kajeet cell phones, targeted to nine to 14 year-old tweens, are being promoted by an animated mystery film from Red Tettemer/Philadelphia and Mekanism/San Francisco. The film began playing October 31 and will run for eight weekly installments, concluding with one of three possible endings, chosen by the kids.
The Mysterious Mystery of the Malfunctioning Pets stars the kajeet dudes, six brightly colored round characters who represent kid archetypes, from the jock to the skater. As the kids tackle the mystery of the evil janitor who plants chips in pets’ brains to render them helpless so he can sell them as robotic Christmas toys, they use kajeet phones to take pictures and send text messages, which helps them solve the heinous crime.
The film plays at Dudeworld.com, kajeet’s site.
“The idea is to engage kids and persuade them not to ask for any cell phone but the kajeet, because it’s the only one for this audience,” said Steve Red, Red Tettemer’s chief creative officer. “The film shows the use of the kajeet phone in the kids’ lives, it entertains them and involves them in the outcome of the story.”
The final episode of the film will play before Christmas, making it part of the holiday campaign that promotes the phones as Christmas gifts for kids, Red said.
Mekanism had produced 3D animated TV spots for the campaign, but went the 2D route for the film. “We created them in 2D and shot all the scenes in Flash and animated them in Maya,” said director Ian Kovalik of Mekanism.
He said the characters were hand drawn in the early stages. “We scanned in the art work from the storyboards and used it as background to give the animators some reference,” he said.
“We took the individual characters and brought them to life to give the dudes their own unique identities,” he continued. “The most exciting part was figuring out how the members of the squad would approach the situation, who would be the leader of the group, who’s more timid and who’s the maverick. We really got to know the characters and brought them to life.”
Mekanism is renowned for their animation work done recently for the BP TV spots where the little kids drive into the station. “The animation work we do is really character-oriented,” Kovalik said.
He added that the goal of the kajeet campaign “is to capture the Nickelodeon mindset. We’re looking at the audience that watches SpongeBob and we’re targeting that mindset with crazy, quirky characters like you see on Nick.”
Red said the animated film is part of a multi-media campaign that includes TV, print, online, radio and viral initiatives. The traditional elements drive consumers to the site to see the film.
Bensimon Byrne’s “Short Life Stories” For White Ribbon Wins ONE Screen Best of Show
“Short Life Stories,” created by Bensimon Byrne Toronto on behalf of White Ribbon, is the top winner in the global 2024 ONE Screen Short Film Festival, the premiere short film festival produced by The One Club for Creativity celebrating global filmmakers from both commercial advertising and film industries.
“Short Life Stories” tells a fictional story of a young trans woman as she celebrates the beginning of her new life and navigates the obstacles that ensue.
The work was selected by a global jury as 2024 ONE Screen Best of Show and Best of Region: North America, as well as winner in the Best Casting, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Fiction, and Best Music Composition disciplines.
Klick Health Toronto also had a strong year with five ONE Screen wins. They include three for “47” on behalf of Café Joyeux (in Best Animation, Best Branded Entertainment Film, and Best Production Design), and two for “American Cancer Story” on behalf of Change the Ref (in Best Directing and Best Drama).
Other 2024 ONE Screen winners are as follows.
Craft winners
Best Emerging Filmmaker: Parker Schmidt Santa Monica “Bowl of Life”
Best Screenplay: Zulu Alpha Kilo Toronto “Living From Work” for Zulubot
Best Type on Poster: Lucky Together New York “Don’t F*ck With Ba”
Best Visual Effects: Candice Wu Los Angeles “Erasure”
Genre winners
Best Branded Content Film: Stink Films Berlin “The First Speech” for Reporters Without Borders
Best Comedy: FCB Chicago “The Last Barf Bag” for Dramamine
Best Experimental Film: Parker Schmidt Santa Monica “Bowl of Life”
Best Independent Film: Violeta Films Mexico City “The Mark... Read More