BETC EURO RSCG CREATES "ALCHEMY"
We start with an old fashioned coffee grinder which explodes, the parts somehow becoming meshed into a bicycle that forms before our eyes. A motor enters the picture and turns it into a motorbike and then adds two wheels to make it a Quadrilette. A mixer blends into the VLV–which was the first mass produced electric car (introduced in 1941)–and as we progress through time other objects collide, implode and explode to yield more modern creations, which includes Peugeot vehicles, including a 207 which spawns a BBI which comes apart to open a door to an open-ended tomorrow. The messages “Combine Worlds,” “Mix Ideas” and “Blend Technology” then appear on screen, giving way to the Peugeot logo.
This :60 is part of a campaign out of BETC Euro RSCG, Paris, commemorating Peugeot’s 200-year anniversary, and will be aired worldwide. Titled “Alchemy,” the spot was directed by Michael Gracey of Partizan, with visual effects out of Mikros Image, Paris.
HIGH SCHOOLS GOT MONEY FOR GOT MILK? Online voters have spoken and after battling more than 100 high schools throughout California, Santa Susana High School in Simi Valley wins the grand prize, $20,000, in the GOT MILK? Battle for Milkquarious, White Gold Milkdonkulous Giveaway. The contest was sponsored by the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB) to encourage California teenagers to get creative with their video-making skills for a chance to win thousands of dollars for their public high schools’ art programs.
Santa Susana received close to 11,000 online votes. Students from the school submitted a video entry after recreating the last of seven scenes from GOT MILK?’s online rock opera titled Battle for Milkquarious (www.milkquarious.com). Created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, the online 20-minute rock opera is intended to reach California teens with the message of the health benefits of drinking milk for strong bones, muscles, hair, teeth and nails. The rock opera chronicles White Gold’s quest to save his hometown of Milkquarious from a potentially deadly milk shortage. The students at Santa Susana acted out the scene using homemade props and creative video editing.
Receiving the second most online votes was Pioneer Technical Center in Madera, which will get $10,000 for its live action entry. The students acted out the second scene of the rock opera that tells the first meeting of White Gold and his comrade, Jug Life.
Besides live action entries, California teens used all kinds of medium such as animation, clay and even Legos to tell their stories surrounding the rock opera. GOT MILK? will also honor eight runners-up for their efforts, each with $2,500: L.A. County High School for the Arts; L.A. High School for the Arts; Gardena High School in Gardena; El Molino High in Forestville; Dublin High School in Dublin; Santa Teresa High School in San Jose; Marysville Charter Academy for the Arts in Marysville; and San Dieguito High School Academy in Encinitas.
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS…
Christine Huang has joined BBH N.Y. as head of business development. She previously was a freelance consultant, working with such agencies as Berlin Cameron United, and Venables Bell & Partners….Bill Oakley has expanded his responsibilities at TM Advertising, Dallas, to now include serving as both CCO and managing director. Oakley previously held the TM roles of group creative director, and worldwide creative director on the American Airlines account….
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More