// This year 152 entries entered the Globe and Mail’s 2009 Young Lions (under 28) competition in one of the four creative categories: print, film, cyber and media. Competitors basically had 24 hours to finish a relatable, cool and inventive media strategy. Here are the winners: Media: Sarah Fitzgerald, media planner, and Beverley Gallant, art director, Cossette Atlantic, Film: Chris Booth, copywriter, and Joel Pylypiw, art director, DDB Canada, Print: Jon Murray, copywriter, TBWA Vancouver, and Simon Bruyn, copywriter, Rethink Cyber: Todd Taahashi, art director, Burnkit Creative.
// AdAge mentioned Coca-Cola Co. is attempting to start an industry-wide movement toward a “value-based” compensation model like one it’s adopted that promises agencies only recouped costs if they don’t perform. The discreet Coke brand discussed its plans at the Association of National Advertisers Financial Management Conference in Phoenix on April 20.
// Watch out, it takes a few moments for the black to fade before the video begins. The new “Let It Shine” video produced for Honda by agency Wieden + Kennedy in Amsterdam was an exceptionally different spot. Hundreds of car headlights were used to build one of the world’s largest LED screens. The commercial was the first spot for Honda’s new environmental brand, a new affordable hybrid on the market (The Honda Insight). Vimeo brings you on an interesting ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the commercial online as well.
// In new news, MySpace has named former Facebook executive Owen Van Natta as CEO and in other news and as far as the creative ad world goes, this fluid spot for paint company Lady made me smile today. Created by Norwegian agency Try Reklamebyrå , prod co Social Club & producer Leila El Zein. The ad shows a woman getting drawn into a fantasy sketch world until she realizes her husband is cleaning her mundane work away, erasing the imaginative world. Maybe she really can’t believe he is cleaning, I definitely wouldn’t…
// Now THIS is what a comedy commercial spot should look like! Amazing work for the Dutch Comedy Central Network was produced by agency Modernista! Amsterdam (even the prod co has a great name and check out the website it is unlike anything I have seen so far) & don’t forget super CD Nate Naylor and copywriter Shane Hutton.
// C-Tweeters (not to be mistaken with cTweet.com for celebrity brand connections) are CEO’s choosing to Twitter to increase their own profile or their brand’s awreness…or both. Tony Hsieh (@zappos – he was on celebrity apprentice), Zappos CEO, has is considered the gold standard for CEO tweeting. His comfortable style leverages both the brand he helped create and his own personal voice. AdAge mentions “He has gained a reputation for responsiveness and accessibility via Twitter that has come to epitomize the entire Zappos aesthetic”.
// I read Willy Wonka inspired lickable strips made by First Flavor are entering shops, magazine and newspapers. Reminds me of the fresh breath strips concept. I loved Willy Wonka’s candy flavored wallpaper in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory circa 1971. Out of the now available samples of grape juice, toothpaste, lime-spiked rum, cigarette (a part of an anti-smoking camapign) and the trendy acai berry juice, I would go with the third option (what does lime-spike rum taste like on paper?). I would prefer the real deal as a sample…On another note, the Welch’s brand placed an edible ad in People magazine to reach mothers. Time will tell.
// Creativity announced some moves. Dan Dickenson, formerly of Partizan London and Rokkit, has launched A Very Special Place, an animation company partnering with Independent Films. BBH New York has hired Suzanne Molinaro, former director of production at Campfire, as deputy head of interactive production. TWC has signed director Ross Katz. San Francisco-based Phoenix Editorial has launched Bonfire, a motion design company.
// I have been thinking about mascots and their relevance today. I passed a few on the way to a meeting today…It does serve as communication to the brand as powerful as a logo would, it may even be an extension to one. A great example is Mastercard’s Supermarket icons spot (by McCann Erickson, NY). It features advertising mascot legends like Charlie the Tuna, Mr. Peanut, Mr.Clean, the Pillsbury Doughboy, The Green Giant veg endorser and more. Apparently, the greatest Mascot of all time was the Marlboro cowboy (who I thought was 50 when I was a kid) & ended up winning many awards.
// The Smart car’s primary selling feature is tiny.period. It is ideal for city living and for people like me who have space issues when it comes to driving large vehicles. I think the smart car is adjusting to pint sized media packaging as well…In order to get this point more defined, Smart created a shortened service, found at http://url.so-smart.be. The shortened URL, http://so-smart.be/~ takes up fewer characters on micro-blogging sites like Twitter, with a whopping 140 character limit. Any links shortened with this service automatically become micro ads because of the so-smart.be prefix. This directs people to www.so-smart.be where visitors will find a branded site called Smart & the City. Editor from CMDglobal’s comment: “Using the ubiquitous URL shortening service as an advertising platform is an original way of spreading the brand message in social media without interruption.”
