The editors of SHOOT® magazine have honored “All Together Now” as the ‘Top Spot of the Year‘ for 2009. There’s a dash of sentimentality in SHOOT’s choice for the Top Spot of 2009, culled from a field of ‘Top Spots of the Week’ it covered throughout the year. As it turns out, SHOOT’s sentiment coincides with many of its readers who in an online poll voted decisively in favor of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) animation :60 spot, directed by the duo Fx & Mat of Nexus Productions, London, for Cole & Weber United, Seattle.
According to SHOOT editor Robert Goldrich, “All Together Now” garnered the largest number of year-end votes, over 21 percent out of more than 2,000 cast by SHOOT readers choosing from 15 Top Spots of the Week finalists, with some voters going off the ballot to make write-in selections.” Ultimately SHOOT concurred with the largest bloc of votes from its readership poll for a number of reasons.
SHOOT editors felt the positive message in the IOC spot is of great appeal, reflected in its title as six giant-sized athletes engage in an epic tug of war, which ends with them literally pulling the continents together. “Indeed ‘All Together Now,’ the notion of pulling the world together to share what unites rather than what divides us, is a most compelling message in the face of a turbulent year. It’s a feel-good optimism that takes on even deeper meaning as we embark on 2010,” said SHOOT editor Robert Goldrich.
From a more specific spotmaking industry standpoint, “All Together Now” also represents an affirmation of what new talent can bring to the table. Goldrich related that Fx & Mat were part of SHOOT’s 2009 New Directors Showcase. In a mini-profile of the duo as part of SHOOT’s 7th annual New Directors Showcase coverage in May ’09, the directors noted that they were working at the time on “a top secret project for the Olympics…ooops, it’s not a secret anymore.”
“Our Top Spot for 2009 articulates several aspects of what we aspire to see more of in 2010–a promising concept that comes to fruition as a lovely work of art and a relevant piece of branding communication, a belief in new talent as the lifeblood of our industry and that we all can win when opportunities are extended to such talent, and the dream that the world can come together in the Olympic spirit for the greater good–and that this good can go well beyond athletics and help to unite people from varied cultures and societies,” Goldrich summed up.
Top 5 Tally
Rounding out the Top 5 after the IOC spot were in order: Sprint Nextel’s “Wedding” from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco; Diet Dr Pepper’s “Unbelievable” out of Deutsch LA; and two spots for Liberty Mutual, “Trunk” and “Pilot,” both from Hill Holliday, Boston.
Here are the poll results with the percentage of 2,000-plus voters who selected each Top 5 spot:
Top 5 2009 SHOOT “Top Spot of the Year” Vote Getters
1. IOC’s “All Together Now” (21.06%)
2. Sprint Nextel’s “Wedding” (17.36%)
3. Diet Dr Pepper’s “Unbelievable” (14.53%)
4. Liberty Mutual’s “Trunk” (11.70%)
5. Liberty Mutual’s “Pilot” (10.63%)
About SHOOT® Magazine
SHOOT® Magazine is the leading publication for advertising agency, commercial and entertainment production & postproduction decision-makers. Covering news, great work, trends, creative techniques, applications and talent, SHOOT provides timely and relevant information including behind-the-scenes looks at the best new commercials, interactive work, branded content, music videos, featuress, etc., and the talented ad agency creatives & producers and commercial & entertainment industry executives and artisans behind the work. SHOOT also reports on the latest cinematography, post & editing technology and equipment. If the work involves advertising or entertainment content that consumers view on a screen–TV screen, Cinema screen, Computer screen, Mobile screen or Game screen, SHOOT is searching out who’s doing the most innovative work and what’s coming next. SHOOT provides insights from established filmmaking talent as well as giving its readers a heads-up on the up-and-comers, as reflected in our March and October Directors Issues. For 49 years SHOOT has been chronicling commercialmaking from its infancy to maturation, providing historical contest and a mix of perspectives, showing where the industry has been in order to get a better handle on where it is and in what directions it is headed. SHOOT explores the advertising and entertainment crossover dynamic and integrated campaign strategies, providing an informed big-picture take on the business and the creative sides of advertising and entertainment while showcasing the best work–both prominent and obscure–and getting into the hearts, minds and creative spirit of the industry’s best and brightest executives and artisans in the client, agency creative, entertainment, production, post and music sectors. For further information, please visit www.SHOOTonline.com.
