Nearly two years after the historic groundbreaking ceremony for the largest expansion in its 101-year history, the San Diego Zoo Global launches the Conrad Prebys Africa Rocks exhibit. To introduce the expansive and diverse experience, dedicated to plant and animal species from six different African habitats, M&C Saatchi LA developed creative content for an integrated marketing campaign to engage people of all ages. The “Africa Rocks,” campaign will enjoy a multi-channel “tour,” complete with broadcast, posters, out of home, and social throughout the summer. To produce the campaign, M&C Saatchi partnered with award-winning production company Gentleman Scholar to create the animated video campaign, described as “Bleacher Report meets MTV for the Animal Kingdom.” Each animal’s actions are previewed in the “Africa Rocks” spot; with hero animals presented within their own habitats in the :15s. This gave the Gentleman Scholar designers the opportunity for story depth leading to iconic “Africa Rocks” logo treatments. Bombastic music – from metal to 80’s synth, to sitars and record scratches – sonically transport viewers to various decades and genres in this rock tour of the animal kingdom.
Client: San Diego Zoo
Chief Marketing Officer: Ted Molter
Marketing Director, Communications & Interpretation: Debra Erickson
Associate Director, Design: Damien Lasater
Associate Director, Communications: Mike Warburton
Agency: M&C Saatchi LA
Executive Creative Director: Maria Smith
Associate Creative Director/AD: Ron Tapia
Associate Creative Director/CW: Ben Lay
CW/AD: Stephen Reidmiller
Director of Content Production: Dennis Di Salvo
Print Production Director: Brian Bushaw
Group Account Director: Mike Wilton
Account Director: Makeia Carrier
Production Company: Gentleman Scholar
Directors: William Campbell and Will Johnson
Executive Producer: Jo Arghiris
Head of Production: Rachel Kaminek
Art Director: Michael Tavarez
Producer: Nikki Maniolas
Designers: Hana Eunjin Yean, JP Rooney, Macauley Johnson, Andy Lyon, Brandon Smith, Cam Floyd, Hanna No, James Levy, Kelly Jung, Paul Kim
2D Animators: Chris Finn, Macauley Johnson, Andy Lyon, Danni Fisher-Shin, Henry Pak, Jeffrey “Jip” Jeong, Yoogin Seol
AE Compositor: Ramzee Hogan
Cel Animators: Abigail Magno, Andy Lyon, Laura Yilmaz, Sean Buckelew
3D Animators: Jamie Sawyer, Sarah Wolfe
3D Generalists: Chris Finn, Tim Hayward, Jacques Clement, Jessica Ramirez, Mike Cahill
3D Rigger: Tim Hayward
Nuke Compositor: Chris Brown, Matt Lavoy
Music Company: Yessian
Creative Director: Andy Grush
Executive Producer: David Gold
Senior Producer: Katie Overcash
Composers: Jimmy Haun, Andy Grush
Mix Company: Margarita Mix
Mixer: Paul Hurtubise
The Undeniable Voice of Art
Creative Growth, the first organization dedicated to supporting artists with developmental disabilities, has teamed up with creative marketing company, John McNeil Studio to unveil its new brand. Representing 50 years of elevating the work of artists with disabilities within the arts community, Creative Growth’s new brand campaign includes a new identity and logo, new positioning, brand film and a redefined strategy centering on the ‘undeniable voice of art.’ Creative Growth’s evolved brand is at the forefront of a shift towards art that stands for the inherent reveal — the power of artistic expression to bring understanding and connection to us all. The brand’s new expression includes unobtrusive color and design choices that purposely don’t compete with the voice of the artist and instead, serve as a container for the art to have a voice of its own. Executive Creative Director, Gerald Lewis of John McNeil Studio explains “We needed to create a powerful, distinctive voice for the brand. But, it couldn’t compete with the voice of the artists because in the end, the art has to speak. It had to be simple, honest and genuine, in line with the mission of Creative Growth. Artists will spend 30 years making work, honing their craft and following their voice inside this space. We wanted to celebrate that. So, while the mark, the brand, is simple and honest, it’s also expansive and energetic.” Kicking off the new brand campaign is a short film capturing the voice of artist William Scott as he walks through downtown Oakland and enters... Read More