Popular Irish indie rock band The Academic and BBDO New York have pulled off an innovative musical event to help launch the band’s latest extended play record.
On July 15, the Academic hosted the world’s first live animation music video via Google Slides, creating an interactive audio and visual experience for fans. Three exclusive performances featured the new single, “Not Your Summer.”
Now, to share the experience further, The Academic has rolled out this music video (an edited screen capture of the live performance).
Created by BBDO New York, Capitol Records, and Open The Portal animation studio, the musical experience was built out in real-time with a team of animators and all four band members themselves collaborating behind the scenes to create and delete slides every second. The resulting animation tells a visual story loosely based on the song’s lyrics about the isolation and internal conflict experienced by many last year.
By using Google Slides, The Academic, who’ve been unable to perform live in front of audiences throughout the pandemic, was still able to provide a unique live experience for fans to help launch their latest EP. The band members even interacted with guests in real-time by typing in the slides during the 15-minute pre-show.
“One of the things we’ve missed most throughout this pandemic has been interacting with our fans and creating unforgettable moments for them through music. We were thrilled to collaborate with BBDO and Open The Portal to create this totally new, virtual musical experience in Google Slides. Not only was it a clever way to say ‘hi’ to our fans, but we live for finding these new techy ways to make our music stand out from the rest,” said Craig Fitzgerald, lead singer, The Academic.
“The strong, universal feeling of ‘I need to get away from me,’ is one that transcends this moment in time. We used that emotion of not feeling happy with, and needing a break from, yourself as a thread throughout the experience. The main character literally breaks away from his own alter ego, resulting in an exciting chase across different pages in Google Slides, while featuring the platform’s many capabilities in creative ways,” said Bart Mol, SVP, sr. creative director, and live animator, BBDO NY.
The effort is an evolutionary follow-up to BBDO NY and The Academic’s 2017 “Live Looper.” That innovative live musical performance was hosted on Facebook Live, turning the platform into a global stage, and ultimately winning top industry accolades including Gold at Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, and Webby honors.
CreditsClient Capitol Records/The Academic Capitol Records--Tom Paul, general manager; Alia Aldeghather, product manager. The Academic--Craig Fitzgerald, lead vocals, guitar; Matthew Murtagh, guitar; Stephen Murtagh, bass; Dean Gavin, drums; Carl Brogan, band manager. Animation Open The Portal, Los Angeles Trever Stewart, co-director, technical director, live animator; David Braun, animation director; Barrett Slagel, exec producer; Xenia Balashov, 1st AD, art director. (Toolbox: Photoshop, After Effects, Premier, Google Slides) Agency BBDO New York David Lubars, chief creative officer, worldwide; Bart Mol, SVP, sr. creative director, live animator; Pol Hoenderboom, SVP, creative director; Mike Woodall, co-director, sr. producer, live animator; Andrew Osborne, head of content operations; James Young, head of digital operations; Alex Gianni, EVP, director of content production; Chava Quinn, producer; Benner Rawley, copywriter; Maya Iwata, art director; Phillip Savage, livestream tech director; Jimmy McGee, quality assurance. Production BBDO Studios Jonathan Hsu, supervising producer; Allie Kolb, sr. post producer; Morgan Ammons, Alex Mirza, Kevin Bostic, live animators; Jason Kim, live animator, editor; Alex Lubars, editor. Bowstring Studios Sean Quinn managing producer for livestream equipment manager
NHS England, M&C Saatchi UK, Director Tom Tagholm Team On PSA Highlighting The Overlooked Signs Of A Stroke
National Health Service (NHS) England has unveiled a multichannel campaign, “Act FAST,” to raise awareness of the individual signs of a stroke and get people to call 999 as soon as they suspect they may be experiencing any one symptom. The push, which is part of the ongoing “Help Us, Help You” campaign, was developed in partnership with M&C Saatchi UK.
The campaign depicts everyday situations where everything might seem relatively normal, but where there’s the sign of someone experiencing a stroke.
A key component of the campaign is this :30--directed by Tom Tagholm of Various Films--which sets up the idea that initially, a stroke might not seem like much, highlighting key symptoms: from struggling to use a paint roller, to not being able to smile when watching TV, to slurring your speech when reading a story to your grandchild. The PSA emphasizes that time is critical, ending with the line: “Face or arm or speech, at the first sign, it’s time to call 999.”
Jo Bacon, Group CEO, M&C Saatchi UK, said, “We want to ensure people take action on the first symptom, rather than waiting for more conclusive signs. To help them understand that even when everything seems normal, something serious might be happening.”
Matt Lee, executive creative director, M&C Saatchi UK, commented: “This is important work. We wanted to explore that precise moment when your world shifts, quietly yet powerfully, off its axis during a stroke. We highlight how a tiny external moment can actually be seismic—an extraordinary gear change, framed in a really ordinary way.”
Director Tagholm shared, “My Dad suffered a stroke a few years ago and was saved from the worst by acting quickly, and by the work of the NHS. So there’s... Read More