ShowBusinessMan [Search results for Mexico

  • The World's Fastest Purchase

    The World's Fastest Purchase
    Puma
    Advertiser: PUMA
    Product/Service: PUMA FAAS
    Entrant CIRCUS DF Mexico City, MEXICO
    Type of Entry: Use of Promo & Activation
    Title: THE WORLD´S FASTEST PURCHASE
    Entrant Company: CIRCUS DF Mexico City, MEXICO
    DM/Advertising Agency: CIRCUS DF Mexico City, MEXICO
    Executive Creative Director: Facundo Romero (Circus)
    Creative Director: Alejandro Stea (Circus)
    Creative Director: Javier de la Fuente (Circus)
    Copywriter: Ignacio Rozental (Circus)
    Art Director: Ezequiel Chareca (Circus)
    Describe the brief from the client.
    • Puma has the fastest sneakers in the world: the Faas500.
    • This is why we created the fastest purchase.
    • A promotion with one rule: the faster you buy your Faas500, the less you pay.

    Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.
    How did it work?

    At the press of a button, the customer received a ticket with their exact time of entrance. The faster they bought their Faas500, the higher the discount they received. Another button marked the completion of their purchase and the discount earned.

    Describe the results in as much detail as possible. 118 people saved 63,720 pesos in 372 minutes. The fastest sneakers are meant for the fastest people.

    It uses point of purchase + brand + public interaction under de concept of the campaign and generated both key message, and product selling.

  • 'The Aztecs, People of the Sun' at Pointe-à-Callière in Montreal

    'The Aztecs, People of the Sun' at Pointe-à-Callière in Montreal

    Pointe-à-Callière presents a major exclusive international exhibition, The Aztecs, People of the Sun. Visitors will have the unique privilege of learning about the people who founded the fabulous city of Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire and the site where Mexico City was built after the Spanish Conquest in 1521. The exhibition, presented from May 30 to October 25, offers insights into the dazzling world of a people who reigned over much of Mexico for two centuries.

    'The Aztecs, People of the Sun' at Pointe-à-Callière in Montreal
    Tláloc vessel. The highlights of the Montréal exhibits include some of the most remarkable remains from the Aztec civilization [Credit: Héctor Montaño, INAH]
    Exceptional participation by 16 Mexican museums

    The exhibition, produced by Pointe-à-Callière in collaboration with the Mexican National Council for Culture and the Arts – National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), showcases some 265 items from 16 Mexican museums, including the Templo Mayor Museum, an archaeological site museum like Pointe-à-Callière itself, and the Mexican National Museum of Anthropology. The tremendously varied objects are both spectacular and moving. Masks and statues, gold jewellery, figurines of women, children and animals, stamps for creating patterns on fabric and skin, sculptures and objects relating to the sacrifices required to keep the Sun on its daily journey, chests, boxes for offerings, vases and ceramics, all reflect the mysteries surrounding this people.

    Stunning artifacts

    The highlights of the Montréal exhibits include some of the most remarkable remains from the Aztec civilization. Two statues from the Templo Mayor Museum, each weighting 250 kg and standing 170 cm (nearly 6 feet) tall, are sure to appeal to visitors’ imaginations. The terra cotta statue of an eagle warrior, with jagged claws protruding from his knees front and back and his face emerging from an eagle’s beak, could also represent the rising Sun. This true work of art was found in the House of the Eagles, next to the Templo Mayor, used for rituals and penitential ceremonies. The terra cotta statue of Mictlantecuhtli shows the god of death leaning forward toward humans. With his skull-like face, pierced with holes for hair to be inserted, his shredded skin and clawed hands, stained with human blood, he is a terrifying sight!

    Other items with splendid colours, like the vessel representing Tlaloc, the rain god, tell us more about the Aztecs’ lifestyle and deities. This vase is considered one of the masterpieces of Aztec art, and shows the god with his typical “goggles” and fangs, in his usual blue colour. The pyramid shapes on his headdress are references to the mountains where the Aztecs believed Tlaloc stored the water that would later fall as rain.

    A wooden mask inlaid with turquoise, shell and mother-of-pearl is one of the rare Aztec “turquoise masks” to have survived. It may be a reference to the god Quetzalcoatl, whose face is emerging from the mouth of a serpent. This rare piece comes from the “Luigi Pigorini” National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography, in Rome.

