Snickers factory workers by day and defenders of old school hip-hop by night. That’s the alter ego storyline in a series of shorts–dubbed “digi-sodes,” short for digital episodes–that can be viewed exclusively at www.InstantDef.com over the coming months. The first digi-sode debuted on June 5. Each subsequent digi-sode will break at three-week intervals, with the fifth and final installment slated to become available in mid-August.
The ambitious project, which teams BBDO New York, Atmosphere BBDO, New York (which created the site), musical artist will.i.am and director Jesse Dylan of Los Angeles-based Form, is designed to appeal to the elusive yet coveted teen market, imbuing Snickers with a new brand of cool. The digi-sodes mesh live action, digital graphics in comic book style, and will.i.am-created music.
The factory workers are portrayed by will.i.am and fellow musical artisans Fergie, Taboo and apl.de.ap. They become fortified with super powers during a mishap at the Snickers plant. But with Snickers-induced super powers comes responsibility–in this case becoming the guardian of original hip hop.
The first digi-sode, The Knockout, shows us the factory workers before they gain super powers as they try to combat–but to no avail–Minister LP, a diminutive yet powerful bad guy who has hijacked the essence of hip hop for the almighty dollar, and Mr. Boo-T whose Boo-T Records is producing commercialized junk, which seems to be gaining the ear of the mass populace.
Next we see our factory old-school hip-hoppers on the job, making Snickers bars in an eerie, futuristic plant. However, a mind blaster contraption somehow winds up on the assembly line and falls into a vat of chocolate, triggering a chain reaction which has the four workers magnetized and seemingly knocked out. We’re left at this cliffhanger moment, having to wait until the next digi-sode to see their fate. But it’s clear that this factory accident could be the harbinger of better things to come in that it represents the origin of factory workers turned super heroes.
The digi-sodes can be downloaded and sent to “homies.” The first episode plays like a comic book adventure, with the promise of much more to come.
“We knew we had to go online to reach teens because that’s where they spend most of their time,” said Vic Walia, Snickers’ senior marketing manager. “But we also know that teens are very savvy consumers so we made a conscious decision to tone down our branding in an effort to build credibility with the online community. We wanted to communicate the Snickers’ brand message in an authentic, credible and contagious way. The Instant Def digi-sodes allow us to do that.”
A teaser trailer helped drive initial traffic to the site. The trailer broke in theaters during Memorial Day weekend, playing in the top 10 U.S. markets. During this month and next, the trailer is also running at the In-Store Sports Network, FootLocker, FootAction and Champs stores nationwide. The trailer can also be seen on the Web site itself, with visitors being able to request e-mail update registration.
“This is definitely a story our audience will want to check out,” said Jimmy Smith, executive creative director at BBDO New York and the creator of the campaign. “We’re talking music, superheroes, comic book graphics–everything that’s pop, wrapped up in an instant.”
The performers naturally dovetailed with and gravitated towards the project. “You know, this is fresh,” will.i.am said of working with Snickers in the creative process. “You mean I can make music, incorporate it into a film that’s on the Internet and wherever else we can get it played? Oh, that’s tomorrow–all the way.”
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More