Microsoft Advertising and Y&R New York have turned to Gravity, an international visual effects, design and brand communications company, to create and produce an original, long-form web content piece promoting various Microsoft tools within a case history study for Johnson & Johnson’s Zyrtec product. The piece runs over two-minutes in length and is full CG animation. Zviah Eldar, Gravity’s CEO and Chief Creative Officer, and Bob Samuel, Gravity’s CMO/Executive Producer, made the announcement. nnnnThe Gravity-produced content piece, which has just launched on the Internet, was commissioned by Microsoft Advertising to appeal to CMOs and media buying agencies, so that they will consider using the innovative advertising tools available from Microsoft. These tools, including the MSN portal, Windows Mobile, Skype and Xbox, can be utilized as media outlets to reach millions of Internet users. nnY&R’s team, headed by ECD Kerry Keenan and HODP Nathy Aviram took the project in an unexpected direction to evolve a potentially dry informational piece into an entertaining ride. They came up with a quirky and humorous script set as a video game in Samurai-era Japan.nnGravity’s Director/CD Yuval Levy worked with his team to come up with the visual style, character development and design, story action, choreography, art direction. Gravity had two of its offices, New York and Tel Aviv, engaged in the piece to address the 10 – week production schedule.nnLevy stated, “It’s a bit of ‘Crouching Tiger’ meets Kurosawa meets ‘God of War.’ We couldn’t believe the script and how it blended these disparate ideas together. It was fresh from the first read to the last render.”nn”We needed to establish this ancient Samurai world quickly,” said Levy. “We used iconic Japanese animation and prints with a palette of pinks and reds to create an environment and story the audience could quickly pick up. We relied heavily on anime-style design and of course, did a lot of research in video games, action and martial arts films.” nnLevy also expressed his appreciation to the Y&R team supporting him to explore ways to address some of the dichotomies in the script. “The dragon needed to be threatening, but not enough to be scary. We enveloped him in cherry blossom flowers by using two simulations of hair and particles in Maya. The cheery blossoms ended up influencing the entire palette of pastels.”nn”The character design exploration was prepared as sketches. We got archive portraits of actual Japanese martial arts fighters as our base. We did the final modeling of the characters in Z Brush. Our digital matte paintings were influenced by Japanese landscape prints,” Levy concluded.nnAs the piece begins, we see an elaborate scroll slowly opening to reveal an ancient map of Japan, as we hear the VO announcer speaking in Japanese. The English subtext reads, “War has broken out in the region. The pollen dragon dynasty has launched an offensive and the brave Samurai take refuge in the surrounding forests.” We next see in full animation a number of dragons flying over a Japanese town, when one of them confronts a Master Samurai warrior and his student. The dragon spits a huge spew of pollen from his mouth, as the Master warrior begins to sneeze and hides behind his shield. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, the Master warrior ultimately slays the beast, after his student warrior falls to the ground.nnExhausted, the Master warrior, on his knees, says, “I have shamed us—my condition has left me unable to defeat our enemy. I am a dishonor to my family.” Just as the elder man is about to commit suicide by sword, his student comes to his aid, and says, “Oh, wise one…you are suffering from allergies. There is no shame in this master! I suggest visiting the allergy solution center at MSN.com. It is both entertaining and informative.” At this point, a large, MSN.com web page appears, featuring a number of ways to “Better Understanding Your Allergies.” The student explains to his master that the MSN experience was built upon an end to end publishing platform that utilizes Windows so it is scalable and can be quickly deployed across all of Microsoft’s media platforms. nnNow enlighted, the Master accompanies his student through a forest, climbing tall trees, eluding another dragon, and resting upon a cliff where another MSN.com webpage appears. The student says, “Master, you may want to check the pollen count today through Bing maps, or use the self assessment tool developed with MSN help to better manage your allergies. You can learn about medications like Zyrtec. It is a dynamic platform to support additional data sites for lifetimes to come.” The elder man replies, “This Zyrtec allergy medicine…it is good.” The two men then continue on in their fight against a flying pollen dragon, leaping from mountaintop to mountaintop. Finally discovering the location of the pollen