    A ceramic piece with three faces, adorned with 13 circular gems, or chalchihuitl, evoking the 13 months of the sacred calendar, is also stunning. It decorated a brazier or a funerary urn, and shows the three phases of existence: in the centre, youth opening its eyes to the world, followed by an image of old age, and then the face of inescapable death, with its eyes closed, all referring to passing time. This sublime piece expresses the cyclical principle of duality, so important in Aztec thought, where life is reborn from death.

    There are also images drawn from historic codices, photos of archaeological sites and remains, and different videos. Then there are some 150 unique hand-built and painted figurines made in Mexico to create a colourful, joyous scene depicting the vast Tlatelolco market held north of Tenochtitlan in days gone by.

    Exhibition themes

    The exhibition focuses on the founding of Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire, their daily lives, the Templo Mayor, and of course the question of human sacrifices and the two Aztec calendars. It looks at many themes in their rich history: the Aztecs’ migration, guided by their god Huitzilopochtli, and the founding of Tenochtitlan; the remarkable urban planning and land use development in this “Venice of Mexico”; the Aztec art of war and the tribute paid by conquered peoples, as well as their agricultural techniques and the chinampas, the ingenious floating gardens that made the city self-sufficient. It also looks at the organization of Aztec society, with its different classes, a fascinating subject that addresses the role of women, education and the administration of justice. Aztec writing and the famous codices, manuscripts made up of glyphs or pictograms illustrating the spoken language, are examined in depth. Religion, an essential and omnipresent part of Aztec society, along with their various deities and rituals, are described. And lastly, the exhibition closes with a description of the Spanish conquest and the fall of the Aztec Empire, and the legacy of the Aztecs today.

    Who were the Aztecs?

    The story of the Aztecs began around the year 1000, when a warrior tribe, probably driven by famine, set out on a long southward migration. Despite many difficulties on their odyssey, they persevered, trusting in the god watching over them to reveal the place where they could finally found their city. And so it was that in 1325 the Aztecs, or Mexicas, founded the city of Tenochtitlan, building a temple on an island in marshy Lake Texcoco, in the central Mexican highlands. The capital was divided into four districts, watched over by the gods associated with the four cardinal directions. In a sacred precinct in the centre of the city stood the main temples, including the Templo Mayor or “Great Temple,” which would become the heart of their city and the centre of their spiritual and material universe. The Aztec Empire lasted almost 200 years, until 1521. They built lavish palaces, temples and markets there, creating an immense metropolis with a population of about 200,000 at its height. Theirs was an imperialistic society that relied on diplomacy and near-constant warfare to expand their empire and collect tribute in the form of regular “taxes” from the peoples they conquered.

    A highly innovative civilization

    Tenochtitlan was founded on a shallow, marshy lake. The Aztecs were able to increase the habitable area of their city by planting pilings and installing platforms to hold sediment from the lake. Thanks to this ingenious system, the city was crisscrossed by canals, and chinampas, or true floating gardens, were created where they could grow various crops. These remarkably fertile gardens produced up to seven harvests a year, feeding much of the city. The system was also used to recycle the city’s organic waste. The Aztecs developed trade in cocoa, maize and other crops, which were sold in markets of all sizes, and produced striking ceramics and magnificent gold and silver finery.

    A life governed by gods and calendars

    Like many other Mesoamerican peoples, the Aztecs divided their universe into three main levels: the sky, the Earth – an island with the Templo Mayor at its centre – and the underworld, inhabited by the god of the dead and his companion. The god and goddess of duality were the source of four creative principles occupying the “four roads of the universe” corresponding to the four cardinal directions. For the Aztecs it was important to constantly maintain the balance among the divine forces – a delicate exercise governed from day to day by following two calendars that dictated not only the maize planting and harvesting cycle but also the rituals required to appease some 200 different gods.

    The Aztecs considered time to be cyclical, and human lives to be influenced in turn by their gods, at regular intervals, as spelled out in the two interlocking calendars. The solar or annual calendar lasted 365 days and consisted of 18 months of 20 days, adding up to 360 days. The remaining five days were seen as highly inauspicious – it was best to avoid all activity on those days! In every month a major god was honoured. Since this calendar governed agricultural activity, it included many feasts dedicated to the rain god Tlaloc and to plant deities.

