The new “Vikings” exhibition at Discovery Times Square is, in a sense, built around something that isn’t there.

The exhibition, which opens on Friday, was organized by the Swedish History Museum in conjunction with MuseumPartners in Austria, and the people behind it really want you to know that during the 350 years (750 to 1100) that Viking culture flourished, horned helmets were never a thing. They have amassed 500 artifacts — some copies; many the genuine article — to make the point.

There’s not a horned helmet among them (unless you count an amusing sight gag as you exit), because no such headpiece has ever come out of an archaeological dig. The ubiquitous headgear often associated with Vikings, we’re told in the exhibition, actually came out of the imagination of an 1876 costume designer staging a Wagner opera. And that’s not the only misperception this exhibition is intent on correcting.

The first thing you see in the introductory film as you enter is a farming scene. Raiding was certainly part of what Vikings did, but it is de-emphasized here — perhaps too much so — in favor of displays that highlight social and religious life and try to give women their due.

Countless fictional portrayals might have left the impression that Viking culture was somehow 90 percent male, wild-haired and sword-wielding, but of course it wasn’t, as the jewelry and many other women’s artifacts here attest. The now-rusted keys on display, we’re told, were often carried by women, because with men frequently on the road, they ran the farm.

What’s most interesting about the exhibition, though, is the way it places Vikings within the evolving world. It includes, for instance, a shell found on Gotland, the Swedish island, that came from the waters off distant Cyprus, because one thing Vikings were good at was getting around.

From Scandinavia, the Vikings vikinged far and wide, encountering other emerging cultures. The exhibition is organized by themes rather than chronologically, and the cross-cultural pollination is especially clear in a section on religion. Norse gods and Christian symbolism combine on brooches and pendants, tangible evidence of the kind of slow cultural conquest or merging that is harder to dramatize than a plain old military invasion but fascinating to contemplate.

The ships that made all this roaming possible are well represented. There’s a reproduction of a Viking boat, but just as compelling is a display that speaks to the archaeologist’s frustration: So many materials, including wood, deteriorate in a harsh climate. The display — “We call it the ghost ship,” Ms. Hejll said — consists only of what might be left of a ship at an archaeological dig: the metal hardware that held it together. Dozens of weatherworn rivets and other pieces of ancient hardware dangle from strings, creating the shape of a vessel; only the actual vessel is missing.

The exhibition is geared toward a general audience, with several interactive features likely to appeal to children. One especially illuminating one involves shipbuilding. It presents a graphic display of a landscape, then asks you to select what you’d need to build a Viking ship. Rope? Sure — make that choice and all the horses in the landscape lose their tails, because horsetail hair was used for rope. Wood? Of course — make that selection and all the trees disappear. Deforestation, it turns out, was not just an Industrial Age problem. The Viking commitment to a seafaring life was also a commitment to expend a lot of natural resources.

The Vikings Exhibition runs from Feb. 5 – Sept. 5, 2016, at Discovery Times Square: 226 West 44th Street, Manhattan, NYC.

Author: Neil Genzlinger | Source: The New York Times [March 02, 2016]

Electrofunk duo Chromeo

From his breakout hit Boy to starring in next year’s blockbuster Green Lantern (above), New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi is a shining light in Hollywood. The 35-year-old Maori writer, director, producer and artist first burst onto the scene in 2016 with his Oscar-nominated short film Two Cars, One Night and followed that success in 2015 with his debut feature Eagle Vs Shark. It starred his close friend Jermaine Clement of Flight Of The Conchords fame and Waititi also came on board to write and direct several episodes of the hit show. But it is his latest film Boy that is truly putting him on the world stage.

Whilst in competition at the prestigious Sundance film festival earlier this year, executives from Warner Brothers Studio saw Waititi performing in Boy and quickly approached him about a role in Green Lantern. Despite coming from an acting background in live theatre and perfoming in a comedy troupe with Jermaine, Waititi said it was strange to give up the creative reigns and return to performing.

