RingSide Creative, an integrated media studio™, recently partnered with Michigan ad agency Team Detroit/Pulse to create a first-of-its-kind integrated advertising campaign for Carhartt, one of the country’s leading makers of premium work clothing. Using the latest web design and imaging technology, RingSide Creative built a groundbreaking microsite and a series of rich media ads that help to propel the 100-year-old brand into the digital age and allow consumers to experience it in new, fun and interesting ways.
The microsite is based on a new Carhartt television spot, the company’s first in ten years, in which a man is surprised by a wolf while camping with friends. On the site, consumers can watch an interactive version of the spot, and view alternate endings, behind-the-scenes footage and product information. It also features a contest where consumers can submit their own Carhartt “campfire stories” for a chance to win free gear.
“The TV spots give consumers an opportunity to be a witness,” said Team Detroit/Pulse EVP/ Executive Creative Director Greg Braun, “but the interactive experience allows them to become a participant, to virtually step into this immersive world we’ve created and interact with it in a variety of ways.”
RingSide Creative worked with Team Detroit/Pulse in fine-tuning the concept for the site, and then assembled a team of web designers, programmers, editors and visual effects artists who built it primarily from assets generated during the production of the commercial. “RSC took our vision and enhanced it creatively and technically,” says Team Detroit/Pulse Creative Director Nick Allen. “They found great footage from our TV spot and brought it to life on the web—you really feel fully immersed in the experience.”
Because RingSide Creative produces media for both broadcast and the web, it has a deeper pool of resources and talent than companies that solely produce interactive media. For this project, it used its editorial team to produce entertaining alternate versions of the TV spot. Its visual effects department, meanwhile, constructed a unique parallax image that appears on the site’s home page showing the actors from the TV commercial sitting around a campfire. Moving a cursor over the image causes it to twist in 3D space and display menu options.
RingSide Creative developers added a similar interactive component to the version of the spot featured on the site. By clicking on characters, consumers can access product information about their clothes. The team also created a series of banner ads that include the same type of clever interactive features.
“We had access to all of the elements used to produce the broadcast spot, and had the resources on hand to repurpose those assets for the site and the banner ads,” explains RSC Interactive Creative Director Chris Calabrese. “Because the agency planned for the interactive components from the start, they were way ahead of the curve. It shows that you don’t have to spend twice the money to get twice the results.”
The project evolved as the production proceeded as RingSide Creative and Team Detroit/ Pulse kept thinking of new ways to make the experience richer and more fun. “Everyone involved in the project was open to new ideas, so the creative process took on a life of its own,” recalls RSC Interactive Business Manager Noah Cheek. “This project embodied a true partnership between the agency and the production team.”
“RingSide complements our talents in a very natural way,” agrees Braun. “They were very collaborative and gung ho. We had very high expectations and they met them.”
“It sounds cliché, but RSC really exceeded our expectations,” adds Allen. “They not only had the technical expertise, but also an understanding of the brand and our creative strategy, to deliver a rich and rewarding experience. We couldn’t have done it without RSC.”
Credits for RingSide Creative go to Chris Calabrese, Interactive Creative Director; Derek Kuschel, Assistant Creative Director/Developer; Joe Sciacchitano, Senior Multimedia Art Director/Developer and Noah Cheek, Interactive Business Director; Rick Unger, colorist; Ann Allen, Visual Effects Artist; Paul Stelly – Sound Design/Engineer; Lee Land, Retoucher; and Chris Hyatt, Andrew Suciu and Frank Smith, I/O (Internal File Conversions/Distribution).
Credits for Team Detroit/Pulse John Lindblom, Brad Carse, Chris Robinson, Andrea Egeler, Brendan Mahn and Nick Allen.
About RingSide Creative
RingSide Creative is an Integrated Media Studio™ with expertise in creating unbelievable brand experiences. The company is located at 13320 Northend, Oak Park, MI 48237. For more information call Kim Fairman (248) 548-2500 or visit www.ringsidecreative.com.