    The sacred calendar also dictated religious ceremonies and important dates. Each day was defined by a glyph or written sign (there were 20) and a number from 1 to 13. These signs and numbers combined in an unchanging order, and the same combination of signs and numbers repeated until the 13 x 20 possibilities were done, that is for 260 days. Every 52 years, the solar and sacred calendars aligned once again. For the Aztecs, this was a time of fear and anguish, since they didn’t know whether it signalled the end of the world.

    The importance of the Sun and human sacrifice

    The Aztecs worshipped the Sun, and feared that it would disappear if they didn’t perform various rituals. Just like many other pre-Columbian civilizations, they also engaged in human sacrifice. These sacrifices were considered offerings and an essential part of the various rituals associated with their religion and daily life. Victims were put to death to nourish the Sun and the Earth. When the rains failed to appear and crops were at risk, for instance, the Aztecs would sacrifice children to regain the favour of the rain god. Different kinds of victims were sacrificed: warriors captured in battle, slaves, people condemned to death for offences, and children.

    Highly significant codices

    The Aztecs had a special form of writing. They transcribed their language, Nahuatl, using a combination of glyphs, figures and graphic elements. These manuscripts, known as codices, are an inexhaustible source of details about their economy, and include tax rolls, property registers, politics, history, education, religion, sacred rituals and science. They are key to our understanding of Aztec civilization.

    The Aztec heritage

    When he first saw Tenochtitlan and its many canals, Hernán Cortés of Spain compared it with Venice. But despite his admiration for the city, he had no scruples about laying it to waste in 1521. Cortés left Cuba with about 500 men, on a mission to secure the interior of Mexico. After being greeted with splendid gifts by Moctezuma II, Cortés soon took the Aztec Emperor prisoner. The destruction of Tenochtitlan marked the end of the Aztec Empire and launched the colonization of all of Latin America.

    Today the Aztec civilization is considered one of the most remarkable in human history. Many archaeological digs and different museums celebrate their exceptional contribution to world heritage. Mexico City, the country’s capital and largest metropolis, was built atop the ruins of the superb city of Tenochtitlan. Today it is home to some 22 million people. The Aztec language, Nahuatl, is still spoken by about 1.6 million Nahuas. Today’s Mexicans also carry the memory of the Aztecs in their name. When their god Huitzilopochtli guided the Aztecs to the site where they would found Tenochtitlan, he called his people Mexicas. Even today, a divine eagle perched on a cactus devouring a serpent – the sign that the god had sent to the high priest of the Aztecs to tell them where to found their city – adorns the Mexican flag and banknotes. And one can still travel by boat along the canals built by the Aztecs, in Xochimilco and other districts of Mexico City.

    Source: Pointe-à-Callière [May 29, 2015]

  • 'The Maya – Language of Beauty' at the Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum, Berlin

    'The Maya – Language of Beauty' at the Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum, Berlin

    The Maya are one of the oldest cultures in the world. This exhibition is all about the magnificent artistic forms of expression of the Maya. With a collection of around 300 works of art, including many Mexican national treasures, it displays the fundamental aspects of pre-Hispanic art: the body and the physique are central to this exhibition.

    'The Maya – Language of Beauty' at the Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum, Berlin
    The Maya present their vision of life using various materials and techniques from their daily life, splendid buildings and works of art. They describe their relationship with gods, their everyday existence, their literature, their astronomy, their music and their dances. What often dominates these works is an idealised notion of humanity, which the Maya retained not only in their conception of humans and the ideal of beauty, but also in the location of mankind in the cosmos.

    'The Maya – Language of Beauty' at the Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum, Berlin
    Carved figure from Monument 114 [Credit: © INAH. Museo Regional de Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas]
    In 2016, Mexico and Germany are organising a joint year of culture. The highlights include this Mayan exhibition with showpieces that are among Mexico’s most precious cultural assets. On the Yucatán Peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico, between 500 B.C. and 1500 A.D., they created a variety of the highest artistic forms in art too, and with reliefs, busts and figures made of stone or clay, they were far ahead of all the contemporary cultures on their continent.

