Consider it the birth of a notion–an eerie notion at that, but one which hits home the point that the cleanup of California’s coastline is an important priority. Indeed failure to stop coastal pollution has already had negative repercussions. And the offbeat creative approach taken in this public service ad underscores that the situation could get worse, compromising nature and animal life itself. Sadly, what seems like exaggeration may not be all that far fetched.
This animation spot opens on an egg nestled in a bed of grass surrounded by colorful foilage–almost looks like an Easter Egg hunt is in the offing. Even better, the egg starts to crack and we anticipate the emergence of an adorable baby chick.
However, this idyllic scene takes a sudden turn toward the strange. The grass wilts as an odorous plume rises from the egg. Litter appears in what had originally been a pristine environment. And now there’s the unsettling, almost ominous feeling that something not so adorable is going to peer out from his, her or its shell.
Sure enough, a baby chick emerges–but its bill is a lit cigarette. Turns out we have witnessed the hatching of a Cig Egret, a disgusting creature born out of man’s pollution and its profoundly adverse impact on the eco chain. As we view this mutated animal, a voiceover reminds us, “Trash is a non-native species of the California Coast.”
A message then flashes across the screen, heralding the upcoming California Coastal Cleanup Day (which has since taken place on Sept. 16) and other related events slated to run into October. An end tag carries the California Coastal Commission logo, accompanied by its Web site address (www.coast4u.org).
Titled “Non-Native Species,” this PSA produced by design/animation shop Stardust Studios, Santa Monica, for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (GSP), San Francisco, has brought to life one of the animal creations from the agency’s poster series in 2005. Those posters featured images of imaginary creatures made from trash, including the Cig Egret, the SporkCrab and ColaBass.
The poster series earned recognition at both The One Show and the Cannes International Advertising Festival earlier this year. Now one of the posters has translated into a TV ad.
The GSP team on the public service spot consisted of creative director Jeff Goodby, associate creative director/art director Paul Foulkes, associate creative director/copywriter Tyler Hampton and producer Michael Damiani.
Executive creative director Jake Banks headed a Stardust coterie of talent that included executive producer Eileen Doherty, designer Kinda Akash, animator Sam Sparks and effects artist Mikey Plescia.
“What I really like about the finished spot is its style; it’s not quite animation, but it’s not real either,” observed GSP’s Hampton. “It draws people in, and then it’s quite eerie once this creature comes out. Overall it feels like something that will cut through the usual live-action things you see on television.”
GSP’s Foulkes said that the agency turned to Stardust for this “miracle of birth gone wrong idea,” based on past positive collaborations with the studio on end-graphics work for the Comcast campaign. He credited the Stardust ensemble with taking the “Non-Native Species” idea and running with it, resulting in an eloquent pro-environmental spot.
Doherty said Stardust was “instantly attracted” to the project for its potential to do ecological good. “We knew right away that this piece had the chance to motivate people to make a positive difference for California’s coastline.”
The aforementioned California Coastal Cleanup Day draws some 50,000 volunteers to more than 700 marine cleanup sites statewide to conduct what has been described by the Guinness Book of World Records as “the largest garbage collection.” Since the program started in ’85, nearly 700,000 Californians have removed more than 10 million pounds of debris from the state’s shorelines and coast.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More