Aardman Animations has joined forces with London ad agency isobel to create a whimsical campaign for shopping center Bullring in the U.K. town of Birmingham.
Building on the equity of the “Life’s Even More Exciting at The Centre” positioning, the new campaign features a four-tier revolving mechanical model–a quirky, playful interpretation of Bullring and Birmingham. An array of products including lipsticks, illuminated ladles, cheese graters and perfume sit alongside a number of recognizable architectural landmarks including the iconic Selfridges building which, in “Bullring land,” is clad in buttons.
Rob Fletcher, creative partner at isobel, said, “We wanted to show a world full of delight and joy–to capture the many and varied facets of Bullring and to communicate its position as the heart of Birmingham.” (Fletcher served as art director on the campaign, teaming with copywriter David Alexander.)
The campaign, which launches the “We Are So City” slogan, will feature 12 different executions each capturing a different shopping experience; season; event and/or festival. The campaign, which debuted on Monday (8/27), will include: TV, outdoor, press, advertorials, digital and in-store. For outdoor, isobel have worked closely with Aurasma, an augmented reality platform, to bring the creative executions to virtual life.
On choosing to work with director/photographer/illustrator Daniel Cohen of Aardman, Fletcher related, “We knew we wanted to take a different approach with this campaign and Aardman were the obvious partners….They understand the essence of ‘playfulness’ and ‘adventure’ which is key to the execution. The mechanical model has the magical, ‘characterful’ quality we hoped it would and they have an uncanny knack of rendering the ordinary extraordinary and smacking a big fat smile on your face in the process”.
The model, which consists of four contra rotating discs with miniature models and buildings interspersed with a host of desirable products, proved a perfect challenge for Aardman, known for its modelmaking prowess. The craft-led model build of the “We Are So City” world allowed Aardman’s Cohen to get in touch with his inner child. “I always like making worlds and try to imagine where I would want to live in that place,” said Cohen. “I kind of just think like a child…that’s what I really feel lucky to be able to do–then there’s no right or wrong.” Here are the TV spot and a making-of video:
Britt Nolan Named CCO For McCann Worldgroup, North America
Britt Nolan has been hired as chief creative officer at McCann Worldgroup, North America. He will report to Javier Campopiano, global chief creative officer of McCann Worldgroup and McCann.
Nolan will work directly with the network’s creative leadership in the U.S. and Canada to lead the development of ideas that solve clients’ business challenges, guided by the creativity of the network’s founding philosophy of “Truth Well Told.” Key to this effort will be fostering collaboration across capabilities and agencies, leveraging the network’s talent and expertise in strategy, design, commerce, branding and production to bring its best-in-class offerings to bear for each client.
“Britt is without a doubt a leader and a point of reference for excellence in our industry,” said Campopiano. “He has led some of North America’s very best work in recent years with incredible range--creating eye-catching, smart, authentic, and funny ways of connecting brands with people. He has a rare track record of success across both creative and business, with a unique understanding of how they power each other. And most importantly, we share a common belief that brand-building is right now more important than it ever was, and the only way to do it is through radical creativity based on human truths. He embodies the very essence of our Truth Well Told philosophy.”
Most recently president and chief creative officer of Leo Burnett Chicago, Nolan comes to McCann Worldgroup with a track record of creative achievement and business impact, both for his clients and the agencies at which he’s worked. Over the years, his work has won Grand Prix or Best in Show at every major international award show, including over 50 Cannes Lions, as well as recognition... Read More