As 2015 draws to a close, it’s time for reflection on assorted industry fronts, including assessing what work was among the year’s most worthwhile creatively.
Determining any year’s “best” is a highly subjective proposition so SHOOT staffers looked to narrow the field by first culling through two bodies of work, our weekly Top Spots as well as our “The Best Work You May Never See” gallery entries in 2015. We also added to the field other ScreenWork section fare from throughout the year as well as notable work we had covered in various stories during the course of 2015.
We did the same for our reviews of our quarterly Top Ten Tracks and VFX/Animation Charts. We ultimately chose a Top Five from each.
So here are SHOOT’s selections for the Best Work of 2015 divided into Top Spots, The Best Work You May Never See, and our Top Music/Sound Tracks and Top VFX/Animation entries.
Top Spots of the Year
While insurance is hardly regarded as a product category synonymous with creative filmmaking, the first two slots for our Top Spots of the Year are taken by Geico and Allstate, respectively.
Our number one Top Spot was from our Agency of the Year, The Martin Agency: Geico’s “Unskippable: Family” a breakthrough piece which brought creative cache to pre-roll, an online medium that had largely been bereft of innovation. Directed by the Terri Timely duo at Park Pictures, “Unskippable: Family,” which won a Cannes Grand Prix from the Film Lions Jury, grabs its audience in those normally forgettable first five seconds of pre-roll, concluding a quick pitch so that the voiceover can boast. “You can’t skip this Geico ad because it’s already over.” But then the action begins. Each “Unskippable” video humorously shows characters pretending to be frozen as action continues around them. In the case of “Family,” folks at the dinner table suddenly becoming “frozen” translates into a golden opportunity for their beloved dog to gorge himself on all the food laid out, making a mess in the process—all with the Geico brand logo front and center.
Number two in our ranking is Allstate’s “Social Savvy Burglar” from Leo Burnett, Chicago. The inspired initiative broke during the Allstate Sugar Bowl college football championship game in the form of eight spots—directed by Jeff Tremaine of HeLo—depicting the brand’s Mayhem character ransacking the home of a couple who posted on social media that they were away for the weekend to watch the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Portrayed by actor Dean Winters, Mayhem proceeds to sell off the couple’s possessions at bargain prices on a website—with updates tweeted about the sale using the hashtag #Mayhem Sale. On that debut evening, the site generated more than 6,000 hits per second immediately following each of the Mayhem commercials that aired on TV. Though elements of the campaign are comedic, like the sale of the family car for $200, there’s a serious overriding element—the lesson that you need to watch what you post online. A Facebook posting revealing your whereabouts can translate into your home becoming an easy target for burglary. Allstate and Burnett had struck a resonant audience chord.
Ads debuting during the Academy Awards telecast usually don’t yield enduring memories but this year we give an ad Oscar to “Emily’s Oz” for Comcast/Xfinity, which takes the third slot in SHOOT’s countdown. Conceived by Goodby Silverstein & Partners’ since shuttered NY office and directed by Andreas Nilsson of Biscuit Filmworks, “Emily’s Oz” illustrates what a blind person sees in her head when she “watches” her favorite movie. The :60—with visual effects from a52 and puppets/puppeteering from Legacy Effects—brings to life The Wizard of Oz according to Emily, a seven-year-old girl who was born blind. We see her vision of what such iconic characters as the Tin Man looks like, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow and Dorothy herself.
Featuring a voiceover by Robert Redford, the spot promotes Comcast/Xfinity’s accessibility services for its viewers, including a talking guide created in the Comcast Accessibility Lab so that the visually impaired can independently search for and find movies. In addition to voice guidance and one-touch access to closed captioning, Comcast created an online help and support resource for Xfinity customers looking for information about accessibility-related topics.
“We want to create opportunities for people who love film and television but who might not have the opportunity to experience it to its fullest,” said Tom Wlodkowski, who was hired as Comcast’s VP of audience to focus on the usability of the company’s products and services for people with disabilities. “By bringing the talking guide to as many people as possible, we can help to bridge that gap and make entertainment just as compelling, captivating and fun for people with a visual disability as it is for anyone else.”
Paul Caiozzo, who at the time was executive creative director of Goodby Silverstein & Partners, NY, said, ““It’s not often you get to do something that feels meaningful on a level far beyond advertising. It definitely shows how entertainment truly is for everyone.” (Caiozzo is now founder/partner at Office of Baby, an integrated agency dedicated to all types of immersive storytelling.)
Coming in fourth in our assessment of the year’s best work is Snickers’ “Brady Bunch” directed by Jim Jenkins of O Positive for BBDO New York. This entry in the ongoing “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign was released online just prior to its broadcast debut on the Super Bowl. The spot features a very hungry Marsha Brady, portrayed by movie star Danny Trejo, throwing an uncharacteristic tantrum until given a Snickers by her parents. Her hunger satiated, Marsha returns back to everyone’s favorite girl next door, while fans experience another enjoyable moment with surprise actor Steve Buscemi playing Jan Brady.
