PUMA "After Hours Athlete" Commercial #5

PUMA “After Hours Athlete” 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua4pzSZIjyg&feature=fvst

Remember when I said that I thought that Nike’s “Write the Future” campaign had everything you needed for a commercial, I was wrong. PUMA’s “After Hours Athlete” just blew me away; clearly, it won the Grand Prix for Film Craft. The underlying message of this commercial is that we are all athletes in someway. It applies to every single person in the world, and gives reasoning to celebrate even the common man or woman. 

The commercial begins with a still shot of an ordinary house during dusk and a man closing up a shop. A light flickers on, proving that it is after hours, and slow, inspirational background music begins to play. Suddenly, a voice over describing ordinary, every day routines as something amazing. The voice is very calm, yet very confident, allowing the viewer to believe every word he says. The commercial continues with a montage of clips of different activities that ordinary people participate in at night such as bowling, playing pool, and playing darts. One immediately relates to the characters. Although these are simple occurrences, the voice over explains that each activity is just as important as the performances of famous athletes. He reiterates that even running to catch a cab home is an amazing physical performance. The last clip shows a teenage boy with his girlfriend walking home. He shoots a beer bottle into a moving dumpster, and misses; “these are the champions” are the final humorous words. 

This commercial is only three minutes long, yet it hold so much power. From the first second it begins, the viewer relates to the lifestyle. He or she feels as though that life is theirs. Once the viewer is connected, the script of the voice over persuades and guides the viewer to believe that everyone is special. After feeling connected and inspired, the viewer feels proud. The emotions tagged with the commercial prove how effective PUMA’s campaign is. The idea of “After Hours Athlete” stays with the viewer, and leaves him of her with a contented feeling.

#7 We survived!

This clip is from the Film, Film Craft, Creative Effectiveness and Titanium and Integrated Lions awards. Besides the fact that the people sitting behind us must have sprinted around Cannes without deodorant, the show was absolutely amazing. I love the attitude of the announcer and the music that plays while the winners receive their awards. It really is like the Oscars of advertising! My ultimate favorite was the Chrystler "born of fire" commercial with Eminem (even though I do not care for him as a person). I had goosebumps the entire time. It won a gold for the script category. More about the winners in my Entry Critiques paper! 

After all of the craziness of rushing to various seminars, grabbing the give-away tin canned Coke cans, and meeting the most creative people around the world, it was time for the festival to end. Although I am completely worn out, physically and mentally, I would do anything to experience this festival again. My mind was constantly blown throughout the week. This trip has not only loaded my brain with valuable advice, but also helped me to gain more confidence for my future life plans. Hopefully, one day I will be back here competing with the big dogs.

Nike "Write the Future" Commercial #4

“Write the Future” Nike:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBZtHAVvslQ

The idea of this commercial is to prove the point that European football stars that are idolized as gods or royalty create a ripple effect into society. They influence everyday activity, whether it is effecting an everyday man to a king. I have always enjoyed Nike ads, so I was drawn to this one. 

The commercial begins with a low-angle shot following a soccer ball flying through the air. I would personally say that this beginning shot is an MOS (mit-out-sound) because of the faded crowd roar and ultimate silence. Suddenly, the ball lands and fast tempoed background music begins to play, exciting the viewer. A soccer player follows the fast tempo and jukes the opponents, until suddenly the scene switches to slow motion, creating more anticipation. The screen switches from the soccer game to a quick sequence of shots showing the satellites shooting the game, fans in the crowd, and random fans watching on television. The camera switches back to slow motion when the player shoots the ball towards the goal. Another sequence of reactions from people of different cultures are shown celebrating what they think will be a goal. Out of NO WHERE, the opponent performs a bicycle kick, blocking the ball from the goal. Another sequence is shown of the reactions of the fans. The commercial switches to short clips of the soccer players outside of the game, enjoying a very swanky lifestyle. The commercial continues to show different episodes of different football players and their fans then their extravagant life. 

Honestly, I want to go join a beach soccer match right now. This commercial includes everything, in my opinion. It applies to emotions by controlling the excitement and curiosity by the use of slow motion and quickness of the switching scenes. It applies to the media, the everyday man, and celebrities. The overall message is interesting, yet true, how one can control the future with enough publicity and determination. I thoroughly enjoyed this commercial. 

