DDB CANADA ADOPTS SEXY SUMO STRATEGYPicture hot girls in wet t-shirts washing an SUV–except instead of females, the participants are huge male Sumo wrestlers. This bizarre hand car wash, though, seems to be working, cleaning the grime off of a muddy Subaru SUV Forester. Adding to the ambience, the men get playful, hosing each other down and throwing soapy sponges at one another. The humor in this offbeat scenario is heightened when we see an elderly couple looking on in utter disbelief.
A voiceover chimes in, “Japanese SUVs just got a little sexier–introducing the all new 2009 Subaru Forester.
Titled “Car Wash,” this spot was directed by Jorn Haagen of The Corner Store, Toronto, for DDB Canada, Toronto.
The DDB creative team consisted of creative director Andrew Simon, copywriter Matt Antonello, art director Paul Riss and producer Andrew Schulze.
Jennie Montford executive produced for The Corner Store. The DP was Doug Koch with Steadicam work by Bela Trutz.
Editor was Mark Morton of School Editing, Toronto.
And the car wash antics unfolded to the beat of the Electric Six tune “Danger! High Voltage.”
ANNERINO, TATE LAUNCH HOOTENANNYPost boutique Hootenanny has opened in Chicago. Founders of the new venture are Jim Annerino and Liz Tate, formerly artists with Avenue, Chicago. Tate becomes the first creative editor on staff at Hootenanny while Annerino serves as Smoke artist. Both will also divide duties for the company’s day-to-day business affairs. Hootenanny offers SD and HD services in creative editorial, finishing, graphic design and visual effects–and shares facility space with fxphd, a high-end online training company founded by EFX artist John Montgomery and Sydney-based Mike Seymour. With members from more than 65 countries, fxphd as become a top online training center for VFX artists. While they are separate companies, Hootenanny and fxphd plan to collaborate on projects to parlay the strengths of each business. Montgomery will be adding VFX and design acumen to the Hootenanny arsenal. On the flip side, Tate and Annerino are available to help with fxphd work as needed….
PEOPLE IN THE NEWSDesign/animation/visual effects studio Smoke & Mirrors, New York, has brought VFX supervisor/senior Flame artist Kirk Balden on board. He most recently served as a VFX supervisor/Flame/Smoke artist at A52, Santa Monica, where he worked on projects for Microsoft, Nike, Lexus and Jeep, as well as the main title sequence for HBO’s Emmy-nominated series Rome. Earlier he permalanced as a Fire/Inferno artist at Sea Level, Venice, Calif., working on jobs for Visa, Gillette and Toyota, among others. Balden has also held posts at Hydraulx, Santa Monica, Ring of Fire, now in Santa Monica, and Sony Picture Imageworks, Culver City, Calif. The move to Smoke & Mirrors reunites Balden with executive producer Celest Gilbert; the two had collaborated earlier at Sea Level. Smoke & Mirrors also maintains a London operation. Production in the New York office is led by Gilbert and managing director Jo Morgan…..Peligro Music & Sound Design, the Los Angeles shop headed by creative director Greg Kuehn, has added executive producer Robin Frisbey and sound designer/composer Brendan Hawkins. The latter’s experience includes working with a wide range of artists including Perry Farrell, Bono and Tom Morello (who’s from Rage Against The Machine)….