And taking the fifth slot in our rundown is Nike’s “Last” directed by Lance Acord of Park Pictures for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore. The spot is a fittingly quiet, introspective sequel of sorts to Acord’s lauded “Runner” spot. “Last” simply and poetically celebrates the triumph of the runner who struggles to finish last in a marathon—but finish she does. Again, W+K, Nike and Acord have teamed to show us the true, deeper meaning of personal achievement.
“Best Work” gallery
There’s a definite public service bent to our best of “The Best Work You May Never See” in 2015. Four of the top five are of the PSA variety, starting with our number one pick, The Weingart Center for the Homeless’ “Don’t Donate To The Homeless” directed by Ricardo Mehedff of Check Your Head Films for Culver City, Calif.-based agency Pitch. In this short film, a businessman walks into a corporate boardroom to pitch an investment to a group of professionals. He promises great returns, and the potential for innovation that can change the world. He then brings into the room a disheveled homeless man—who is the investment opportunity that can yield amazing results. The pitch man points out that taxpayers spend $35,000 a year to leave a homeless person on the streets. Investing in the job-training programs offered at the Weingart Center puts these people back to work and makes them productive members of society who pay taxes and can benefit society at large. Taking the homeless off the streets results in a reduction in costs for law enforcement, emergency room visits, welfare and food stamps. Our pitch man then reveals that he was once a homeless drug addict and that The Weingart Center turned his life around. He is now married, has an adopted child, runs a business and has five people in his employ.
Taking the second slot is a spec spot for Sharp’s non-alcoholic brew in which we see that police have stopped a young woman they suspect of DUI and put her through a sobriety test. Shot in the guerrilla style of a police/security surveillance camera, we see the woman pass every aspect of the test—adding the flourish of some impressive acrobatics as she does far more than just walk a straight line. We then hear one of the police officers apologize to the woman for pulling her over and wasting her time—at which point the Sharp’s logo appears. Justin Wilson of Liberal Media Films, Dallas, directed this spec piece which was based on creative from the team of Clint Carter and Janet Mistretta of agency Johnson & Sekin.
Third place goes to “Skeet Art,” an in-theater promo for the 16th annual Newport Beach Film Festival. Directed by the Freise Brothers of Biscuit Filmworks for agency RPA, the promo follows an eccentric, rifle-toting new-age punk and her butler/skeet puller through a field of high grass, where they pause to shoot a round of skeet. Clay pigeons have been replaced with homemade color bombs filled with brilliant powder, with which the sharp-shooting artist paints the sky in breathtaking fashion. This new form of nontraditional “painting” is akin to the creativity of new, as yet undiscovered artists whose often unconventional work is on display at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Part of RPA’s “Know New Art” campaign promoting the Fest, “Skeet Art” helped earn the Freise Brothers inclusion into this year’s SHOOT New Directors Showcase.
Coming in fourth is FCB Chicago’s “Unforgotten” video for the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence. Unforgotten is a traveling exhibit that remembers actual victims of gun violence. Working with victims’ families, FCB Chicago created lifelike statues of the victims in their actual clothing. Each individual statue serves as an emotional and powerful reminder of the senseless loss of life due to gun violence. Part of the overall campaign was this documentary video which shares personal stories behind the victims and chronicles the reactions of those who experienced this first exhibit. The docu short was directed by Ben Flaherty of Lord + Thomas.
And finishing fifth is “The Organic Effect,” a 90-second film for Swedish supermarket chain Coop directed by Marcus Svanberg of Acne Film for Swedish agency Forsman & Bodenfors. The short introduces us to a family whose members have retained pesticides in their bodies from eating conventional produce. Then when that same family switches to organic food, most of those pesticides are gone within a few days. The tests were conducted by the Swedish Environmental Research Institute IVL. While the primary goal of the campaign was to strengthen Coop’s brand in Sweden, it also aimed to give organic farming a push globally. Since the 1980s Coop has been a pioneer for organic food in Sweden, helping farmers switch from conventional to organic, working to make organic food more accessible for consumers and challenging politicians to do more for the production of organic food in Sweden.
VFX/Animation
The aforementioned “Emily’s Oz” for Comcast/Xfinity tops our 2015 lineup of VFX/Animation Chart entries. VFX houses were a52 and puppets/puppeteering studio Legacy Effects.
That’s followed by Under Armour’s “Rule Yourself—Anthem” spot featuring American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland, golf champion Jordan Spieth and NBA MVP Stephen Curry. Directed and shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer (Inception) Wally Pfister of production house RESET for agency Droga5, New York, the commercial shows Curry, Copeland and Spieth multiplied before our eyes, becoming an army of synchronized athletes, completing rep after rep, relentlessly practicing the skills that set them apart. The impactful visuals underscore that you are the sum of all your training.
Next up in our rankings is Perrier’s “Hot Air Balloons” directed by the tandem of Fleur & Manu from Paris production house Les Télécréateurs for Ogilvy Paris, with VFX from MPC (primarily its new Paris studio). The hot air balloons represent effervescent Perrier bubbles racing their way to the top of the mineral water bottle. Each balloon has a character all its own, with passengers who are from assorted walks of life and for that matter, species (as reflected in riders such as a lion, marmoset and parrots).