Dallas International Film Festival "Love of Film" Commercial #3

Love of Film Dallas International Film Festival

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy9ETO5Bggs

This commercial caught my attention because its light tone was juxtaposed by the Asian horror film festival commercial that preceded it. The happy background music introduces the commercial during a close-up of a grown man swinging. Because he is so happy, the viewer automatically becomes happy and curious as to why he is enjoying himself. The camera zooms out, showing a dead zombie pushing the grown man. The screen cuts to another happily in-love scene of a woman riding a bicycle. The camera zooms out from her giddy smile to a cowboy’s ghost riding behind her.  Next is a pretty woman sharing a smoothie with an alien. All of these peculiar scenarios add to the confusion and curiosity of the viewer. Finally, the commercial ends with, “Dallas Film, March 31-April 10”. It is not until the last scene that the viewer understands that people love film; therefore, they love the characters that go along with film such as the subjects that were flirting with normal people.

This is a perfect example of the power of background music during filming. A smooth, happy tempo can eliminate any negative emotions of the viewer, while a fast, sudden tempo creates anxiety and uneasiness. The commercial grabs the viewers’ attention and keeps mystery to its reasoning, yet eliminating the anxiety of its suspense.  

#6 "To be a rock star, you must have a great band"

BBDO and HP Graphic Arts Master Class:

Today was a shorter day at the festival. All of my technological belongings are dying and I might still be dying from the Microsoft party. Although it did not last as long as the other days, I enjoyed the Master Class the group attended. I initially was upset that I was missing the Wieden+Kennedy Workshop; however, what the BBDO and HP graphic arts touched on was very interesting because it applied to the music industry. I had gotten a few of the BBDO employees at the Microsoft party, but did not see them at the class.

From day one,  I had noticed the Rockstar invitation and became curious as to how it applied to advertising. Each of the letters stating “A Rock Star Talking About Rock Stars” were different images applying to music, famous artists, and random funky symbols formed into letters (also serving as product placement). Marcus Medeiros, Creative Director, Almap BBDO, was introduced as a rock star of advertising. Being humble, he forgot to mention that he had won 12 lions, including the 2010 Press Grand Priz for the Billboard Magazine campaign. A huge image of a famous artist appeared on a screen with a small key showing four other famous artists’ names. The background artist was made up of smaller icons of four other artist that shared some aspect of their style. This was not only a picture full of other pictures, but a way to compare an artist’s music with another artist’s. The ability to share that much information, yet still look like a picture amazed me. I respected Medeiros’ humbleness as well, “to be a rockstar you need to have a great band”. What a rock star. 

BBDO Speaker:

Chris Hall, CEO of BBDO Atlanta, was kind enough to speak to the group after the HP meeting, and weirdly enough knows some of our friends at UGA. He stressed the importance of creativity, making a business 11 times more effective for a company. He informed us that it was the golden age for creativity. He actually quoted Space Jam, “if you can dream it, you can do it”. He admitted that if you’re not digital, you’re dead. When Claire asked him if he was able to take risks with his advertising being in a large corporation, he replied, “you have to build trust with clients, then you can sell risky ideas”. I think it is interesting that we have heard multiple times the potential for Atlanta to dominate advertising. Being so close this is an exciting goal to work towards. 

#5 "Everyone is attracted to a pulse"

McCann Worldgroup & MRM Worldwide
After surviving the Microsoft party, we woke up with two things on our minds...Magnum Bars and will.i.am. His funky fresh attitude has always interested me, so I was thrilled to attend McCann Worldgroup & MRM Worldwide seminar.


Marc Landsberg, ceo of MRM Worldwide, Tod Machover, composer, inventor, educator, and Johan Jervoe, VP, sales and marketing group, director of creative services and digital of Intel shared their advice on "technology and its transformation of creativity". Like every other seminar, they reiterated how important social media was.


