To drive home the point that IBM has created a new breed of software with the launch of Lotus Notes 8–the integrated software allows users to work with their favorite applications in one interface–Ogilvy, New York, created a humorous viral video that introduces viewers to a farmer who has been forced to develop his own creative solution to run his farm more efficiently in a tough economy.
To unify and simplify, he took all the qualities of his favorite animals and combined them into one, a “Cock-a-Doodle Moo” named Lucky. The new breed gives the farmer the best of all animals, which has proven to be a boon to productivity. He explains that Lucky lays perfect eggs, her wool is exported to the top designers in Milan and her milk is not only delicious but its safe for the lactose intolerant.
“Lotus had not been getting a lot of press about its software development for a while, so we knew we had to create something that grabbed people’s attention. The video is meant to be something a little shocking and drive people to the website, www.creatsimplicity.com, where they can find out more about Lotus,” explained Adam Lau, creative director, Ogilvy.
At the website, visitors can select three animals and then click unify to create their own breed. Then they can share their new pet with friends and co-workers. The site was designed to offer people fun things to do and while they are clicking on different things, they are constantly being introduced to new ideas about Lotus.
“You have to engage people online. They are not just out there waiting for your product message,” Lau said.
He pointed out that the video was seeded on video sharing sites such as YouTube and Google Video as well as sites where the creative team felt business leaders visited, such as 43folders.com and gizmodo.com.
The video was shot in HD at a farm in upstate New York. Ogilvy tapped director Henry Littlechild of Outsider Productions, Santa Monica, to helm the project. “We needed something that felt real so you bought into these characters and his treatment of people was so good. He had also shot a lot of projects where there was a lot of post involved. In thinking about this project, we knew that was going to be important–to create an environment where someone like The Mill, New York, could come in and do a great job and create this animal for us.”
Lau said they wanted the animal to feel real and did not want it to look CG. “So the biggest challenge was finding the biggest number of animals and shooting them all against essentially a white screen to give The Mill enough footage to go in and create this animal,” Lau explained.
He enjoyed the challenge of creating something that makes a statement online. “It’s different than traditional advertising because you have to create something that is entertaining, that people will pass around, while finding a way to deliver a marketing message inside of that. It’s a good challenge for creatives to have.”
FCB Stays Atop The One Club’s Year-End Global Creative Rankings
FCB ended the year repeating its top positions in The One Club for Creativity’s Global Creative Rankings, with FCB New York again crowned Global Agency of the Year and FCB Global finishing as Agency Network of the Year for 2024.
The annual worldwide benchmark report is a comprehensive ranking of agencies, brands, countries, and individuals based on points earned from winning entries in The One Club’s eight global, regional, and local awards shows: The One Show 2024, ADC 103rd Annual Awards, Type Directors Club TDC70 competition, Art Directors Club of Europe ADCE Awards 2024, ONE Asia Creative Awards 2024, and The One Club Denver, San Diego, and Miami chapter 2024 awards programs.
“The Global Creative Rankings is the industry’s most comprehensive and transparent ranking,” said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club. “There are no secret weightings in calculating the rankings, and unlike others, it’s not hidden behind a paywall. As the industry’s foremost nonprofit organization for the global creative community, The One Club is in a unique position to provide this free, definitive measure for global creative excellence to everyone in the industry.”
Highlights of the Global Creative Rankings 2024 are below.
Global Agency Rankings
FCB New York
Rethink Toronto
McCann New York
TBWAMedia Arts Lab Los Angeles
Serviceplan Germany Munich
Dentsu Inc. Tokyo
FCB Chicago
Marcel Paris
VML New York
Ogilvy PR New York, Publicis Conseil Paris (tie)
Independent Agency Rankings
Rethink Toronto
Serviceplan Germany Munich
Wieden+Kennedy Portland
Brand-Side Agency... Read More