Advertising

Evil Zombie Snowmen No Match for Nissan Rogue

The weather was reportedly mild when TBWA Canada filmed this 2014 Nissan Rogue commercial in Toronto last fall, so it seems prescient that they so accurately recreated the monster blizzard that would assault the Northeast this winter. Who knows, maybe in the brutal whiteout conditions of the recent Polar Vortex, real zombie snowmen were angrily roaming about wreaking havoc. This 60-second spot, which plays like a trailer for a sci-fi thriller, was directed by Mark Zibert, with production by Sons and Daughters, post-production by The Mill, and TBWA executive creative direction by Allen Oke.

Advertising

Carlton – The Big Ad

Since the Super Bowl puts most sports fans in the mood for beer, we thought we’d bring back an old beer ad favorite — The Carlton Big Ad, created by George Patterson and Partners (Young & Rubicam) of Melbourne in 2005. An epic parody of Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” battle sequence, the commercial, also filmed in New Zealand, shows men in maroon and yellow choir robes rushing and leaping across a sweeping rugged terrain, while resolutely singing new lyrics set to the medieval tune “O Fortuna” from Carl Orff’s cantata “Carmina Burana.” Although the commercial looks like it was made with a cast of thousands, it actually only used 350 people, with the crowd replication software, Massive, filling in the rest of the extras in post-production. “The Big Ad” went on to win numerous awards, and undoubtedly paid for its production costs and then some through the millions of times it has been viewed on the Internet.

Advertising

Freddy’s Kaleidoscope of Motion Design

The symmetrical patterns and multiple reflections created by a kaleidoscope served as the perfect metaphor for the art of dance and gymnastics – and a means to demonstrate the ease of movement offered by the dance and fitness apparel manufactured by Freddy Wr.UP of Italy. For the making of the video, DLV BBDO Milan collaborated with Abstr^ct:groove production company to build a simulated kaleidoscopic view of performers in motion. Considerable storyboarding preceded actual production. Abstr^ct:groove producer Mauro Mastronicola says, “To understand how to achieve the graphic patterns we wanted, we started by studying small scale models and then we went into CGI simulations. All the effects were obtained in camera without the use of added post-production.”

Not everything happened in camera, however. Abstr^ct:groove designed and built four thaumascopes of different sizes and shapes, the biggest being about 30 feet long with an triangular opening of about 8 feet and the smallest being about 5 feet in length with a square opening of about 2 feet. The Italian National Team of Rhythmic Gymnastic ‘le Farfalle’ was asked to perform the gymnastic movements which were choreographed by their trainer Emanuela Maccarani. Luigi Pane directed the film and Franky B (aka Cryptic Monkey) produced the music.

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Humor

Obsessively Funny Addy Promo

Convinced that advertising creatives see everything myopically through the lens of their craft, the Dallas Advertising League chose the theme “Obsession Has Its Place” to promote its Addy Awards in 2012. TM Advertising developed nine hilarious scenarios of singularly focused ad men and women dealing with everyday life situations. Jeremy Bartel of Liberal Media Films directed the videos, Jason Burks directed photography, and Charlie Uniform Tango did the post-production. Here are just two of the videos. To see the rest, go here.

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Humor

Beware of Bears!

UK ad agency Viral Factory filmed this commercial for Samsung’s EcoBubble Washing Machine on location in Manning Park, British Columbia, where nature is wild and unpredictable. Directed by James Rouse, produced by Jon Stopp, and post-production by Jellyfish Pictures.