Will.i.am explained that before his phone, he would twiddle his thumbs and wait until he made his way on the stage, but now he constantly he uses his thumbs to tweet about the show. Fans are able to give him feedback and support during the actual show. He thinks it's huge that technology today has allowed us to save so much time on things such as producing a song. I found it fascinating how Will.i.am was explaining rhythm. While his hand movements never stopped, he explained how people were "attracted to a pulse" and that they gravitate towards one trend. Social media and collaborating ideas for new technologies was, in his opinion, the current trend.


 Machover advised for society to find your passion and love before you create an idea; sitting in front of a computer does not spark creativity. Creativity is taking risks in life; without risks, you will not come up with unique ideas.


Amr Salama: Film Maker
Along with taking risks relating to music, the group met with Amr Salama, a successful, fearless Egyptian Filmmaker. He described living in fear throughout the streets of Egypt, constantly harassed by the police. The media was not reporting on the corruption of government; naturally, Salama joined his fellow Egyptians to fight for freedom. His debut film, On A Day Like Today was a box office hit and was accepted to multiple international film festivals.


During his interview, he casually brought up how he had been kidnapped, no big deal. I soon noticed his  intransigent motives to make the world a better place. Salama realizes that his films are controversial (in an Egyptian's perspective); however, he is willing to be thrown in jail while educating people about flaws in society. Social media sparked the revolution. People heard an idea and took action. His strong determination and pure morals inspire me.


(As a rookie at downloading from the internet, I am in the process of finding On A Day Like Today)

http://www.youtube.com/amrmsalama 

Parship 'Cupid' Commercial #2

Parship's Cupid Campaign:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8ztMFJ1cw8


Parship shares a clever commercial about the decline of Cupid's match making due to the success of Parship's online dating website. The commercial starts with a low-angle shot of a fat, simple-looking man washes his face in a dreary hotel. The commercial foreshadows who this mystery man is when he practices shooting a make believe bow and arrow. Obviously bored and not in any rush, you see a zoomed out view of him strolling down the street with slow, instrumental back ground music.
The camera zooms into a scene where he looks in a photo booth with two lovers kissing and pathetically grabs the photoslip. The man, who the viewer has been following, looks sad because of his unemployment and lack of love in his life. A scenario of episodes relating love follow, such as two people holding hands on a subway. The camera never shows the other actors' or actresses' faces; they are irrelevant to the story line and force the viewer to focus on the mystery man's bland expressions.
At the end of the commercial, the camera switches to a reaction shot of a pathetic looking love collage and the man sitting in front of it, revealing his hidden wings. This shows the disappointment of Cupid, and ending with a 
Overall, I believe this ad is successful with getting the point across. It ends with the statement written on the screen, "with 10 years of successful match making, Parship.com leading dating website," finally finishing with, "Sorry, Cupid!" It lacks the excitement that I personally look for in commercials, but the viewer captures the pathetic essence of Cupid's failure.

Bawadi Halawa Commercial #1

Bawadi Halawa Campaign

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K242bgwpr48

        
While listening to Ali Ali, the Creative Director of Elephant Cairo, during the thenetworkone seminar, he had mentioned the Bawadi Halawa campaign for Harvest Foods. The bread that that Elephant Cairo was pitching is known to be given to prisoners by their families as in-cell presents. Ali explained Elephant Cairo’s thinking while creating the campaign; prisoners dominate the proportion of the Egyptian society that eats halva. Each of the five commercials of this campaign shows a prisoner telling society what makes a great halva so amazing compared to the others. 

Although controversial, this Harvest Food campaign caught society’s attention because of the uniqueness of the casting. The clip shows an entrance into a prison, walking through a dark, concrete hallway with iron bars protecting he prisoners’ cells. One would believe that this is a commercial for a new movie or documentary because of the fear characterized with prisons. Once the voice over explains, “it works well with all kinds of breads,” continuing with a list of the different breads eaten with halva, the viewer realizes the innocent motives of the clip. The screen switches to a close up of the prisoner talking with his face blurred out, allowing the viewer to concentrate on what he is saying rather than his appearance. Obviously still set in prison, the star of the commercial is wearing a deep blue uniform that is contrasted with the bland walls behind him. He continues to explain how some halvas out there just crumble “like dust”; however, he passionately analyzes why Harvest Food’s halva outshines the rest. The commercial cuts to a deep focus while a voice yells from a small, bared in window, “tell them about the texture”, showing the shared adoration of the brand throughout the prison. The prisoner originally talking replies, “stay out of this butt head,” adding humor to the already bizarre tone of the commercial.

