The number of Americans researching and booking their travel via the Internet increases every year. That’s why full-service marketing communications firm MGH, Owing Mills, Md., launched MoreFunHere.com, for the Ocean City, Md., Convention and Visitors Bureau and Department of Tourism as an extension of the beach town’s television advertising campaign.
MoreFunHere.com serves tourists’ core information needs, including lodging and restaurant options, event listings and a full directory of the town’s attractions. To add to the stickiness of the site, MGH created an interactive “Whack-a-Crab” game, a puzzle and coloring book pages that can be printed from PDF files to help get visitors in the mood for a trip to the beach. Video files of the TV ads are also available for viewing on the site.
The website’s design features icons of a minimalist white stick man engaging in fun Ocean City activities, such as boating, eating crabs and shopping on an equally simple blue background. This matches the look of the television ads, which show the stick man morphing into the dozens of fun things to do in Ocean City. The final tagline on all of these spots asks viewers to visit MoreFunHere.com for more information.
“The importance of using the same messaging in both offline and online media has never been more important for marketers,” said John Patterson, creative director at MGH. “The ‘More Fun Here’ message has been successfully delivered through television advertising, and the simplicity of MoreFunHere.com’s design makes it easier than ever for a first-time visitor or even a 100-time visitor to find the information he or she needs to plan the best Ocean City vacation.”
Patterson pointed out that since the idea for the More Fun Here character came from the television spot, it was important to keep the animated character “in character” for the microsite,
“He was essentially a two-dimensional painted icon–the kind you would see on a road sign–who comes to life. So we spent a lot of time discussing how to portray him in only two dimensions, but still allow him to do a lot of fun things. In other words, he needed to stay flat–without being ‘flat,’ said Patterson.
“We also worked a lot with the character’s body language, choosing quick, fun movements that made him more likable. In addition, we voiced the character in a somewhat abstract way to match his somewhat abstract appearance.”
MoreFunHere.com is a flash-based site, and its links lead to content housed at OCOcean.com, which continues to serve as the town’s main tourism website.
Director Angie Bird Joins Scheme Engine For U.S. Representation
Scheme Engine has added director/photographer Angie Bird to its roster for U.S. representation spanning commercials and original content.
Bird crafts deeply human and charismatic portrayals of community, empowerment and the rituals of celebration across commercials, elevated documentary and short film. A former agency creative, Bird has a body of brand work consisting of cinematic lifestyle campaigns for Nike, Dove, Allstate, Procter & Gamble and the YMCA, among others. Prior to joining Scheme Engine, Bird was most recently represented in the U.S. for commercials by production house Curfew.
Two years into her career, Bird back in 2016 won a Cannes Young Director Award for “Mean Tweets,” a provocative campaign for Raising the Roof, that challenged stereotypes of unhoused individuals with striking humanizing portraits. The project earned honors at the Clios, and Webbys and was shortlisted at Cannes.
Her Gillette campaign, “First Shave”--a heartfelt examination of masculinity in the trans community--earned three Cannes prizes and won honors at the Clios and The One Show.
As a director invested in films that ignite conversation, and inspire action, Bird embraces challenging, overlooked stories, bringing to light complex, authentically heroic characters faced with cultural stigmatization and gender-based discrimination. She co-wrote and directed "Short Life Stories" for White Ribbon and Canadian agency Bensimon Byrne--a shattering call to dismantle transphobia, following the journey of a transgender woman as she steps into her authentic life. The campaign won six awards at One SCREEN 2024, including Best in Region: North America and Best in Show
“I’m inspired,” affirmed Bird, “to create stories that champion the... Read More