    'The Maya – Language of Beauty' at the Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum, Berlin
    Figure of a young man [Credit: © INAH. Museo Regional de Antropología, Carlos Pellicer Cámara. Villahermosa, Tabasco]
    Religion characterised their culture. To appease the gods, they subjected themselves to various rites, to which the cult of the body was central, as is demonstrated by numerous artefacts.

    'The Maya – Language of Beauty' at the Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum, Berlin
    Ballplayer [Credit: © INAH. Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexiko]
    To achieve their ideal of beauty, they used the body as a “canvas”. They altered their physical appearance in many ways. This ranged from everyday methods such as hairstyles and skin colour to tooth jewellery, scars, tattoos and artistic modification of the body shape, which changed the appearance for life and stood as a visible expression of cultural identity and social belonging.

    'The Maya – Language of Beauty' at the Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum, Berlin
    Incense burner [Credit: © INAH. Museo Regional de Antropología. Palacio Cantón, Mérida, Yucatán]
    Clothing indicated the social status of a person. The majority of the population dressed simply: women wore a “huipil”, a kind of tunic, and men wore a loincloth. The noble dressed elegantly with artistically worked clothing, accessories such as belts, necklaces, head coverings, and breast and head ornaments set with precious stones and feathers, as can be seen in quite a number of the artefacts.

    'The Maya – Language of Beauty' at the Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum, Berlin
    Architectural element [Credit: © INAH. Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexiko]
    The Maya regarded the differences between the human and animal kingdoms as part of their world view, which was based on complementary contrasts: life and death, humankind and nature, human and animal. They believed animals possessed supernatural powers and could speak and think. Those who reigned reinforced their power by attributing special abilities to themselves, which enabled them to leave their body at night and move freely in the form of incredible animal-like beings.

    'The Maya – Language of Beauty' at the Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum, Berlin
    Figure of King [Credit: © INAH. Museo Regional de Antropología. Palacio Cantón, Mérida, Yucatán]
    The Maya worshipped many gods and shrines. They believed everything originating from unexplainable and fearsome natural phenomena as well as the material and spiritual were an expression of all existence. The representatives of these deities possessed human characteristics with imaginative components; the overlaying of various gods resulted in contrasting manifestations. Like nature itself, they were able to be male and female, young and old, animal and human, creative and destructive at the same time.

    'The Maya – Language of Beauty' at the Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum, Berlin
    Woman's torso [Credit: © INAH. Museo Regional de Antropología, Palacio Cantón. Mérida, Yucatán]
    The enigmatic writings of the Maya have recently been decrypted, the ruling dynasties are known, number systems and calendar calculations have been investigated, and yet the Mayan Indians, of which eight million remain today, are still shrouded in mystery.

    The exhibition will run until 7 August 2016.

    Source: Martin-Gropius-Bau [July 12, 2016]

  • GreenPeace To Levi's "Go Forth and Detox!"

    GreenPeace To Levi's "Go Forth and Detox!"


    Greenpeace turns the Levi's Go Forth ad campaign into their cause with "Go Forth and Detox."

    They say you can tell next season's hottest trend by looking at the colour of the rivers in Mexico and China. That's because global fashion brands like Levi's are using hazardous chemicals and dyes to make our clothes.
    But it doesn't have to be this way.
    Thanks to global People Power, we were able to convince Zara, the world’s largest retailer, to commit to work with their suppliers and clean up their toxic water pollution.
    Levi's is the world's biggest jeans producer, but they have yet to make a credible and ambitious commitment to Detox.
    This is their time to give a damn. To be daring. To be a leader. To take a stand. To live the truth.
    Join fashion-lovers, activists, models and designers in demanding Levi's Go Forth and Detox!

    17 activists spread a thousand square meter yellow arrow banner pointing at the waste water treatment plant for Lavamex — one of Levi's suppliers in Mexico. The banner (bearing Levi's logo) reads: "LEVIS, Stop Polluting Mexico's rivers" and "Queremos Ríos Sin Tóxicos" (in Spanish). GreenPeace claims that the Lavamex facility is operating with little transparency and under weak Mexican laws, which allow them to avoid scrutiny of their manufacturing processes. Greenpeace goes to say they discovered nonylphenol (NP), a hormone disruptor during tests from a Lavamex discharge pipe.