Fourth place goes to Honda automobiles’ “Great Thinking Inside.” Smith & Foulkes of Nexus London directed this spot which shows how various models of Honda automobiles literally helped spawn the creation of the new Honda HR-V Crossover. Nexus teamed with London-based Time Based Arts and Acme Digital Content on the visual effects tour de force for ad agency RPA in Santa Monica, Calif.
And fifth place went to another Honda job, “Paper,” directed by stop-motion animation filmmaker PES via production company RESET for RPA. This two-minute piece deploys thousands of hand-drawn illustrations to create an intricate paper-flipping journey through Honda history. The short depicts the many iterations of Honda engines over the years, dovetailing nicely with the company’s continuing “Power of Dreams” campaign. “Paper” opens with founder Soichiro Honda’s use of a radio generator to power his wife’s bicycle, and the story continues with Honda’s development of motorcycles including a nod to winning Isle of Man TT races (1961-1967), segueing to outboard motors and then to the first CVCC vehicle. Nostalgia leads the viewer through a series of past Honda vehicle models, such as multiple generations of the Civic and Accord as well as the all-new 2016 Pilot, to F1 and Indy racing to the development of robotics and jets and numerous innovations in between. The commercial concludes with the copy, “You never know where a dream will lead you.”
Music & Sound
Number one on our hit parade is the National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse (NCADA) :60 “That’s How” which depicts heroin’s tragic impact on a teenage boy, dramatically contrasted by an uplifting, almost liltingly sing-songy soundtrack from Mix Kitchen’s Craig J. Snider who wrote the lyrics in tandem with Jessen Wabeke, a copywriter at St. Louis ad agency Schupp Consulting. Airing during the Super Bowl telecast in the St. Louis market, the PSA was designed to generate publicity and controversy in order to bring awareness to the heroin/opiates epidemic in the St. Louis area.
“With just ukulele and voice, the song’s lightness contrasts the frightening visuals,” according to Mix Kitchen partner and producer Sam Fishkin. “It creates a striking juxtaposition that is indeed startling.” Perfectly timed music and lyrics written by copywriter Wabeke and Snider follows the boy’s mother at home as she finds her son moments after his overdose.
“In using the tools of drama to convey this crucial truth in a 60-second spot, we created a parallel disconnection between the visual story we see on screen and the musical story we hear. It is disturbing. It is jarring. It is painful to watch. And we must pay attention to it,” said Howard Weissman, executive director of NCADA in the St. Louis area.
Taking second place was a much higher profile Super Bowl spot which ran nationally, Nissan’s “With Dad” from TBWAChiatDay, Los Angeles. The commercial combined a touching storyline with the debut of future Nissan race and production vehicles. The story, which follows an up-and-coming race driver through his journey to the highest levels of motorsports competition, uses a narrative soundtrack provided by Harry Chapin’s iconic “Cat’s In the Cradle.” It depicts the struggles of a father and mother to balance work and family while they raise their son. In the end, the cycle, so well known in Chapin’s song, is broken. Complementing “Cat’s In The Cradle” in the spot is sound design by Gus Koven of stimmung.
Earning third place was Nike’s “Short A Guy” in which a youngster is asked to join a pick-up game of basketball on a hot summer day and this leads to a string of invitations to join other teams spanning different sports in whirlwind across varied locations. The invites on the fly come from famous athletes such as Major League Baseball star Mike Trout, NFL quarterback Andrew Luck, soccer superstar Mia Hamm, beach volleyballer Misty May-Treanor, and NBA big man Anthony Davis. This young recruit—coveted because all these teams are “short a guy”—then embarks on a whirlwind adventure, playing in one game after another with several of these star athletes, from basketball to long distance running to street stickball, volleyball, soccer, football, lacrosse and back to basketball sans any respite. Conceptualized by Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore., the spot makes clever use of Nike star athlete endorsers and showcases multiple sports, yet its focus is on the youngster, the grass-roots athlete, to whom viewers can relate. The kid changes his garb and equipment on the fly for each respective sport. This hyper energetic piece is driven by the frenetic beat of The Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird” song, and sound design by Michael Anastasi of music/sound house Barking Owl in West Los Angeles.
Finishing fourth in our rundown is Gillette’s “Shave Forth,” a curious, charmingly absurd music video promoting the Gillette body hair razor out of Grey New York. The video is all about confidence—reflected in such antics as synchronized swimming by gents who are properly manscaped thanks to Gillette. The music clip is set to an EDM track created expressly for the project by DJs From Mars and Dr. Lecktroluv. Music house was Human, New York.
And rounding out our Top Five in Music & Sound for 2015 is Macy’s “The Wish Writer” from J. Walter Thompson, NY. The short introduces us to a girl who is finding it hard to believe in the spirit of the holidays. That all changes when she and her brother discover a pen with magical wish-granting powers. The siblings then spread the magic of giving and generosity throughout town—one wish at a time. The enchanting story is advanced by a score from Yessian Music, New York.
Click on thinks below to see the individual charts:
