if the car had just achieved such as spectacular feat. Which lent an air of nitty-gritty realism to the message “Incredibly MINI. The new MINI.” And gave a powerful boost to the whole campaign.
The target audience for this campaign was “postmodern trendsetters”, i.e. fun-loving people with a penchant for thrills and spills. Among their values and life goals are independence, spontaneity, rejection of norms, self-realisation, fun and action. The MINI installation was perfectly attuned to this group and their search for the uncommon and sensational.
The “MINI Base Jump“ campaign caused quite a stir, both among the media and the people driving by the spectacular sight every day. The promotion’s aim was to invite people to go for a test drive at their nearest MINI dealership – because statistics show that 60% of those who try one, buy one.
Advertising Agency: Jung von Matt AG, Zurich
Executive Creative Director: Alexander Jaggy
Creative Director: Michael Rottmann
Art Director: David Hanselmann
Copywriter: Thomas Amman
Year: 2007
MINI Malaysia – Loop
Advertising Agency: BBDO/Proximity, Malaysia
Executive Creative Director: Ronald Ng
Creative Director: Mun
Copywriter: Kevin Le, Ronald Ng, Johanne Chow
Art Director: Mun, Richie Chan
Year: 2008
MINI Canada – MINI Vending Machine
2011 brought on a new year of model updates for the always-iconic MINI and MINI Canada wanted to show these off by highlighting what our MINI target loves most about the car: its individuality. .
The goal was to create a buzz-worthy piece that would let our target audience know that MINI absolutely owns customization.
They decided to showcase the idea of personalizing your MINI, by tactically placing an interactive experience right where our target audience would be found, in an arresting way that only MINI could do.
They created the MINI Vending Machine, the largest ever interactive night projection in Canada, which showcased different combinations of the latest 2011 MINIs. Placed strategically in the club district where our key target audience is found, passersby could interact with it by texting to choose the MINI they wanted. This triggered their MINI to drive to the bottom in 1 of 9 fun, cheeky animations. A personalized-response SMS message was then dispatched to them, that led to MINI’s Facebook page.
Several channels worked together to maximize the campaign: first, our target could both view the eye-catching projection and then interact with it. This was then taken one step further in our ability to gather a data-base of target audience.
Finally, the projection went viral, and gained immense international exposure.
The Vending Machine was hugely successful; not only did it get 134,861 impressions in two weeks, it received large-scale attention on thousands of sites and blogs all over the world, as well as over 20,000 hits on Youtube in its first week.
The MINI Vending Machine didn’t just light up the street for the public to interact with and enjoy – it created a major buzz online.
Advertising Agency: Taxi 2, Canada
Creative Director: Lance Martin
Copywriter: Alanna Nathanson
Art Director: Jeff MacEachern
Animation: Hatch Studios
Interactive: Forth Wall
Year: 2011
Shortlist
MINI Countryman – The Getaway Billboard
Insights, Strategy & the Idea
MINI launches the MINI Countryman: The 4th car line of the company, after “Hatch”, “Clubman”, “Cabrio”. The biggest one (4 meters). The first with 4 doors and, most of all, the first with 4WD.
The positioning claim is MINI Countryman. Getaway, “Getaway” means the opportunity to have multiple choices and join your passions.
– Objective. The new MINI Countryman is coming to town and we need to present it to the target.
– Media choice:. we have a big-size outdoor media, in the city centre of Milan.
– The challenge. To find a disruptive way of using the billboards, finding an eye catching creative idea.
The purpose is: to be spectacular, using a fibreglass car on the billboard; to be consistent with the positioning: showing the “Getaway” via active sport field (considering the incoming summer season the new MINI is the perfect car able to follow your passion like sea surfing).
Creative Execution
We have the opportunity to use a special three-face billboard.
The idea is to create continuity between the three billboards using a creative execution able to connect them.
Billboard 1. It represent a fake surf apparel brand adv: young surfers pose in front of the camera but three of them seem to be interested on what’s happening around the corner, and one of them, physically, is watching on the main billboard.
Billboard 2. The new MINI Countryman in fibreglass is the protagonist. It has a surf board on the roof and is represented as it is “going away”, out of the billboard. One of the surfers, represented on billboard one, is watching the MINI going away with his surf board.
Billboard 3. An invitation, together with an announcing of the new MINI, consistent with execution: “Welcome on Board”.
Results and Effectiveness
An impactful presence, spectacular and attention getting also during the “installation”, it has created a sort of “event”.
An estimate of 964.000 contacts made in 30 days of exposition.
Great unaided PR activity: the most influent Italian newspapers mentioned the campaign.
Target catch, also through word-of-mouth offline and online (web sites from all over the world posted the images; surfing the net with “MINI Countryman Billboard” the Italian idea is the first between the search results).
Advertising Agency: Bcube, Italy
Executive Creative Director: Francesco Bozza
Creative Director: Alessandro Sabini
Copywriter: Martino Lapini
Art Director: Fabio D’Altilia, Daniele Pancetti
Year: 2011
MINI Countryman – Times Square
Amidst the clutter, neon and noise of Times Square we used the launch of the all-new four-wheel drive MINI Countryman to do something simple, quiet and, dare we say, beautiful. The eight panel OOH takeover has two fiberglass Countryman mounted on an idyllic mountain scene with the words: Let it Snow.
Advertising Agency: Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners
Year: 2011
Canadian Tire – Christmas Spirit Tree (the first Christmas tree powered by Christmas Spirit)
Posted: December 19, 2011 Filed under: Ambient, Canada, Case History, Digital, Direct, Event, Promotion | Tags: Canadian Tire, Christmas Spirit Tree, christmas tree, Social media, the first Christmas tree powered by Christmas spirit, Toronto, Toronto's Union Station, Tribal DDB 2 Comments
Canadian Tire is lighting up the holiday season and spreading Christmas cheer across the country with the launch of its state-of-the-art, 30-foot Christmas Spirit Tree. The tree, unveiled today at Toronto’s Union Station, has 3,000 LED lights that are powered by messages of positive Christmas spirit on social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and posts to ChristmasSpiritTree.ca
“At this time of the year, everyone’s talking about holiday spirit. We wanted to show it,” says Rob Shields, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Canadian Tire. “Canadian Tire is thrilled to see the Christmas Spirit Tree come to life and celebrate the joy of the holiday season with all Canadians.”
According to a recent survey* commissioned by Canadian Tire, 37 per cent of Canadians won’t mail cards this year, but rather will use online channels. In fact, 28 per cent said they share their Christmas spirit by posting messages on social networks; 16 per cent send e-cards and 8 per cent use Skype or iChat. The research conducted by Canadian Tire also found that in 2010 more than 1.6 million social media messages were posted about the Christmas season inCanada.
The Christmas Spirit Tree will capture all real-time blog posts, tweets, public Facebook messages and other online content containing specific Christmas keywords and transform them into data that is then visualized via the lights on the tree. Canadians may also text message “Christmas” to 70734 to affect the lights on the tree.
The brightness and colour of the lights will vary depending on the source of the messages. For example, posts from Twitter and other social media are represented as white lights on the tree, whereas messages from ChristmasSpiritTree.ca or text messages are visualized as a spiral of blue lights moving up the tree accompanied by flashing strobe lights all over. And, the brightness of the lights represents the total number of per-minute messages being shared across the country, so at times when online sharing is at its highest, the tree will shine at its brightest.
Canadian Tire’s Christmas survey also provides a glimpse into Canadians’ feelings about the festive season and their own Christmas spirit:
- Putting up the Christmas tree (93%), holiday shopping (92%) and attending children’s holiday pageants (86%) are the activities that most spark their Christmas Spirit
- 27 per cent feel that Santa Claus most represents their Christmas spirit because he’s a jolly gift-giver
- 18 per cent most relate to Santa’s elves because they are busy finishing last-minute Christmas errands
- 50 per cent claim that they can name every reindeer that pulls Santa’s sleigh
- The majority (84%) of Canadians unwrap gifts with their families on Christmas Day with only 44 per cent reporting they do it on Christmas Eve
The Christmas Spirit Tree will be on display at Toronto Union Station from December 12-26 from 6:00 a.m. tomidnight EST daily and can be viewed via live stream at ChristmasSpiritTree.ca and on screens at Yonge-Dundas Square. Media are welcome to film and photograph the tree. Daily Spirit Tree metrics and statistics, including provincial breakdowns, are available on request.
Advertising Agency: Tribal DDB, Toronto
Creative Director: LP Tremblay
Associate Creative Director / Art Director: Mara Binudin
Associate Creative Director / Copywriter: Ryan Lawrence
Year: 2011
This is not ADVERTISING 