Reading from a storybook to a classroom full of youngsters are tennis greats Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf who also happen to be husband and wife. As they read, the pages of the hand-drawn storybook are brought to life in animation as we hear about a girl named Sophie who tried to play tennis but the courts were too big, the racket too heavy and the balls bounced too high. The visuals are scary and the kids in class are taken aback yet still hopeful of a turn in the story. Abruptly the book closes as Graf informs the kids that Sophie quit tennis, and Agassi adds that she decided to instead play soccer. However, their audience’s disappointment is short lived as a voiceover provides a happy ending: “Now courts, rackets and balls come in kid sizes.” A closing super of a website address appears: 10andundertennis.com.
Titled “Story Time,” this :30 for the U.S. Tennis Association out of The Martin Agency, Richmond, Va., combined the talents of director Alison MacLean of Park Pictures, animation director Rohitash Rao of Curious Pictures and editor Merritt Duff of Cutting Room.
SKINNY, B-REEL ENTER SHOE BUSINESS
A lucky shoe lover will win shoes for life after playing ALDO Shoes for Life (aldoshoesforlife.com), a new collaborative project–and first interactive experience–from the shoe giant. This interactive catalog boasts a series of three games of chance with a Monte Carlo-like spirit that shows off the ALDO fall/winter 2011 collection.
This new interactive site, developed by creative agency SKINNY and interactive production shop B-Reel, is part of a larger initiative, on behalf of the ALDO brand, to bring its campaign inspiration to life–going beyond print and into the digital space. The ALDO fall/winter campaign, all about getting lucky, was shot by Terry Richardson, and stars actor Matthew Gray Gubler and top model Lily Donaldson. “Choosing SKINNY was part of a broader decision to delve into the interactive world,” said ALDO creative director/GM Douglas Bensadoun. “We sought a partner who could not only bring our campaign to life but also create an immersive experience that’s new and innovative, allowing our customers to participate in the campaign itself.” Players may enter to win the grand prize, two pairs of shoes per year for the next 25 years. Others who win the three games receive a 15 % discount coupon valid at ALDO stores.
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS….
Brooklyn-based creative agency Big Spaceship has five new hires and one promotion in its design and development teams. New to the latter are sr. developer Stacey Mulcahy, developer Bruce Drummond and jr. developer Luke BrownGold. Mulcahy formerly served as a technical architect at Teknison in Ottawa, Canada, and Drummond as a developer at Aviary. BrownGold is a recent grad of The Parsons School of Design. Meanwhile, hired for Big Spaceship’s design team are sr. designers Able Parris, previously a designer at McKinney in Durham, N.C., and Valerie Gnaedig who was art director/visual designer at MRM Worldwide. Big Spaceship has also promoted Dan Mall from sr. designer to art director….Renata Florio has been appointed chief creative officer of Wing (formerly WingLatino), a full-service marketing communications agency focused on the intersection of the U.S. Hispanic, Latin American and general markets. She will be based in Wing’s N.Y. headquarters. Wing’s clients include P&G, Goya Foods, Eli Lilly and the Ad Council. Florio most recently served as exec creative director at Peralta StrawberryFrog in Sao Paulo, Brazil….