dragon’s nest, the men again confront a dragon, leap upon his back, and continue in their efforts to tame him. nnSaid Eldar, “”It is a very exciting time for us at Gravity as we are being asked more frequently to create branded content that will be shared in social media outlets by various target audiences. For Y&R, we wanted to create a highly visual environment for Microsoft Advertising that would emphasize the versatility of MSN.com in an informative way, while also being something that media planners, buyers and marketers would find worthy of sharing.”nnSamuel said, “This piece represents a brilliant new way to show a case history. The agency came up with a very different take to illustrate Johnson & Johnson’s great success story for Zyrtec, using the channels of Microsoft in a highly innovative and creative manner, set against the storyline of a Japanese Samurai Warrior and his eager student.” nnCredits For MSN/ZYRTEC Content PiecennY&R:nECD: Kerry KeenannHead of Content Production: Nathy AviramnAD: Carlo BarretonCW: Liz Polkinghorne nProducer: Devon DentlernnGravity NY & Tel AvivnZviah Eldar: CEO/Chief Creative OfficernYuval Levy: Director/Head of 3D & Compositing, NYnBob Samuel: CMO/Executive ProducernKaren Bianca: Head of Production/NYnRuss Dube: Senior Project ProducernEmily Davis: Production Coordinator/NYnYoav Savaryego: Head of 3D & Compositing, Tel AvivnIsrael Breslev: Head of Art & Design, Tel AvivnMoira Goldstein: Head of Production, Tel AvivnHila Liberman: Producer, Tel AvivnnAbout GRAVITYnGravity is an international visual effects, design and brand communications company with proven expertise in three integrated divisions: Features & Television, Commercials, and Digital. With 250 talented professionals across offices in New York, Los Angeles, Connecticut and Tel Aviv, the company is a widely renowned generator of high-end visual effects, creative content, motion graphics design, animation, branding, and digital strategy. nnThe company’s clients include Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., DreamWorks, Sony Pictures Entertainment, HBO, Paramount Pictures, Virgin Produced, The Weinstein Company, Dimension Films, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Mercedes Benz, Verizon, Pantene, MGA Entertainment, Carlsberg, Kmart, and Braun. Gravity’s recent feature film credits include “Tower Heist,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” “The Adjustment Bureau,” “Arthur,” “The Other Guys,” “Salt,” “The Reader,” and “Ghost Town.” The company’s television credits include HBO’s “Bored to Death,” “The Sopranos,” and “Sex and The City.” nnGravity’s New York office is located at 315 Madison Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY, 10017. The phone is 212/986-1584. The company’s West Coast office is located in the Lantana Building, 3000 West Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica, CA, 90404. The phone is 310/264-3909. For more information, please visit www.gravityworld.com.
Dan Harary The Asbury PR Agency/Beverly Hills 310/859-1831 Contact Dan via email
Contact In The Desert Returns To Indian Wells, CA, May 29-June 2, 2025, Featuring Keynote Speaker Josh Gates of “Expedition Unknown”
The Contact In The Desert Conference (CITD) will take place May 29th - June 2nd, 2025, at the beautiful Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa in Indian Wells, CA. The conference will feature over 120 lectures, workshops, intensives and panels presented by the world’s most prestigious experts in the fields of UFO/UAP, Government Disclosure, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Science, Ancient Civilizations, Space Exploration, Future of Technology and Space Travel, Non-human Intelligence, Spirituality, and more. This year’s conference, with the theme Event Horizon, will feature renowned keynote speaker Josh Gates, host of Discovery’s Expedition Unknown, as well as Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell, the leading expert on child autism and savant syndrome, who will be speaking about her telepathy project. Tickets are now available: CLICK HERE “We are thrilled to welcome Josh Gates and Dr. Diane Hennacy Powell to CITD 2025. They both bring unique insights and deep dedication to discovering the unknown,” said CITD Executive Producer Ron Janix. About Josh Gates Adventurer, television personality and author Josh Gates is the host and executive producer of the smash-hit Discovery Channel TV series, Expedition Unknown. Armed with a degree in archaeology, a quick wit and a hunger for adventure, Gates has traveled to the most remote corners of the world, participated in sub-sea archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean, and explored everywhere from sweltering African deserts to the icy shore of Antarctica. To date, he has set foot in more than one hundred countries, has scaled “the roof of Africa” on Mt.... Read More