GSD&M IDEA CITY "UNSCREWS AMERICA"
GSD&M IDEA CITY “UNSCREWS AMERICA” Austin, Tex.-based ad agency GSD&M Idea City has turned out an integrated campaign, “UnScrew America” spanning TV print, online media, viral videos and a website. The genesis for the project came when Leslie Chilcott, a producer of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, approached Idea City CEO/cofounder Roy Spence about developing a campaign that would encourage people to make the switch to energy-efficient lighting.
“Not everyone can rush out and buy a hybrid [vehicle], especially if you’re 13 years old,” said Chilcott. Changing a lightbulb is great, but what happens when we all change five? Ridiculously good things.”
In one TV spot, “Dead Serious,” actor Paul Reubens surprises actress Missi Pyle as she is changing her closet light bulb to an energy saving Compact Florescent Lightbulb (CFL). The comedian then surprises her by being uncharacteristically humorless when it comes to the subject of global warming. The commercial then ends with a voiceover saying, “If we all switch to CFLs and LEDs (Light-Emitting Diode), it will have the same effect as taking millions of cars off the road. Learn more at unscrewamerica.org.
“Dead Serious” was one of two TV campaign spots directed by Mark Palansky of Company, Los Angeles. Editor was Scott Philbrook of Fluid, New York.
For Idea City, Jeff Nixon and David Stanton were group creative directors; Mitch Bennett was associate creative director/writer; Wes Whitener, associate creative director/art director; and Paul Golubovich the producer.
MJZ’S DANTE ARIOLA FINDS A CHAIR Director Dante Ariola of MJZ has been named executive chairman of the 2008 Clio Awards’ Technique Jury. Ariola won the DGA Award last year as the best commercial director of 2006.
Ariola joins a roster of ’08 Clio executive jury chairpersons that includes Content & Contact chair Johnny Vulkan, partner in Anomaly, New York; TV/Cinema/Digital chair Tony Granger, chief creative officer, Saatchi & Saatchi, New York; Print, Poster, Innovative and Integrated chair Jeremy Craigen, executive creative director of DDB U.K.; and Interactive chair Matias Palm-Jensen, creative president of Farfar, Stockholm. The Clio Fest is set for May 14-17 in Miami….
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS Deluxe Vancouver Ltd., a division of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc., has appointed Mark Atkinson as VP/general manager. Atkinson will be responsible for the new direction of Deluxe Vancouver, the former postproduction unit of Rainmaker recently acquired by Deluxe. He will segue from his current role as general manager of creative services for Deluxe Digital Studios, to his new position at Deluxe Vancouver effective March 1. Prior to joining Deluxe, Atkinson spent six years at DreamWorks SKG in a senior postproduction capacity. Deluxe has split the former Rainmaker post and effects company into two divisions. Atkinson will direct all motion picture lab, telecine, editorial and media management operations under the Deluxe Vancouver umbrella while Marianne O’Reilly continues to manage the visual effects division as president of the new CIS Vancouver entity. CIS Vancouver and the newly named CIS London, formerly Rainmaker U.K., are part of CIS Visual Effects Group. President of CIS Visual Effects Group is Don Fly who also leads CIS Hollywood….
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