A continuous stream of mug shots are shown of prisoners smiling holding Harvest Food’s halva. The commercial ends with reiterating the point of this interesting casting, “those who know halva, love bawadi”. The blocking of the commercial allows the viewer to become curious about the setting. After the viewer realizes that it is a commercial for halva, they understand the humor. I think that the suspense of the continuity result in an effective commercial. It’s unique, yet true. The casting is different from any other commercial; therefore, successfully keeps the viewers interested in the message. 

#4 "Fuck the money, leave the world better than you found it"

Interscope Records:
Jennifer Frommer, SVP of Client Relations for Interscope Records, spoke to the group about her work with various famous artists and described how the process of booking companies with different bands or actors went. Eminem apparently is very creative, and brought his own idea for Red Bull. She told us that some hip hop artists can be very difficult to work with. At the end of the session, she handed me a flash drive that had some funky beats that Interscope sponsored; any one is welcome to come copy them from my computer!! I noticed that some of the songs have been 


David Simon's dark perspective towards politics and the film industry was interesting. He was extremely synical about everything, which fit my mood today after the Young Lions party last night. As the writer and producer of 'The Wire' and 'Treme', he let us in one how he views things inside hob. I found it interesting that he makes sure his characters are the most realistic he can make them, including the beer they drink. He knows if he puts an Abita beer in the hands of an African American, it will look unnatural. I liked his final advice, "Fuck the money, leave the world better than you found it" that he advised Esquire magazine. He stressed to follow what you love.


All of the speakers we have met with emphasize being tech savvy and stay current.


Social blurp from last night:
Where are we? Cannes is the most beautiful, savvy place I have every been to. They must be spending more money on these parties than I could even imagine. Last night, we attended the Young Lions Party on the beach. When you checked in, you were given a Nokia lanyard with three guitar picks for free drinks. Naturally, I thought that I could be best friends with the bartender...which did not actually follow through. The djs were playing only American music, fueling our group to dance. Everyone at the party was thrilled to give any sort of advertising advice that they had, and it was less intimidating to speak one-on-one. Besides our 10 euro cab ride home, what a fun night!

#3 "Risk"

IPG & WLN:
Waking up an hour earlier for day three was worth the extra shot of espresso. The day opened with IPG & Women's Leadership Network was an inspirational experience for women of all ages and races. Martha Stewart, Soledad O'brien of CNN, Kimberly Kadlec of Johnson & Johnson, Gail Heimann of Weber Shandwick, and Carol Lam of McCann Erickson Shanghai reflected on the struggles for females in the creative world. Although frightening for my dad, I was proud to learn that women control 85% of purchases around the world; ladies have more buying power than India and china combined! One would think that the gender holding so much power would sweep the high powered positions in this industry; however, this is not true. Stewart reported that while she was growing up, she never was intimidated about working in a high powered position, "work is work". Kadlec, a mother of three, stressed the importance of mentors throughout life. 
She assured that male mentors can provide valuable information to women, if not better than fellow women. "They are wired differently, and put a whole new perspective on life." She stressed the importance of having a confident swagger, and not second guess yourself. 


Yahoo:
Yahoo was the next seminar, and there were yahoo advertisers sitting next to us! Ross Levinsohn introduced actor, director, producer, creator of Sundance, and my new hero, Robert Redford. His eloquence filled the room when he calmly walked onto the stage. Two  of my close friends attended Sundance and raved about this festival that opened opportunities to undiscovered film producers. When asked his advice on becoming so successful, he advised, "risk. I see risk as not a dangerous thing. It doesn't have all positives, but it's life and you experience new things." 
He also told the crowd that you must have persistence. "Go to the other corner" was his adapted philosophy describing his inspiration for success. You must bring the undiscovered to the limelight. I also really enjoyed his mindset while he was going through college (which obviously would never work for me). He explained that he knew college was not his thing, so he left and went to learn through experience. He traveled around Europe, hitchhiking as much as he could in order to broaden his perspectives. In his opinion, everyone needs to get away from society and be alone in nature and simply...think. Towards the end of Redford's interview, he explained, "we don't know what happens after life so why not take risks, take chances". I admire his fearless fashion. Maybe if I take on his mindset, I will be as successful as he is. Maybe. 


