Todd Mueller and Kylie Matulick of Psyop directed this animation PSA designed to educate automobile, SUV and truck drivers about the effects they have on each other. Animated icons were created to follow and express the emotions of drivers as they commuted.
New Zealand’s Transportation Authority wanted to connect drivers to more than just their roads. Psyop and Clemenger BBDO Wellington, NZ, took viewers along for the ride.
“The painterly qualities of this world really appealed to the team, and we were thrilled to be working on a purely animation project,” noted Matulick. “The story is one that all audiences can relate to, whether they’re road warriors or casual commuters.”
“Emoticons” endorses friendly driving etiquette by showing how courteous driving habits can yield positive effects on the roadways and lead to fewer accidents. Promoting this kind of respectful driving through the use of visual cues, the Psyop design team worked closely to finesse the handmade aesthetic throughout the spot.
“Representing certain driving experiences was an exciting creative exercise,” said Matulick. “We were able to craft these little, individual stories about how driving by yourself is really a social experience and that happiness begets happiness, especially where driving is concerned.”
Is “Glicked” The New “Barbenheimer”? “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” Hit Theater Screens
"Barbenheimer" was a phenomenon impossible to manufacture. But, more than a year later, that hasn't stopped people from trying to make "Glicked" — or even "Babyratu" — happen.
The counterprogramming of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" in July 2023 hit a nerve culturally and had the receipts to back it up. Unlike so many things that begin as memes, it transcended its online beginnings. Instead of an either-or, the two movies ultimately complemented and boosted one another at the box office.
And ever since, moviegoers, marketers and meme makers have been trying to recreate that moment, searching the movie release schedule for odd mashups and sending candidates off into the social media void. Most attempts have fizzled (sorry, "Saw Patrol" ).
This weekend is perhaps the closest approximation yet as the Broadway musical adaptation "Wicked" opens Friday against the chest-thumping sword-and-sandals epic "Gladiator II." Two big studio releases (Universal and Paramount), with one-name titles, opposite tones and aesthetics and big blockbuster energy — it was already halfway there before the name game began: "Wickiator," "Wadiator," "Gladwick" and even the eyebrow raising "Gladicked" have all been suggested.
"'Glicked' rolls off the tongue a little bit more," actor Fred Hechinger said at the New York screening of "Gladiator II" this week. "I think we should all band around 'Glicked.' It gets too confusing if you have four or five different names for it."
As with "Barbenheimer," as reductive as it might seem, "Glicked" also has the male/female divide that make the fan art extra silly. One is pink and bright and awash in sparkles, tulle, Broadway bangers and brand tie-ins; The other is all sweat and sand, blood and bulging... Read More