  • The Texas rangers will be engaged in protection of border with Mexico

    The Texas rangers will be engaged in protection of border with Mexico

    The Texas ranger

    Special groups of the Texas rangers will be engaged in protection of the American-Mexican border, informs Associated Press.

    As the governor of Texas Rick Perry has declared, the federal government could not cope with a growing crime rate on border, and the local government should be protected independently. According to critics, Perry's message has populist character.

    According to the governor-republican who earlier repeatedly opposed politicians of the federal government, rangers should block border sites where especially intensively there is a narcotraffic and violence level is high. Besides, a special problem — protection of remote areas where owners of farms and ranches complain of flow of smugglers and gangsters from Mexico with which not in forces to consult local bodies of the law and order and boundary guards.

    "Perry's today's statement — the next empty promise about safety of the borders, made in a year of elections", — was declared by representative Kay Bailey Hutchison — the senator from Texas which will compete to Perry on governor's elections-2010. In Perry's answer named position Hutchison "hypocritical" as the woman-politician "is in Washington 16 years", but does not undertake the measures necessary for safety of border in Texas.

    Throughout 2009 Perry repeatedly asked the minister of national safety Janet Ann Napolitano and president of Barack Obama to send for protection of the Texas site of border the additional armed contingent of national guards as a part of thousand persons. Till now it have not made, as disputes on an order of financing and placing of guardsmen proceed.

    The Texas rangers — the elite law-enforcement department generated in 1835 which are under the aegis of department of public safety of the State of Texas. At present number of rangers — approximately 140 persons. They are engaged in investigation of the important criminal cases, provide safety of the governor, catch especially dangerous criminals. According to Perry, new mission of rangers should become the most important for all their history.

  • The Champagne Bureau Wants You To Know Champagne Is From France

    The Champagne Bureau Wants You To Know Champagne Is From France

    We all know where our favorite bottle of the bubbly comes from right? Champagne, France of course, and for those of you who didn't know that, the Champagne Bureau in the USA hopes to reclaim it's name and remind consumers of it's true and only origins with a new ad campaign. The first print ad “Maine lobster from Kansas” is a gentle reminder and to the point, created by ad agency Creature.

    Full press release below, visit www.champagne.us for more.

    Champagne Only Comes From Champagne, Reaffirms New Ad Campaign

    Campaign Highlights Importance of Knowing Products’ True Geographic Origins
    WASHINGTON – The Champagne Bureau, USA, representing the growers and houses of Champagne, today launched a new national advertising campaign as part of a large-scale effort to reclaim its name in the U.S. marketplace. Champagne, the sparkling wine of legends, can only come from the unique region of Champagne, France, where centuries of experience with specific soils and climate have enabled the people to develop a tradition and expertise that makes all the difference. The ad campaign is designed to remind consumers of the unique role location plays in creating their wines and to tap into growing American consumer interest in geographic origin. Posing questions like “Maine Lobster from Kansas?” the ad reminds consumers of the importance of authenticity and of knowing products’ true origins.

    The ad, which will appear in print, outdoor and digital formats and can be seen at www.champagne.us,
    highlights the gap between American consumers’ growing desire to know the true origins of their purchases
    and persistent legal loopholes that create confusion about where certain products actually originate. The
    campaign reminds consumers that Champagne only comes from Champagne, France, just as Napa Valley wines come from Napa Valley and Maine Lobster from Maine.

    “More than ever before, U.S. consumers are seeking information about how and where their wine and other
    goods are produced,” said Sam Heitner, director of the Champagne Bureau, USA. “This campaign uses humor and well understood U.S. location based products to encourage consumers to take a moment and consider the authenticity of what they are buying. U.S. consumers are savvy and this reminds them to say ’of course not‘ when faced with products that lack authenticity and to seek out products that come from unique places like Champagne from Champagne, France, Maine lobsters from Maine and Napa Valley wines from Napa Valley, California.”

    The ad highlights a legal loophole in federal law that allows a few U.S. sparkling wine producers to mislead
    consumers by labeling their products “Champagne” even though they do not originate from Champagne,
    France. In December 2006, Congress passed legislation banning the future misuse of 16 wine place names, including Champagne. While that seemed a step in the right direction, the legislation did not address the
    grandfathering of labels currently misusing Champagne’s name and those of 15 other wine regions.