Speakers:
Julie Winski, Global President Porter Novelli was interesting. She advised to be well rounded and be optimistic. I thoroughly enjoyed Noelle Cottrell, Creative Director for Fitzgeruld & Co in Atlanta, Ga. He stressed the importance of social media and making your own website. I might look into the advertising schools that he had mentioned as well. 
Nancy Seller of Fleishman-Hillard and Greg Pinelo of GGMB in Washington DC advised to stay current and connected. They also gave interviewing tips. Great people!

#2

BBDO:
To start off my second day of Cannes Lions, I attended the BBDO seminar. Vice-President of Microsoft, Richard Dunmall, and Chief Marketing Officer of BBDO Worldwide, Simon Bond, spoke about how to make your next billion. It was interesting incorporating the information that we had read about BBDO in Adland with the information during the seminar. The agency's headquarters are located in New York City and focuses on the philosophy of "the Work encompasses every kind of creative content that can touch the consumer and reinforce the brand." 
Microsoft and BBDO researched in five countries that had not been as popular in the advertising world to look at how people relate to screens (as well as relating them to different Star Wars archtypes). A person's relationship with various screens are a platform of completely unconscious behaviors. The first was the television screen. They described it as a jester and the everyman, meaning it entertains and is a comfortable part of an every day routine. The next was PC, that was described as a sage or an older sibling with wisdom. An example of this was how the ATT World Cup interactive header game informed the participant. Described as a new lover, the mobile phone followed. We become obsessed with our phones (as the South Africans informed us the first day). The Nike app that tracks running distance was an example of the mobile relationship. After was the tablet, or the wizard. I enjoyed both of the speakers during this seminar as well as the visual design of the powerpoint. 

Kraft:
Kraft foods was interesting, but was not what I was expecting. Dana Anderson, SVP, Marketing Strategy and Communications for Kraft Foods introduced author Malcolm Gladwell. It might have been my jet lag or my short attention span for history, but I could not pay attention during his lecture. He analyzed the Middle Eastern War and proved the point that number three typically comes out strongest because of their ability to improve earlier experiences' mistakes. 

Mindscapes Workshop:
I attended my first workshop, Mindscapes, about how to sabotage one part of the advertising strategy unique creative strategies. Different strategies that were shown were MTV Australia youth mistrust advertising with Snoop Dogg, Gilette's India's stubble look, and Doritos bring slow dancing back. 

Microsoft Advertising speaker:
My favorite part of the day was venturing to the Microsoft Advertising Tent. The Global Creative Solutions showed a picture showcasing some of today's most relevant and inspiring artists that look like a giant collage of pictures. It allows a person to adventure through every tiny experience, leading to another. I think this would be valuable for different music festivals to look into for marketing strategies in the future. I wanted to steal the Microsoft surface Samsung SUR40. When I own a huge company one day and am famous, this will be extremely useful to use during meetings or practicing on clients. 

Promo & Activation Awards:
The Promo & Activation, PR and Direct Lions Awards looked like the Oscars! I left the list of my favorite campaigns upstairs; however, I remembered being fascinated with uncovering Jay-Z with Bing. The point was to reveal random parts of Jay-Z's autobiography on various objects that pertained to his life such as on plates where he dined with Bill Clinton. This would be interesting to come across as a person outside of the campaign, and resulted in a lot of buzz in the press.

Tomorrow, I plan to spend more time at the Google tent, and win foosball against Belgium advertisers tomorrow. I've learned not to get an espresso martini; they give you heart attacks.

#1 "If you do what you always did, You will get what you always got."