About Cole & Weber United
Cole & Weber ((www.coleweber.com)) is a creativity company that delivers business impact by involving people in brand experiences. One of the pioneers of integrated marketing, Cole & Weber is perceived as one of the most innovative agencies in the US, having written and produced a TV show for a beer brand, and developed an interactive contest for the Olympic Committee that allows young people around the world to challenge their favorite Olympians like Rafael Nadal and Michael Phelps. These are just two examples of the progressive and innovative solutions Cole & Weber brings to its clients, which include Microsoft, Target and the International Olympic Committee.
About Nexus Productions
Nexus ((www.nexusproductions.com)) is an independent production company and animation studio based in London, with a worldwide reputation for creative storytelling across a range of media. Work includes an Oscar nominated short, Grammy nominated and MTV Award winning music videos, and Cannes Grand Prix, Gold Lions, and Black D&AD pencil winning commercials.
Nexus is dedicated to the development of unique voices in filmmaking, with a roster of directing talent working with multi-disciplinary skills in animation, live-action and interactive media. The studio’s production, animation, post-production staff and facilities support them, with Nexus being a home for both the people and the technology to create some of the most innovative work in entertainment and branded content.
Nexus brings together artists and technical talent to work in a collaborative atmosphere to make exciting, talked about creative content.
About The IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is a corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas on 23 June 1894. Its membership consists of the 205 National Olympic Committees.
The IOC organizes the modern Olympic Games held in Summer and Winter, every four years. The first Summer Olympics organized by the International Olympic Committee held in Athens, Greece, in 1896; the first Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Until 1992, both Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same year. After that year, however, the IOC shifted the Winter Olympics to the even years between Summer Games, to help space the planning of the two events two years apart from one another. www.olympic.org
Editors Note:
Before the editors of SHOOT Magazine selected the “Top Spot of the Year” they surveyed their readers to get their opinion. After culling through some 50 pieces of work that earned SHOOT “Top Spot of the Week” status throughout 2009, SHOOT’s editors narrowed the field down to 15 finalists (list below). And from this assortment, our readers chimed in on what they regarded as the best of the batch, the Top Spot of 2009.
Several are comedy-driven spots, including a smash hit on the Super Bowl and a viral piece in which a Russian accuses American programmers of stealing his hit TV show ideas. There are Emmy-nominated commercials as well as international gems that include a visual effects tour de force chronicling a mouse’s quest for cheese, and a car model preview as seen through the eyes of a blind artist. There’s a joyous ride introducing us to a new model of a hybrid automobile, and a cinema ad which pokes fun at egocentric filmmakers. But whatever the differences in these entries, this body of work shares an uncommon bond of great storytelling.
Finalists in SHOOT’s 2009 “Top Spot of the Year” Poll are listed below for your review. To view a spot, description of the work, and credit information simply click on the Spot Name below (Note: You must be registered (free) to view video on SHOOTonline.com) To register, go to Home Page and enter email and password in log in box. Vote here.
Client & Spot Name~Director~Agency
Emerald Nuts’ “Falling”~Baker Smith~Goodby, Silverstein & Partners
Heineken’s “Walk-In Fridge”~Bart Timmer~TBWAAmsterdam
Kerry LowLow’s “Mouse”~dom&nic~Fallon | London
IOC’s “All Together Now“~Fx & Mat~Cole & Weber United
Liberty Mutual’s “Pilot”~Harmony Korine~Hill Holliday
Sprint Nextel’s “Wedding”~Jim Jenkins~Goodby, Silverstein & Partners
TBS’ “My Boys”~Jim Jenkins~Saatchi & Saatchi NY
Diet Dr Pepper’s “Unbelievable”~Ken Lidster~Deutsch LA
Toyota Prius’ “Harmony”~Mr. Hide~Saatchi & Saatchi LA
Sprint’s “Blow It Up”~Peter Farrelly~Goodby, Silverstein & Partners
Skittles’ “Hourglass”~Randy Krallman~TBWAChiatDay
Volvo S60’s “Blind Preview”~Shearer~Euro RSCG 4D
Liberty Mutual’s “Trunk”~Stylewar~Hill Holliday
CareerBuilder.com’s “Tips”~Tom Kuntz~Wieden+Kennedy | Portland
Comcast’s “Anthem”~Yuval and Merav Nathan~Grupo Gallegos
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