Heart disease is no laughing matter. But Porter Novelli, Washington, D.C. and the American Heart Association encouraged a level of play and entertainment during the creation of a new animated webisode and website aimed at making adults more aware of the dangers of trans fat and saturated fats. Porter Novelli conceptualized the storyline, featuring the characters Sat and Trans, and wrote the dialogue. FlickerLab, New York, brought the characters to life.
Visitors are greeted by the lively, Sat and Trans at www.badfatsbrothers.com. We hear them chatting about how charming and popular they are. “With your charisma and my stunning good looks, we’re real heartbreakers,” Trans says. They revel in the exceptional work they do at drive-in windows at fast food restaurants and they boast about how they are a real hit in pizza, especially when topped with pepperoni.
With the click of the mouse, visitors can take opportunities to learn how Sat and Trans clog arteries and break hearts and how to limit their time with them by avoiding certain food. Those foods are talked about in the menu section of the site. After visitors have gotten acquainted with the foods to steer clear of, they can get facts on all fats and the food they eat in the fats facts section. Users can also get more fat-sensible information at the AHA’s main website www.americanheart.org/facethefats.
At badfatsbrothers.com, there’s also a chance to watch the webisode, where Sat and Trans are shown in their favorite place, the diner. “We live for those moments you eat any of the food we’re in,” says Trans. Then the two start rattling off a list of foods they are in that clog arteries and raise cholesterol, like fried chicken, juicy cheeseburgers, fries, steak, donuts and flaky pastries. “It seems unkind to call us bad fats when we’re so enjoyable,” says Sat.
Since there are plenty of Sat and Trans fats to go around, visitors are then given an option to send the webisode to friends.
Harold Moss, creative director of FlickerLab, said the idea behind the campaign was to get healthy information out in a way that people will not only pay attention to it but want to pass it on. “The idea is that we are entertained by these characters and we are willing to listen to them. We wanted to make the info accessible and friendly, not lecture to people,” Moss said. “We also wanted to make it so they would want to pass the info on, but in such a way they don’t feel they are lecturing someone else.”
He pointed out that the Porter Novelli folks were great in terms of the creative energy they brought to the project and for allowing the fun to come through, which is what makes it work. “It’s not easy to do when you have medical and scientific questions you really have to sort through. It’s a huge responsibility putting out a project like this. But they really allowed the humor and fun to breathe, which is what makes all that information get out and get seen.”
Likewise Liz FitzGerald, executive vice president, partner and managing creative director, Porter Novelli, gave kudos to FlickerLab. “In a sea of nutrition and healthcare messaging, first you must get noticed. Then you must get the message through in an engaging and useful way. FlickerLab’s fabulous team helped us accomplish both, and they made it fun for us. They were great partners and collaborators.”
One of the challenges for FlickerLab was making sure the characters had the same feel in the webisode as they did when they were playing inside Flash on the website. “You animate differently so it was really making sure those two things work together,” he said, adding that the team used Flash for the animation and composited in After Effects. They also used Wacom Cintiq tablets, allowing them to draw directly on the screen, which Moss described as “fantastic” tools.
Porter Novelli VP Interactive/creative director Ken Buraker said of his experience working with the FlickerLab creative team, “This collaborative effort really paid off. From the beginning, we shared a common vision of how to bring the characters to life through the power of animation. Harold and his team delivered a stunning visual execution that exceeded our expectations.”
How The Hollywood Awards Calendar Has Been Affected By The Wildfires
Hollywood's awards season has all but come to a rare halt as the wildfires continue to disrupt life and work in the Los Angeles area. There are near daily updates from the Hollywood guilds and organizations that put on awards shows as the industry navigates the ongoing crisis.
Here's an overview of the major upcoming awards shows, from the Oscars to the Grammys, including updated dates for nominations.
Producers Guild and Writers Guild award nominations
Postponed, no new dates announced
The Writers Guild of America nominations were to be announced Jan. 8, a date that was pushed to Jan. 13 and then postponed indefinitely. The Producers Guild of America nominations for feature films were to be announced on Jan. 10, which was pushed to Jan. 12 and then postponed to an unspecified date this week.
Academy Award nominations
Jan. 23
The Oscar nominations have been twice-delayed — they were initially slated for Jan. 17, then Jan. 19, before being delayed again. The delay in the announcement accommodates an extended voting deadline, as many Academy members have been affected by the wildfires.
The nominations will be announced via a "virtual presentation," eschewing press on site.
Critics Choice Awards
Jan. 26
Originally slated for Jan. 12, the awards were set to take place at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, only miles from the Pacific Palisades neighborhood where fire was raging.
The awards will be broadcast live on E!, hosted by Chelsea Handler.
Grammy Awards
Feb. 2
By virtue of announcing their nominations back in November, the Grammys' schedule has largely been unaffected by the wildfires. Some... Read More