A perennially top-ranked university is getting three new visually compelling television spots produced by a legendary Executive Producer and a pioneering advertising agency. The University of Vermont ((www.uvm.edu)), long known as one of the nation’s leading small liberal arts and research colleges, literally put its best face(s) forward — including 34 students, scholars, alumni and 22 locations over a two-day period in late November — for the three edgy, new 30-second spots, which are scheduled to air during 2010-2011 telecasts of men’s and women’s basketball games, men’s hockey games, and men’s Lacrosse games on ESPN, ESPNU, NESN, Comcast SportsNet New England, and MSG (Madison Square Garden) TV.
The spots will initially air on:
* Jan. 17 at 2:00, men’s basketball vs. BU on ESPNU
* Jan 24 at 3:00, men’s hockey vs. UMass on ESPNU
* Jan. 26 at 7:00, women’s basketball vs. Hartford on NESN
Hello Viking, an innovative Twin Cities-based hybrid ad agency mixing traditional advertising and marketing with digital platforms and social media, worked with former co-founder of A Band Apart Commercial Production and Music Video, Michael Bodnarchek, to create the series of new ads. The spots were directed by co-founder Tim Brunelle and written by Hello Viking’s Knute Sands. The pieces were shot by Director of Photography Martin Albert (www.mbalbert.com), using the very new Canon 7D camera, with post-production at the prestigious Ring of Fire (www.ringoffire.com) in Los Angeles.
The spots tout the many faces of students, professors, staff, and alumni in a visual pastiche talking about the university’s many attributes, as half faces merge with other half faces against different college settings on the beautiful Burlington campus to create a unified image — and message — for the eyes and ears: The University of Vermont is a richly diverse learning eco-system comprised of many individuals in pursuit of knowledge and a rewarding higher education experience that yields excellent outcomes.
Watch the spots — and see Full Credits List — at this link: http://helloviking.com/UVM
“We had two goals “The first was to demonstrate that we offer both an exceptional academic experience worthy of our Public Ivy reputation and an accepting, open, and friendly campus community – attributes that don’t often go together at top schools. The second was to create spots that stood out and got noticed, where the medium in a sense became the message that UVM is a special place. The spots paid off both goals very well — by using 34 real UVM students, faculty, staff, and alumni who proved our point that our community is an exceptional one, and through creative photography and editing. Hello Viking was terrific to work with throughout the process. We couldn’t be happier with the end result.”
New UVM Spots Mark Return to Industry for Veteran Producer
According to Hello Viking co-founder, Tim Brunelle, the shoot underscored the hybrid agency’s holistic approach: “We helped translate UVM’s marketing positioning into potential aesthetic creative directions, and responded to UVM’s feedback to those options and created the TV campaigns (e.g. scripts and storyboards). Finally, we directed, produced the approved the campaign.”
The hectic two-day shoot was a welcomed return to the arena and an industry that Bodnarchek knows well: He co-founded A Band Apart Commercial Production and Music Video in the ’90s with filmmakers Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence Bender of A Band Apart Films and grew the company to $45M revenues by 1999, working with the biggest rock stars and super brands in the world, from U2 and Mick Jaeger to Nike and Budweiser. With offices in New York, Minneapolis, London and Paris, Bodnarchek attracted many Hollywood directors — and actor/directors — such as Robert Rodriguez, Billy Bob Thorton, Steve Buscemi, Wayne Isham and many others to projects.
“As the producer for the University of Vermont spots, Michael did a terrific job keeping us on schedule and on a tight budget,” Brunelle says. “We had more than 140 talent responses to sort for 34 on-camera performances, from students to faculty to alumni! But our team, under Michael’s direction, got it all done. In many ways, this was his return to the industry after long hiatus because of health issues. But he still has the prowess and magic to create remarkable teams and high-end production values for clients. We are lucky to have him; his resume includes more than 20 years in the business, winning numerous prestigious international awards like the Cannes Gold, Silver, Bronze Lions, One Show’s Golden Pencil, Gold Clio’ and London International Awards to name a few. And we look forward to working with Michael often.”
Credit List
Client (Product): University of Vermont (UVM)
Three commercials: “Winter”, “Question”, “Reinvent”
View all three commercials at http://helloviking.com/UVM
Agency + Production Company: Hello Viking
Chief Operations Officer/Executive Producer: Jennifer Iwanicki
Executive Producer: Michael Bodnarchek
Creative Director & Film Director: Tim Brunelle
Copywriter: Knute Sands
Asst. Producer: Breanne Opitz
Director of Photography: Martin Albert
Production Designer: Michael Nissan
Editorial Company: East End Chop House
Editor: #5
Asst. Editor: Josh Beale
Visual Effects Company: Ring of Fire
Executive Producer: John Myers
Creative Director/ VFX Supervisor: Jerry Spivack
Sr. VFX Producer: Casey Conroy
VFX Producer: Justin Beaupre
VFX Associate Producer: Candace Niikura
Online Editor: Brian Shneider
Flame Artists: Brian Shneider, Shelly Dutcher, Trent Shumway, Eric Bruno, Brian Petras, Nathan Hurburt
Graphics: Marvin Chua, Markus Madlangbayan
Music: Music for Picture
Composer: Peter DuCharme
Audio Post Production: Eleven Sound
Editor: Jeff Payne
About the University of Vermont
Named by US News & World Report as a “Top Up and Coming School” and by Forbes.com as one of the 10 greenest colleges in America, the University of Vermont combines faculty-student relationships most commonly found in a small liberal arts college with the resources of a major research institution. The university is home to 10,371 undergraduates, 1,516 graduate students, 460 medical students and 1,299 full- and part-time faculty. Located in Burlington, Vermont (perennially voted one of America’s most exciting small cities), UVM’s setting in a valley on the shores of Lake Champlain, between the Adirondack and the Green mountain ranges, inspires visitors and residents. The university is regularly identified as a destination college (see http://(www.uvm.edu)/admissions/undergraduate/why/?Page=acclaim.html for more information).
About Hello Viking www.helloviking.com
Hello Viking is a challenge to the status quo. Founded in 2007, it is vigorously redefining what it means to be an advertising agency. Its mission is to understand and motivate the top 1%—be they customers, employees or investors—on behalf of its clients, in every relevant medium. In its first three years of operations, Hello Viking has produced marketing and media strategy, brand positioning, broadcast creative, design and digital experiences for clients: 3M, 901 Tequila, Alexis Hudson, Ambush Entertainment, Best Buy, Borders, Decora Cabinets, Future Farmers of America, GM, Hayneedle.com, Jostens, Lund Boats, Mercury Marine, Mosquito, Pillsbury, Pinnacle Airlines, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the University of Vermont and Vocal Essence.