Who needs yoga, meditation or aromatherapy when you can smash things to release anger and stress? That’s the philosophy behind Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam’s latest interactive campaign for Electronic Arts’ Burnout Dominator game, which is known as the king of speed and destruction. The game challenges players to face off against a series of hot-blooded rivals in tests of reckless driving.
The campaign is based on Kah Ra Shin, which originated in 19th-century Tibet. (Any similarity Kah Ra Shin many have to the word ‘crashing’ is purely incidental.) The interactive website www.kahrashin.com teaches visitors how to use the Kah Ra Shin philosophy of releasing inner peace through outer violence through several videos. One demonstrates simple object destruction, starting off with a humble pencil, while another features “freestyle” object destruction. One video shows how for extreme cases of deep rooted and pathological anger, masters prescribe a new method of release–the adrenalin-fueled Burnout Dominator.
“What everyone loves about EA’s Burnout Dominator is its pure and unabashed celebration of destruction. The truth is, it feels good to smash into things at high speed. And after a stressful day at the office, there is something even pleasantly cathartic about it. The worldwide global phenomenon, Kah Ra Shin, and its mantra ‘inner peace through outer violence’ was born from this insight,” said Mike Farr, W+K Amsterdam copywriter.
In addition to The Teachings, there is also a section on the site called the Way of the Scream, which stresses the importance of screaming to achieve inner peace. Visitors can upload their own scream, listen to other people’s and send theirs to a friend. You can also learn the history of the movement–for example how the first temple was built but then destroyed two weeks later by an overzealous disciple–and read testimonials. Each section is light on text but heavy on visuals.
“We wanted it to be full of interactive animations. It was important that it would be both rich in details and full of surprises. We also wanted to acheive this with as little text as possible so that it is very visual, easy to understand and accessible to a wide audience. I hope that the overall result makes you smile and makes the viewer want to share it with their friends,” said Joakim Borgstrom, W+K Amsterdam’s interactive creative director.
He said overall it was an easy site to create. All the animations and content within the website were built in Flash. The hardest part of the whole process was to create the backend structure that converts and feeds all the screaming videos. USSR and CCCP, both located in Amsterdam, were involved in the production of the site.
Borgstrom is pleased that instead of creating a typical gaming site, the creative team took the concept of the game to another level and created a whole movement. “The feeling of playing the game and releasing your inner demons relates directly to the teachings of this new philosophy, ‘inner peace through outer violence’. It’s a great idea with a strong concept that is stunningly executed,” he said. Along with Borgstrom and Farr, W+K Amsterdam’s creative directors Eric Quennoy and Paul Stechschulte and art director Joseph Ernst headed up the campaign.
Review: Director Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked”
It's the ultimate celebrity redemption tour, two decades in the making. In the annals of pop culture, few characters have undergone an image makeover quite like the Wicked Witch of the West.
Oh, she may have been vengeful and scary in "The Wizard of Oz." But something changed — like, REALLY changed — on the way from the yellow brick road to the Great White Way. Since 2003, crowds have packed nightly into "Wicked" at Broadway's Gershwin Theatre to cheer as the green-skinned, misunderstood Elphaba rises up on her broomstick to belt "Defying Gravity," that enduring girl-power anthem.
How many people have seen "Wicked"? Rudimentary math suggests more than 15 million on Broadway alone. And now we have "Wicked" the movie, director Jon M. Chu's lavish, faithful, impeccably crafted (and nearly three-hour) ode to this origin story of Elphaba and her (eventual) bestie — Glinda, the very good and very blonde. Welcome to Hollywood, ladies.
Before we get to what this movie does well (Those big numbers! Those costumes!), just a couple thornier issues to ponder. Will this "Wicked," powered by a soulful Cynthia Erivo (owner of one of the best singing voices on the planet) and a sprightly, comedic, hair-tossing Ariana Grande, turn even musical theater haters into lovers?
Tricky question. Some people just don't buy into the musical thing, and they should be allowed to live freely amongst us. But if people breaking into song delights rather than flummoxes you, if elaborate dance numbers in village squares and fantastical nightclubs and emerald-hued cities make perfect sense to you, and especially if you already love "Wicked," well then, you will likely love this film. If it feels like they made the best "Wicked" movie money could buy — well, it's... Read More