In the latest global broadcast and digital campaign for Garmin's new Vivoactive 3 smartwatch, LightHouse Films director Romain Quirot creates a world within our own by infusing reality with a touch of magic. An homage to the French director Jacques Demy and the visual style of Wes Anderson, this commercial plays out like a choreographed ballet as various characters effortlessly use their Vivoactive 3 smartwatch while the camera follows right along.
The spot opens on a girl running alongside the beach, then paying for a bottle of water with her smartwatch in one swift motion. We glide past the runner and are taken away by a group of matching cyclists who all look to their smartwatch in unison. The camera continues and we visit a peaceful yogi, focusing in on her watch’s low stress levels, when suddenly the stress levels surge, and we pull out to reveal a distressed dog walker being dragged by seven tiny dachshunds. A distracted waiter observes the scene, causing him to spill water over his guest’s waterproof smartwatch. We close with a man checking his rep count on a Venice Beach look-alike when an Uber alert conveniently pops up on the watch’s interface.
Thibaut Estellon, EP/Partner of LightHouse Films, says, “We were really excited to get this board from Garmin. Their team isn’t afraid to take bold creative risks, even on a campaign this large, which was truly refreshing. Romain was able to bring his incredible intuition for light visual comedy to this board, and successfully created a micro-world with his refined eye for art and talent direction.”
Matt Bowe, Creative Director for Garmin International, says that, “Romain and LightHouse were the perfect partners to bring this vision to life. We wanted to create a feeling of continuous movement and show a community of active people all “beating yesterday” in their own way. Romain’s fresh ideas and visual storytelling abilities helped us communicate Garmin’s breakthrough wearable technology in a fun, approachable way.”
Sonic Branding For Social Media: Engage, Align, Connect
By Chad Cook -- With more than five billion people accessing social media daily, savvy brands understand the importance of cultivating a strong social identity. They devote massive resources toward brand awareness, audience targeting, content strategy and community engagement. Yet, while they know that social platforms are critical to boosting sales and attracting new customers, many neglect one of the most effective tools for connecting with consumers: sonic branding. Marketers often associate sonic branding with catchy mnemonics used by big brands like McDonald’s, Netflix and Intel in their advertising. But that is a very limited view of what sonic branding is and what it can do. Sonic branding is a way to build awareness and stimulate engagement across all touch points, from advertising to broadcast digital, in-person and social. And it’s not limited to members of the Fortune 500. Brands at all levels can benefit from a sonic identity that is memorable, engaging and reflective of its core values. Sound has been scientifically proven to be deeply tied to memory and emotion. There’s a reason that certain songs stick in your head and bring back memories formed years or even decades earlier. So, it’s surprising that sonic branding is often an afterthought in marketing plans. That is especially true in social media marketing. Faced with tight deadlines and strained budgets, creative teams are often tempted to select music for their content simply because it “fits.” Unfortunately, that may result in content that is in tune with what’s trending but is out of tune with brand identity. Effective sonic branding, by contrast, requires thoughtful strategic planning,... Read More