    Unfortunately, almost half of the bottles in stores and restaurants still misuse the Champagne name, which
    makes the grandfathering particularly problematic for consumers who want authentic Champagne.
    The United States is one of the last industrialized countries in the world to fail to adequately protect the
    Champagne name. In fact, the majority of the world’s countries, including the European Union, China, and a
    growing number of other wine-producing countries from Australia to Chile reserve the Champagne name for
    sparkling wines from Champagne, France. A bottle with the term “California Champagne” or “American
    Champagne” cannot be sold in Mexico and, come Jan 1, 2014, will not be able to be sold in Canada. In this
    area, the United States is out of step with the majority of truth-in-labeling laws.

    The campaign uses light-hearted examples such as “Maine lobster from Kansas,” but the practice of
    misappropriating the names of other places is a trend that faces many regions, and it has the potential of
    misleading the consumer. “Truth-in-labeling is a very important issue for U.S. consumers and for the Maine Lobster community,” said Marianne LaCroix, acting executive director at the Maine Lobster Council. “We continue to see restaurants and retailers advertising Maine lobster, yet serving lobsters that are from other places. We are proud to stand with Champagne to remind U.S. consumers to know where their products come from and not stand for those who mislead.”

    “Napa Valley wines come from Napa Valley and Champagne comes from Champagne, France. These are
    important facts that consumers need to be able to believe in when they see these names on wine labels,” said
    Linda Reiff, executive director of the Napa Valley Vintners. “Unfortunately we all have to fight to protect our
    names as some seek to profit off them by deceiving consumers. We are honored to be a part of Champagne's advertising campaign and hope it encourages consumers to demand more truthful and accurate wine labeling.”

    The ads will appear in a wide range of print and digital formats including placements in The New Yorker, Food & Wine, and Travel + Leisure as well as on billboards in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, DC and online on a wide variety of sites including New York Times.com, Vanity Fair, GQ and the Wall Street Journal.

  • Heineken Invite To Open Design Explorations — Edition 2: The Lounge

    Heineken Invite To Open Design Explorations — Edition 2: The Lounge

    Heineken is looking for designers, creative thinkers, makers and doers to co-create the Lounge of the future. Submit your portfolio at http://heineken.tumblr.com to be a part of a global design collaboration that will be unveiled at Milan Design Week in 2014.

    We’re looking for up-and-coming talents in graphic-, product-, motion-, fashion- and interior design. So you have a unique way of looking at nightlife design, and how it can influence behavior for the better – and a portfolio to prove it? The four hubs for this year’s competition will be in New York City, Singapore, Warsaw and Mexico City. Application is open from 9th of April to 31st of May 2013.
    We are looking for people that are open to new ways of co-creation with other creatives from all around the world. Who are not afraid to share first ideas and rough concepts. In the month of September we will require full dedication as this is when we will tackle the conceptual thinking around the project.