GoViral:

The group rushed into the GoViral seminar, anxiously awaiting Jimmy Maymann and Martin Lindstrom's advice on "The Long Idea" vs. the big idea. I had no idea what to expect with my first experience, but I was thrilled to learn about their opinions regarding European football. Lindstrom compared advertising strategies with religion. It was interesting (yet embarrassing) to learn that 37% of our conversations were focused around brands. Lindstrom performed various tests on the brain in order to prove that 60% the time our brains shared the same activation while talking about religion and advertising. In Lindstrom's opinion, any subject that included grandeur, vision, rituals, symbols, sensory appeal, belonging, evangelism, mystery, storytelling, and power would be the most effective with people. Apple vs. Pc was a familiar example. This was an appealing seminar to open my festival experience, and I will look into buying  Lindstrom's book Brandwashing.

USA Today:

Susan Lilley from USA Today was delightful to hear from. She explained the process of choosing the judges for Cannes Lions. Very Interesting. 

Thenetworkone:
"If you do what you always did, You will get what you always got."

Networkone was my favorite seminar today. Ali Ali, John Matejczyk, and Rob Jack provided an energy that kept the crowd interested while constantly making the audience laugh. Their dry humor captured everyone in the room. Jack listed his three values of advertising: 1. If it makes you nervous that's good. (showing an example of New Zealanders playing music) 2. If it looks like and ad start again. (showing an example of Smirnoff night project and the end parties) 3. Make a lot of noise (example of a giant rubber duck in a New Zealand marina). I completely agree with all of his points, and hope one day to work with an agency with the same simple values. Matejczyk listed his values next: 1. Don't identify with a trend (advertising is always expanding) 2. Creativity is too important to restrain in ad briefs (Vincent  Van Gough and IMeet). They showed the Google ad "Pizza". Ali was last (my absolute favorite) with his ideas: 1. Don't be afraid to have fun and try new things! 2. It's not rocket science 3. Most consumers are smarter than the average client. He showed a tribute to the "Like" button on facebook and showed the importance of feedback and positive energy after the turmoil in Cairo. Right before ending the seminar, he showed a wonderful commercial for Panda cheese. The panda destroys different settings, making the people know that you can not resist the panda.

Oh, and saw Nick Jonas.

I ventured into the Entertainment & Leisure screenings with Mary Catherine, Claire, and Suzanne. I thoroughly enjoy commercials and film, so this was interesting to me. I wish that I had sat closer to random people talking so that I could get their insight on the screenings. I have a list of the commercials to look out for throughout the festival. Most, I noticed, had a more serious tone; however, I could not stop laughing during the Planet Fitness "Not his planet. It's yours" commercials. 

Overall, today was amazing. I am exhausted from the first day, yet anxiously awaiting tomorrow. Maybe I'll get to dish out some business cards. A few of the UGA students were filmed today; not my greatest shot...http://www.lionsdailynews.com/archive.htm?lid=146

la première journée du festival

(A packet of sunscreen from our Cannes bags filled with invitations to seminars and parties)

Walking into the swarming facility, a rush of adrenaline overcame my body. I held my Cannes Lions badge out for the french man to scan while peeking inside at the escalators filled with people from all over the world. The moment that we had been waiting had come!! Downstairs, there were kiosks of various creative activities to participate in; the smoothie bar obviously was my favorite. A blank room was waiting for the Young Lions' imaginations to explode and design the white walls, refrigerator, and energy drinks with different colored sharpies. Claire thought it would be hilarious to scribbled my phone number on the wall, but was thankfully drawn over shortly after. Television screens, sponsored by Nokia, showed tweets trending about the festival. Youtube had an interactive video that allowed anyone to participate in the most viewed videos. I might try to sleep in the facility tomorrow because there is so much to do!  

The Riviera Times

Today, we ventured to Nice to hear about how an English speaking paper survives in the South of France.
http://www.rivieratimes.com/index.php/contact.html

Juan-Les-Pins

Juan- Les- Pins- noun -a town in the commune of Antibes, in the Alpes-Maritimes, in southeastern France, on the Côte d'Azur, which is part of the Ligurian Sea. It is a major holiday destination, with casino, nightclubs and beaches, which are made of fine grained sand, and are not straight, but instead are cut with small inlets.