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    2015 Year In Perspective – Andrew Christou

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1262 Views
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    1) Content, digital, social, engagement, disruption, CRM, DDR, OOH, TV. Enough to give anyone A.D.D.

    Watching trends in advertising is like watching little kids play soccer. Everyone chases the latest buzzword with hopes of telling clients “we got this.” But really, the most significant trends in 2015 were the same for the last 30 years. The agencies that understand and translate their brands’ “tone of voice” or “essence” into meaningful communications are winning, regardless of the platform.

    2) Speed. Pure Speed. Our biggest client – T-Mobile – moves in real time. Telecom is ferociously competitive and having the right talent is imperative. We look for people who actually enjoy the heat and can deliver from brief to air in 4-6 days – And still smile about. Same with our production partners. We’ve had times where we’ve cut for six hours and presented to client that evening. We adapt both internal and external resources and use different mediums to react to market forces. Sometimes it’s purely a social play, sometimes it is big TV. The beauty of adapting our team to the one we have now is that there is no client we can’t think smartly for. Our more traditional timelines are a luxury for us.

    3) A trick question, for sure. (Insert gasp face emoticon here). It has been a wild year for Publicis Seattle, from making our first episodic and branded TV show for Visit Seattle or the total rebranding of American Girl. I would like to say I love all my children equally, but we all know that’s not true. Any parent who says that is a liar. I think the more honest response is that we love all our children differently.

    For me this year, it’s the Binge On work for T-Mobile. It was conceived, sold, shot and on-air in 10 days. We secured Aaron Paul to play our lead, director Matt Aselton to shoot it – And it was done by two juniors who were in their first week of work. I feel the spots turned out great because there was no room, at any stage, for it to be overthought. That shooting from the hip approach is also extremely fun in this psychotic business.

    4) Shooting film. Actual 35-millimeter film. (And watching Stephan trying to pull out the Ursa’s in the garage would be hilarious.)

    Andrew Christou
    Chief Creative Officer
    Publicis Seattle



    Directing and Editing “Conclave”; Insights From Edward Berger and Nick Emerson

    Friday, December 27, 2024

    It’s been a bruising election year but this time we’re referring to a ballot box struggle that’s more adult than the one you’d typically first think of in 2024. Rather, on the industry awards front, the election being cited is that of the Pope which takes front and center stage in director Edward Berger’s Conclave (Focus Features), based on the 2016 novel of the same title by Robert Harris. Adapted by screenwriter Peter Straugham, Conclave stars Ralph Fiennes as the cardinal leading the conclave that has convened to select the next Pope. While part political thriller, full of backstabbing and behind-closed-door machinations, Conclave also registers as a thoughtful adult drama dealing with themes such as a crisis of faith, weighing the greater good, and engaging in a struggle that’s as much about spirituality as the attainment of power.

    Conclave is Berger’s first feature after his heralded All Quiet on the Western Front, winner of four Oscars in 2023, including for Best International Feature Film. And while Conclave would on the surface seem to be quite a departure from that World War I drama, there’s a shared bond of humanity which courses through both films.

    For Berger, the heightened awareness of humanity hit home for him by virtue of where he was--in Rome, primarily at the famed Cinecittà studio--to shoot Conclave, sans any involvement from the Vatican. He recalled waking up in Rome to “soak up” the city. While having his morning espresso, Berger recollected looking out a window and seeing a priest walking about with a cigarette in his mouth, a nun having a cup of coffee, an archbishop carrying a briefcase. It dawned on Berger that these were just people going to... Read More

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