  • Leo Messi Helps His Mom Soothe His Baby From Crying In New WeChat Commercial

    Leo Messi Helps His Mom Soothe His Baby From Crying In New WeChat Commercial

    Stardust acted as the fully integrated creative agency + production arm, from concept through final distribution, for a new campaign for China's wildly popular messaging app WeChat. The app is expanding its global reach, kicking off an international ad campaign this month, featuring soccer superstar Lionel Messi.
    Both spots have a fatherhood theme. In the first, Messi is shown trading voice messages (in Spanish) with Grandma, who is trying to soothe his crying infant son. He gets the baby to laugh by — surprise! — performing soccer juggling tricks shown to the baby via WeChat's video chat function. The video posted on YouTube by WeChat India netted more than 1.7 million views after just one week.
    The global campaign targets 15 markets, including Argentina and Spain where Mr. Messi is a superstar. The others are: Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey. In addition to being posted on YouTube, the two spots will air on television in the 15 markets. There will be accompanying print and outdoor advertising in at least some markets.
    “Our goal was to show Messi in relatable, down-to-earth scenarios so our audience could easily identify with him and his use of the product; versus building the more common, larger-than-life concept around him that only puts distance between him, the product and the consumer base," Stardust Co-Owner/Managing Partner Dexton Deboree said in a statement provided by Tencent. “The opportunity for Stardust was one that really allowed Stardust to rely on our unique strengths to tackle a large brand’s challenge. We worked hand-in-hand with the team at Tencent and WeChat to concept a campaign that would work for launching their product to a large number of new countries, around the globe, while utilizing some consistencies between other non-US campaigns they had done in other markets, all within a single campaign, all within very tight logistics in both the execution and deployment.”
    “We were intimately involved from beginning to end. Both cultural and time zone challenges presented hurdles we don't usually have to jump. In this case, I think it is the versatility of the Stardust team that allowed us to work across 3 time zones seamlessly,” added Stardust Co-Owner and ECD Seth Epstein.
    WeChat already has more than 300 million registered user accounts, including 70 million outside China, mostly in Asian markets. WeChat started as a messaging app similar to WhatsApp, but the addition of video calls, photo sharing, location-based services and other Social features also make it similar to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Skype. WeChat's popularity outside of China has soared recently, growing by 20 million registered user accounts to reach 70 million in only six weeks. The growth is attributed to promotional campaigns, special WeChat deals provided through some Asian telco operators, and the increasing number of smartphone users in target markets. WeChat has not officially launched in the U.S., though Tencent has an American office doing groundwork and studying the market.

    Credits:
    Client: WeChat
    Spot Titles: “Good Luck”: 30; “Father’s Day”: 30
    Creative Advertising Agency & Production Company: Stardust
    Executive Creative Director: Seth Epstein
    Managing Partner/Executive Producer: Dexton Deboree
    Copywriter(s): Seth Epstein & Dexton Deboree
    Director: Seth Epstein
    Live Action Executive Producer: Dexton Deboree
    Producer: Sarah Casillas
    Local (Spain) Live Action Executive Producer: Esther de Udaeta & Ernest Gual
    Line Producer: Thersea Lucas

    Visual Effects Company: Stardust
    Art Director/Lead Designer: Ling Feng
    Designers: Lynn Cho, Luis Salcedo, Karen To
    Editor: Fred Fouquet
    Flame Artist: Todd Mesher
    2D Animators/Compositors: Taekyu Kim, Richard Taylor, Pietro Desopo
    Rotoscope/Clean-Up Artist: Michael Plescia

    Music & Sound Design Company: Stardust
    Sound Design & Mix: Brian Peyton
    Music Composer: Jesse Mattson

  • Express Spring Collection Canada TV Commercial

    Express Spring Collection Canada TV Commercial

    The best thing about fashion retailer Express Canada's new commercial for the 2013 Spring Collection that debuted in the first-ever Express international runway show in Mexico City is the song Closer by Tegan and Sara.

  • Black Sun of a Gun

    Black Sun of a Gun

    El Rico

    El Rico

    What happens when a stuntman, actor/director and screenwriter walk into a Gold Coast bar? They come up with the concept for an action fantasy film that is already raising eyebrows in Hollywood no joke. Rene Perrin, Avelino `El Rico' Lescot and Susan Macguillicuddy are the trio behind The Black Sun, which recently took out the Most Ambitious Screenplay award at the 2015 International Action on Film Festival in Los Angeles.

    The locals are hoping the added hype surrounding their screenplay will push the project into production and attract the eye of distributors. Lescot, a Gold Coast-based actor, stuntman and filmmaker who has worked on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Peter Pan and The Condemned, said The Black Sun incorporates several genres.

    ``It's enchanting and mystical,'' he said.
    ``It's a gypsy, action, adventure, romance, western with a strong supernatural feel that is set in the Pacific Islands, Mexico, China, New Zealand and here.
    ``At the moment the film industry needs something different but financially manageable and that's The Black Sun.''

    He said The Black Sun's `twist ending' had helped draw attention to the project. The film follows a warrior's worldwide journey on the Matariki boat, which Lescot said is `like another star of the film'. Lescot and Perrin have an impressive international fanbase thanks to the success of their action film Among Dead Men. It won several awards for best fight choreography and generated considerable profits in DVD sales in Canada, Germany, Thailand, Cambodia, Poland, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Hong Kong. It also grossed several times its $7000 budget in DVD sales through Walmart in the US. Perrin, who has worked as a stunt performer on films such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Daybreakers, Nim's Island, Fool's Gold and Ghost Ship, said they wanted to combine their `love of action with a love of romance' in The Black Sun.

