Truth be told, pens are not the most exciting category in the world. But OfficeMax and DDB Chicago teamed up to get consumers pumped up about this category, and specifically OfficeMax’s new exclusive line of TUL pens with the launch of www.tul.com. Visitors to the site can get their handwriting analyzed and learn more about the TUL brand.
“The TUL pens are cool. There is a certain vibe to them. And so we wanted to do something that would be equally as cool. At first we presented magazine ads, and then we had this idea at the last minute,” explained Vinny Warren, creative director at DDB Chicago. “Because it was pens, kind of a low-interest type of category–people aren’t thinking about pens too much–you kind of have to make them think about them. We came up with the idea of online graphology, because while people may not be interested in pens, they are interested in themselves.”
Visitors to the site, produced by the Barbarian Group, Boston, are greeted by renowned Internet graphologist Dr. Gerard Ackerman, who is actually Andy Bobrow, writer for the television show Malcolm in the Middle. He invites people to learn about the history of graphology and participate in the handwriting analysis by answering a few questions on the site. Then he personally delivers the diagnosis based on slant, size, spacing and individual letters of the participant’s handwriting. As he explains what their handwriting reveals about their personalities, childhoods and romantic prospects for the future, his dry, comedic delivery and sometimes nonsensical comments are a red flag that this site doesn’t take itself too seriously–although Warren pointed out that they did talk to a real graphologist before creating the site.
“We actually consulted a graphologist so the bits of info that we give you are graphologically correct. Some people don’t get that it’s a joke at first, which is good, but the people who get it really get it.”
Warren said the site wouldn’t have worked as well without Bobrow. When thinking about who could play the graphologist , he remembered Bobrow from an online film he did called the Old Negro Space Program. It was a short “mockumentary,” done in the style of a Ken Burns documentary, that ridiculed the strict racial segregation in the first half of the 20th century in the United States by claiming there was a separate space program run by blacks who had been excluded from “White NASA.”
“It’s hilarious. He played a character in that, a professor of African-American studies, and his character was sort of this pompous academic. We didn’t want to just get an actor and feed him lines. Andy kind of came with the character preloaded in him, we just tweaked it a bit,” Warren explained. “He does a lot of digressions and brings his own life into it.”
Since Bobrow is not a professional performer, Warren was worried about his stamina. “We had to shoot variations for every response–two or three for every characteristic of your handwriting, but the surprising thing was the guy was indefatigable,” said Warren, adding that the creative team chose not to use a director because they felt like he or she would complicate something that was very simple.
Consumers can also participate in the handwriting analysis by completing and mailing in a print ad postcard that introduces OfficeMax’s TUL Pen Graphological Initiative in the October issues of Wired, InStyle, Esquire, Metropolis and Dwell, placed by media partner PHD. After completing this process, all participants receive an e-mail with a Web video link to a personal analysis by Dr. Ackerman, who also recommends what style TUL pen would be best for each participant.
Warren said they’ve received 8,000 postcards and have had 50,000 visitors to the site since it was launched in September.
“When introducing this new proprietary brand we wanted to interact with each consumer, providing a place to not only learn about our new TUL line but offer a personal experience consumers could interact with and be entertained by,” said Ryan Vero, OfficeMax executive VP and chief merchandising officer. “The graphology site allows us to do just that, while establishing a brand and memorable personality for this product line designed for our customers.”
Director Dag Johan Haugerud’s “Dreams (Sex Love)” Wins Top Prize At The Berlin Film Festival
A Norwegian film about love, desire and self-discovery won top honors at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday.
A jury headed by American director Todd Haynes awarded the Golden Bear trophy to "Dreams (Sex Love)" by director Dag Johan Haugerud.
Haynes called it a "meditation on love" that "cuts you to the quick with its keen intelligence."
The film focuses on a teenager played by Ella Øverbyer, infatuated with her female French teacher, and the reactions of her mother and grandmother when they discover her private writings. It's the third part of a trilogy Haugerud has completed in the past year. "Sex" premiered at Berlin in 2024, and "Love" was screened at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
The runner-up Silver Bear prize went to Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro's dystopian drama "The Blue Trail." Argentine director Ivan Fund's rural saga "The Message" won the third-place Jury Prize.
The best director prize went to Huo Meng for "Living the Land," set in fast-changing 1990s China.
Rose Byrne was named best performer for her role as an overwhelmed mother in the Mary Bronstein-directed "If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You." Andrew Scott won the supporting performer trophy for playing composer Richard Rodgers in Richard Linklater's "Blue Moon."
The climax of the festival known as the Berlinale came on the eve of Germany's parliamentary elections after a campaign dominated by migration and the economy.
The national election is being held seven months early, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition collapsed in a dispute about how to revitalize the country's economy.
Efforts to curb migration have emerged as a central issue in the campaign — along with the question of how to handle the... Read More