By Robert Goldrich

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. --

This week’s SHOOT Top Spot, Hyundai’s “Speech” directed by Mike Maguire of Biscuit Filmworks for Innocean USA, debuted earlier this month during the season premiere episode of The Walking Dead on AMC. The commercial continues Hyundai’s “The Walking Dead Chop Shop” initiative launched during San Diego’s Comic-Con last July. The initiative gives The Walking Dead fans the opportunity to create and outfit their own Hyundai zombie survival machine through an interactive app and website–WalkingDeadChopShop.com.

The campaign has been a rousing success across multiple platforms (mobile, tablet, online), building upon the product placement of Hyundai automobiles in the TV series, which is now in its third season. However, what didn’t come to fruition was another element underscoring how prospective consumers can deeply interact with such an initiative in the not-too-distant future. Juli Swingle, VP, director of account services at Innocean, said that the agency had considered providing a 3-D printing option whereby viewers could create a 3-D rendition of their Hyundai/zombie survival vehicle. That idea, though, was scrapped, she said, because of the expense involved.

Swingle’s comments came during a Digital Hollywood session–Media, Entertainment and Brand Ubiquity; Understanding the Programming, Marketing and Commerce Equation, TV, Broadband, Mobile–held on Wednesday (10/23) at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Marina del Rey. She shared the what-might-have-been aspect of the “Chop Shop” initiative in response to an observation by fellow panelist Wayne Scholes, executive chairman and CEO of content management and distribution company Red Touch Media Group.

Scholes observed that “any brand not thinking about 3-D printing is missing the boat,” citing projections that 3-D printers represent a business not too far down the road that can be worth hundreds of billions of dollars annually. The potential of consumers being able to create something in 3-D involves them in a proactively interactive way that represents their being engaged with brand and story in the ultimate manner.

Rounding out the panel were: Justin Killion, sr. VP of development, Original Productions; celebrity branding authority Jeetendr Sehdev; Dustin Callif, managing partner, digital, at Tool of North America, and Tom Dunlap, chief production officer, 72andSunny. Moderator was David Leibowitz, managing partner, CH Potomac.

Killion said that while he isn’t at liberty to discuss details publicly, his production company is involved in some projects that entail 3-D printing.

And Dunlap noted that even without 3-D printing, 72andSunny is always looking at “connected objects” and the potential for integrated campaigns and initiatives to connect the digital and analog worlds.

360-degree perspective

Another new piece for an automotive client was brought up during the panel discussion–BMW U.K.’s Become Electric, a 360-degree interactive film created by Tool and London-based Mustard Films for agency WCRS, London. Accessible via an app available on both iTunes and Google Play, the experiential film marks the launch of BMW’s first electric car, the BMW i3. Tool panelist Callif described the 360-degree film as being “a visual test drive wrapped in storytelling.” He noted that the project was a contemporary counterpart to the groundbreaking BMW web films from 10 years ago, adding an experiential, visceral dimension.

Jason Zada directed Become Electric which he characterized as being “a step in the evolution of storytelling and brand engagement. It’s an interactive film that puts you in complete control of saving the world. You are at the wheel of the new BMW i3 electric car for almost the entire film, all the while being immersed in a big Hollywood-style movie.”

Tool has a track record of breakthrough work across varied platforms. On Oct. 1, for example, Tool and The Martin Agency won a News & Documentary Emmy Award in the New Approaches: Documentaries category for the Clouds Over Cuba project on behalf of the JFK Presidential Library and Museum.

Joe Alexander, chief creative officer at The Martin Agency, said after winning the Emmy, “JFK really believed in the power of innovation. So, this project continues our mission to extend and preserve JFK’s legacy through technology, especially the convergence of digital, mobile and film. The lessons we learned on Clouds Over Cuba will pay dividends for our clients and our agency for years to come.”

Clouds Over Cuba enables the world to rediscover the Cuban Missile Crisis through an interactive documentary as well as four “What If” scenarios, depicting how modern day would be different if Kennedy had taken America to war with Russia.

The Emmy Award joins other assorted honors for Clouds Over Cuba in 2013, including recognition from D&AD, The One Show, The CLIO Awards, Art Directors Club, Webby Awards, the AICP Next Awards (in the Website/Microsite category) and 11 Lions from the Cannes Film Festival.

First or second screen?

Panelist Dunlap also has a recent archive of notable multi-platform fare. He joined 72andSunny as chief production officer in early 2013 (SHOOTonline, 2/25) after having served as executive producer at RSA Films where his focus was on branded, digital and multi-platform entertainment.

At RSA, Dunlap was involved in several groundbreaking initiatives that bridged the worlds of marketing and entertainment including; Hyundai’s Re:Generation Music Project, AT&T’s Daybreak series, Friday Night Fights for Activision’s Call of Duty Elite service and Budweiser’s Bud House.

Dunlap’s experience in production began at TBWAChiatDay. He served as director of integrated production at Deutsch as well as at Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam. Dunlap was also a member of the inaugural 2012 Cannes Lion Branded Entertainment jury and serves as an advisory board member for the Branded Content Marketing Association North American Chapter.

Dunlap, who’s in charge of developing an entertainment practice at 72andSunny, told the Digital Hollywood gathering, ” I would argue that mobile, tablets and smart phones are becoming the first screen.”

Callif noted that brands need to explore the opportunities that are unfolding. He suggested that it makes good business sense for clients to at least allocate 10 percent of their advertising/marketing budgets for pure experimentation.

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