    Balancing out the testosterone on the team is screenwriter Susan Macguillicuddy. Despite having worked with the likes of Cate Blanchett, Jessica Alba, Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffiths, Macguillicuddy said working with `the boys' on The Black Sun has been her `most cherished writing experience'.

    ``It's like we each started at one end of the canvas and worked our way to the middle, fine-tuning the parts of the script we liked,'' she said.
    ``It took us about a year and hundreds of meetings but we're happy with the finished product.
    ``We wanted to do something very avant garde with the genre and something new.
    ``Getting the Most Ambitious Screenplay award means we really pushed the genre, which is what we set out to do.''

    International distributors have shown interest in The Black Sun and the trio is currently in the process of looking for investors.

    Black Sun of a Gun, 9 out of 10 [based on 672 votes]
  • Greatness Awaits In Sony PlayStation Commercial

    Greatness Awaits In Sony PlayStation Commercial

    Sony PlayStation — Greatness Awaits. Who are you to deny greatness? If you would deny it to yourself, you would deny it to the entire world. And we will not be denied.

    Credits:
    Advertising Agency: BBH, New York, USA
    Chief Creative Officer: John Patroulis
    Executive Creative Director: Ari Weiss
    Creative Director: Nate Able
    Copywriter: Rick Herrera
    Head of Integrated Production: Justin Booth-Clibborn
    Senior Producer: Jennifer Moore Bell
    Production Assistant: AJ Gutierrez
    Head of Account Management: Armando Turco
    Account Director: Melissa Hill
    Account Manager: Georgie Gooley
    Account Coordinator: Marshal Kerns
    Production Company: MJZ
    Director: Rupert Sanders
    Director of Photography: Greig Fraser
    President: David Zander
    Executive Producer: Kate Leahy
    Producer: Laurie Boccaccio
    Production Supervisor: Adriana Cebada Mora
    Production Designer: Dominic Watkins
    Costume Designer: Mayes Rubeo
    Local Production Company: Kinema Films de Mexico
    Local Production Co. Producer: Jose Ludlow
    Editorial: Work Post NY
    Executive Producer: Erica Thompson
    Editor: Neil Smith
    Assistant Editor: Healy Snow
    VFX & Finishing: The Mill NY
    Exec Producer: Jo Arghiris
    Senior VFX Producer: Charlotte Arnold
    VFX Supervisor: Iwan Zwarts
    VFX Supervisor: Rob Petrie
    Assistant Producer: Juan Handal
    Colour Producer: Heath Raymond
    Colourist: Fergus McCall
    2D Lead Compositor: Iwan Zwarts
    2D Compositing Artists: Kyle Cody, Dan DiFelice,
    Additional: Danny Morris, John Mangia, Ilia Mokhtareizadeh, Greg Spencer, Dan Giraldo
    2D Conforms and Cut-downs: Jade Kim
    3D Lead Artists: Rob Petrie and Joji Tsuruga
    3D Lead Lighter: Olivier Mitonneau
    3D Animators: Jeff Lopez, Alex Allain, Tyler Hurd
    3D Artists: Olivier Varteressian, Per Bergsten, Ivan Luque Cueller, Billy Dangyoon Jang, Boris Ustaev, Hassan Taimur, Ruben Vandebroek, Tim Kim
    3D MASSIVE: Wyattt Savarese, Ed Hicks, Hassan Tuimir
    3D FX: Nick Couret, Ian Baxter, Phil Mayer, Cedrick Grousse
    Matte Painting: Can Y. Sanalan
    Title Design: Mario Stipinovich, Tetsuro Mise, Eugene Kolb
    LIDAR services provided by Scanable: Travis Reinke
    Rotoscoping provided by: Trace VFX
    Sound Designer: Brian Emrich at Trinitite
    Music: Woodwork Music
    Music Producer: Andrew Oswarek
    Composer: Phil Kay
    Mix: Sound Lounge
    Mixer: Tom Jucarone