By Theresa Piti
SHORT CUTS
So! Animation, New York, produced a :30 for Babybel and Alcone Marketing, Darien, Conn., showcasing the cheese’s new animated mascots. "2 Fresh World Tour" Co-directed by So! Partners Lauri Salladay and Rob Cazin, the ad shows the mascots-two individually wrapped Babybel cheese discs with arms, legs and facial features-singing a hip-hop tune and performing in concert. The commercial also features a skycam fly-in on the stage over an animated audience, jumbotron screens behind the stage which broadcast live-action footage of parents and their children enjoying Babybel, and the characters’ reflections along the stage’s surface as they sing and move across it. Softimage XSI was used to create the 3-D characters, environment and light show.
Bruce Ashley of New York-headquartered 89 Editorial cut a series of PSAs for Population Services International (PSI)/Artists Against AIDS. Directed by Earle Sebastian, the spots features such recording artists as Justin Timberlake (*NSYNC), Destiny’s Child, Alicia Keys, Shaggy, Nelly, Eve, Shabba Ranks and Jermaine Dupri promoting abstinence, HIV testing and condom use. The PSAs will be used to influence the behavior of young people vulnerable to the AIDS virus in PSI AIDS prevention programs in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the United States.
Blur Studio, Venice, Calif., produced a 3-D computer-animated simulator ride film based on the DC Comics character, Batman. The Batman Simulator Ride Film will debut at Six Flags’ new theme park in Madrid, Spain, "Warner Bros. Movie World." It will also appear in the Warner Bros. "Movie World" Australia theme park. Credits for Blur include creative director Tim Miller; visual effects supervisor Aaron Powell; lead animator Richard Bluff; visual effects producer Sherry Wallace; animators Neil Blevins, Jeremy Cook, Brandon Davis, Tom Dillon, Jon Jordan, Asier Lavina, Noel McGinn, Kirby Miller, Tim Wallace, Jeff Weisend and Bill Zahn; motion capturer John Bunt; and concept artist Chuck Wojtkiewicz.
MUSIC NOTES
Chicago-based Rhythm Cafe has been keeping busy with numerous projects. Recently signed composer/producer Frayne Lewis worked on a package of soulful commercials for Verizon Wireless via Burrell Communications, Chicago. Lewis, along with Brando Triantafillou, also produced music for an adidas campaign introducing the SLII shoe. "Privileged" features an Indian-inspired hip-hop track, while "It’s Coming" showcases a skate-punk track with vocals. Those spots were also created by Burrell. Steve Zoloto composed a haunting brass chorale for a VFW public service announcement entitled "Every War Has An End." The spots, created by The Royal Order, are airing on network television and in theatres. Zoloto also wrote a ’70s cop-show inspired instrumental track for Sunkist’s "Battle of the Supermodels/Rev." The :30, via FCB Chicago, features supermodels duking it out over a bottle of the beverage. And Lewis and Triantafillou again teamed up to compose an unplugged rhythm and blues track for Tide Clean Breeze’s "Spring," for Burrell.
Roger Wojahn and Scott Wojahn of Santa Monica-based Wojahn Bros Music composed the music for 7-Up’s "Calendar," a :30 out of Young & Rubicam, New York. Directed by Joe Public of bicoastal Headquarters, the ad shows the 7-Up spokesman taking photos of the beverage’s out-of-shape truck drivers for a promotional calendar. Dara Norris produced for Wojahn Bros Music.
Effie UK and Ipsos Report Concludes Marketing Industry Should Do Its Part To Heal Societal Divisions
Society has never been more divided, according to a new report Healing the Divide in which Effie UK and brand and advertising experts from Ipsos explored brands’ role in shaping society and healing societal divisions.
The report details how instability, inflation, and COVID recovery —the convergence of multiple interconnected crises around the world that coincide with and amplify each other, causing hard to resolve systemic challenges, have become the norm over the past few years. As a result, the use of division as a weapon is now a major theme in today’s culture and politics, and sadly 47% of the UK and 49% of the US agree with the statement that “Within my lifetime, society in my country will break down,” according to Ipsos Global Trends 2024.
While some brands have tried to respond to this, the report finds responsible marketing is now threatened by weaponized division. It points to the World Federation of Advertisers’ decision to shut down the Global Alliance for Responsible Media following an antitrust lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s X, combined with DEI rollbacks, as significant setbacks.
The report says these setbacks underline the importance of marketing in solving collective problems, such as climate change, food security, and harmful online content. It also points to a need for marketers to take more interest in and more responsibility for healing divisions.
Research claims marketers are ideally placed to build and rebuild the antidote to division (trust, empathy, a sense of control, connection and collaboration). According to the Ipsos Veracity index of trusted professionals, society is becoming more trustworthy of advertising executives. Additionally, 57% of Britons agree that brands should communicate their... Read More