Bowled Over

Well, the dust has settled... and The New York Giants emerge victorious once again over the New England Patriots! I have to say, this was one of the more interesting Super Bowl games... with an intense fourth quarter (Sarah still preferred The Puppy Bowl).

This year it's the game that sticks in my head, and not the commercials. It has gotten to be kind of silly the way advertisers try to outdo themselves. They have gone so far as to hype the commercials before they even run.

One of this year's "big" spots was supposed to be an updated Ferris Bueller for Honda (my current ride.. it's "so choice"). Now, that movie is one of my all-time favorites and has definitely withstood the test of time (seriously, watch it again on your... day off), but the new ad seemed a little off. Clever, but not as funny as the timeless 80s classic (maybe it was sobering to see that even Mr. Bueller has aged).

Most of the other ads trotted out the usual fare: talking babies, CGI animals, Go Daddy babes, Jay Leno...  But there were a couple ads that did get creative marks in my playbook... drum roll please...



Budweiser ran an ad earlier that evening that was sort of a mini-movie about how prohibition denied people from their beer. The cinematography and scoring were great but... yeah, it's just Budweiser. Then this ad ran during one of the next breaks, and it gave me a little, eh, buzz! Sort of a music video remix of the earlier ad, showing young people enjoying Bud through the ages-- 50s, 60s, Studio 54, breakdancing, Seattle grunge... fun, and definitely helped by this cool mash-up of the Cult classic "She Sells Sanctuary" and Flo Rida-- good feeling, indeed (got me more excited than Madonna's halftime, that's for sure).



So Bud is selling sanctuary and Fiat is selling... uh, yeah. But I think it's a rather clever ad-- funny, sexy... with sharp filming, music and performances. Hey, guys are always going to appreciate good-looking women and cars (not to mention perfectly frothed lattes).



One of the few ads that had me laughing... I must admit. Apparently it has "touched" off some controversy because people say the new technology is actually old-- a stylus pen. But it looks like you are able to draw on your phone, which I think is different from what the stylus was for...? Who cares, this ad had The Darkness in it-- I loved this song! Hey, it did the trick in making me feel like Samsung phones might be a cool brand... although I'm not ready to turn over my Motorola Droid just yet.

That's about it. Not a great year for ads, but I did learn that GE is responsible for... beer (oh come on, at least Schenectady got a little attention).

The Art of Promotion

Confession: part of the reason for this blog is a little shameless self-promotion.

There... I said it... in case you hadn't already guessed!

Come see NRM's new exhibition or the monkey gets it.

There certainly are many more options available than when I started college, studying illustration and graphic design. Back then I guess the ultimate exposure would be on television. The pinnacle: a spot aired during The Super Bowl. Well, that's still considered a touchdown, with companies devoting countless hours, dollars, and energy coming up with creative ideas that people will be talking about the next week or, in some cases, years (think Apple's 1984 Macintosh commercial). Today, creative promotions are just a click away on your iPad, and I wonder if even Steve Jobs could have predicted that one?

Working in the communications/marketing department of a major museum, I have been involved with many different efforts over the years to attract people's attention. From print ads, press releases, radio spots, billboards, and web-- I have had a hand in it all, but I'm still most fond of creating TV commercials, which make use of my skills as a filmmaker.

Nothing but blue skies: with "Rio" director Carlos
Saldanha, at Norman Rockwell Museum.

This past year I returned to the TV medium, helping to develop spots for two of Norman Rockwell Museum's summer exhibitions: "Ice Age" to the Digital Age: The 3D Animation Art of Blue Sky Studios, and It's a Dog's Life: Norman Rockwell Paints Man's Best Friend. "Ice Age" to the Digital Age took a look at the work of Blue Sky Studios, one of the world's leading digital animation companies. Known for such blockbuster films as the Ice Age series, Robots, and Rio, the company is based in Greenwich, Connecticut, and I had the pleasure of visiting the studios' headquarters, in order to prepare for the exhibition.

In the months leading up to the opening, I was offered the chance to create a special movie trailer, which would coincide with the opening of the studio's latest film, Rio. What fun! I decided to play off of the movie's Brazilian theme, and incorporate a catchy latin beat. I always love working with music, and after quite a bit of searching, found a peppy, royalty-free track. Next, I sorted through promotional images we had been provided by Blue Sky, including character sketches, models, and final 3D animation stills, all ultimately represented in the exhibition. After a bit of editing, here is what I came up with:

When I attended the opening weekend of Rio at the Beacon Cinema in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, it was a real rush to see this run on a huge movie screen in a darkened theater! I must admit that I went back several times to see it... good thing that I also loved the movie.

The trailer was such a big hit that we decided to use it for a TV spot to be co-produced by Time Warner Cable Media Sales. We made a trek to their offices in Albany, New York, and I must say that I was envious of their facilities. It was decided to add a voice-over and additional graphics for clarity. Personally, I'm not sure it was all that necessary, since I think the visuals and music worked on their own. We presented Time Warner with a script, and they found us a pleasant narrator. Here is the spot which ran throughout the course of the exhibition, on Time Warner Cable stations in the Capital Region, Hudson Valley, and Western Massachusetts:

I like the line "from sketch to screen"-- I'm pretty sure that was my idea. You'll see that I did modify some of the images in this version as well. I actually re-edited the movie trailer to reflect the visual changes, and it ran throughout the fall during other feature-length movies shown at the Triplex (thankfully, without the narration)! We also created a spot for It's a Dog's Life, an exhibition featuring Norman Rockwell's many illustrations of man's best friend. I didn't have as much time to devote to this project as the Blue Sky trailer, but I sent Time Warner a simple script and edit, incorporating some of the images found in the exhibition. Here is what they came up with:

Again, a clever play on words: "the dog days of summer"-- I couldn't resist. I would have changed the graphics up a bit, but overall the spot came out alright. Time Warner found the music, and once again provided us a with a good narrator-- these elements are so important, and I know we looked at several different options before deciding on the final choices.

So where do we go from here? I guess the future looks promising for online promotions, utilizing web graphics and video to come up with dazzling spots that companies hope will go viral. Although I started my study in graphic design, I have had the nagging feeling for many years that I need to look into resuming my training in that area. Part of my game plan for 2012 is to finally take some more design courses. Who knows, next year you might be seeing more of my work online, or better yet... during The Super Bowl!