Word is that a new series of BMW short films is in the works, again with bicoastal Anonymous Content securing feature helmers for the projects, which will run on bmwfilms.com. The initial series of shorts—helmed by Ang Lee, John Frankenheimer, Guy Ritchie, Wong Kar-Wai and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu—has generated significant traffic on the BMW Web site (SHOOT, 5/11, p. 1). Ad agency is Fallon Minneapolis….Speaking of the BMW films, the first short to hit the Internet earlier this year—the Frankenheimer-directed Ambush—entailed extensive shooting on public roads in California. That production tapped into Film California First, the anti-runaway production program which provides reimbursement for certain filming-related costs. According to the California Film Commission, which administers the program, Film California First reimbursed more than $17,000 to the Ambush project. Film California First recently received a state budget allocation of $10 million for its second year (SHOOT, 8/10, p. 1)….Animation director/designer Denis Morella has officially come aboard San Francisco animation studio Wild Brain. His last roost was the former San Francisco office of New York-headquartered Curious Pictures. Prior to that, he had a long tenure at now defunct (Colossal) Pictures….Crew Cuts, with bases of operation in New York and Santa Monica, has reopened its San Francisco office, securing space in the building that houses post/effects house Radium. Christie Cash, who was named executive producer of Crew Cuts/West, Santa Monica, in June, will also assume executive producer duties at Crew Cuts, San Francisco….Fireworks Motion Media, a Miami-based postproduction/visual effects studio, has been purchased from Steve Minor by company staffers Wally Rodriguez and Anabella Sosa. The firm has been renamed Upstairs, with Rodriguez as director of visual effects, and Sosa acting as director of creative services….Editor Grant MacDowell has joined Venice, Calif.-based Brass Knuckles….
Nike’s “So Win” Wins Super Clio
Last night (2/10) in New Orleans, the Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the Philadelphia Eagles in a repeat match up of 2023’s top teams, but this time, the Eagles came out on top. As the Eagles dominated the game from start to finish, it was the commercials that kept the audience entertained, and Nike scored points with the ad industry to win the 2025 Super Clio Award, a special honor given out by the Clio Awards for the most creative commercial to air during the Super Bowl. On advertising’s biggest night, many brands leaned into familiar tropes like humor, talking animals, and famous faces to win over consumers, but Nike’s “So Win,” by Wieden+Kennedy Portland, stood out for its pitch perfect pacing, script and message of strength. The brand returned to the Super Bowl stage after 27 years and made a bold statement that won over the Super Clio jury.
As the yellow Gatorade was poured in Caesars Superdome, the Clio Awards’ jury of industry chiefs--brand leaders and creators of celebrated Super Bowl spots from the past and present--huddled to decide which ad scored the most points with consumers. Representatives from Verizon, PepsiCo Foods US, PRETTYBIRD, Highdive Advertising, Mischief, BBDO, VML and more voted and decided that the most creative spot of Super Bowl LIX was from Wieden+Kennedy Portland and would be awarded the coveted Lombardi-Trophy-sized Clio statue.
The Super Clio was introduced in 2015 in collaboration with WPP’s global chief creative officer, Rob Reilly. He and Clio Awards CEO Nicole Purcell recognized a need to highlight the revolutionary work that’s introduced during the Super Bowl with an honor selected by the people who make ads and understand the nuances of producing a groundbreaking commercial for the big... Read More