“They saw Boy and were looking for someone to play this character, so I read for it and then suddenly I was an actor again,” he said.
“It was weird because it wasn’t part of the plan for me. I just wanted to do my thing and keep making films and be a director.
“It was very, very weird and I found it kind of strange to go from someone whose been in control for ages to sitting around on set waiting for your scene.
“Your part of it, but your also not part of it.
“It was fucking weird to be honest, but I loved it and watching how everything is done.”Green Lantern is the $150m mega blockbuster based on the DC Comics series of the same name and stars Ryan Reynolds in the title role (above). Waititi said he plays the role of Green Lantern’s faithful sidekick Thomas Kalmaku in the film.
“I can’t even pronounce his name properly because he’s supposed to be of Native American heritage,” he said.
“He doesn’t have any powers or do any of the action scenes.
“It’s basically that….the guy is like a tech geek. That old chestnut.
“It’s not a giant role or anything and you never know if you’re still going to be in it at the end of the movie.
“While I was shooting I was thinking, as a filmmaker, you don’t really need this scene. But I wasn’t going to tell them that.”

Tipped as being the biggest blockbuster of 2011, there has been a lot of hype surrounding the special effects used on Green Lantern. Reynolds suit, for instance, is being created using CGI technology and will constantly evolve throughout the film. Although Waititi said he didn’t get to see what the suit looked like during filming, what he did see of the production was `amazing’.

“I haven’t seen any of the suit stuff because they hadn’t even decided what the suit was going to look like when we were shooting,” he said.
“They’ve had almost a year since filming to develop that now, but the art I saw was amazing. “It’s going to look incredible.
“That was very exciting for me because although I saw some of the green screen stuff, there’s no way to imagine what it’s going to look like.
“I just gave up and said my lines.
“I imagined it would look awesome down the track but at that moment it was just a bunch of weird people in normal clothes standing around with cameras.
“I wasn’t even in those scenes, I just went to watch their spotted-suit acting.”
Being involved in one of the most highly anticipated comic-book movies was a dream come true for Waititi (above), who said he used to `collect comics’ when he was younger.
“I was not really into the Green Lantern mythology, but I was more of a Batman guy,” he said.
“Batman was just a guy with determination who was badass and good at beating people up and fighting.
“He had the dark past and that appealed to me.
“I was a little bit into X-Men, but it got quite complicated with all the characters.”

But don’t get too excited, because Waititi said he is not likely return to the superhero genre anytime soon.

“It’s not really my style,” he said.
“I’m better suited to these character pieces and its sort of my background.
“There’s less stress and less stuff that’s over my head.”

Here is where. I chatted with the friendly P-Thugg (above right) from electrofunk duo Chromeo yesterday about music, movies, his BFF Dave 1 and asked the question a legion of Yo Gabba Gabba fans have been wanting to know — does he wash his hands?

“Yeah, always,” he said.
So, now that’s settled, here are his favourite movies:
“Scarface, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Ghost Busters, Beverley Hills Cop and Naked Gun.”

For those who haven’t been exposed to their brilliance before, I suggest you check out Chromeo’s video for their ridiculously catchy new song Don’t Turn The Lights On, off their forthcoming album Business Casual.

MAD MEN

American filmmaker Paul Feig was always the bridesmaid and never the bride when it came to his career. At least that's how he saw it. But at 48-years old he's now the blushing bride. The writer, director and producer's latest film Bridesmaids is a colossal success, having just passed the $130 million mark at the US box office and opening in Australia last week. Feig said he relates to the central character Annie (Kristen Wiig) who's at a slump in her professional and personal life.

``It's the exactly kind of story I do in everything,'' he said.
``This person doesn't know where they belong in the grand scheme of things and that appeals to me because that's how I feel in every single moment of my life, even when things are going right.
``That's how I felt for a lot of my career. I mean, I think I'm making good work and then . . .
``Bridesmaids is the first thing I've had a big part in that's been successful.''

Success is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to Feig. After meeting Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, The 40-Year Old Virgin) when they were both teenagers and doing stand-up together, the pair created Emmy-nominated teen series Freaks and Geeks. It was cancelled before the end of the first season, but not before it launched the careers of its stars James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel and Linda Cardellini. It also became a cult hit. Feig went on to direct several unsuccessful features such as I Am David and Unaccompanied Minors, before making a considerably more successful return to TV directing Arrested Development, 30 Rock, Mad Men, Weeds and the US version of The Office.

But it was Apatow who coaxed him back to the big screen with a ``fantastic script'' from former Saturday Night Live star Kristen Wiig and her writing partner Annie Mumolo.

``With Bridesmaids, we wanted to tell a very relatable and real story that appealed to both women and men,'' he said.
``It was easy to avoid all the pitfalls of the chick flick genre because it's not how any of us thought.
``Those types of films come from people doing things they think women want to see, which is really condescending.
``We knew we wanted to go R-rated with it and we wanted women to see other women on screen who are just as dirty as they are.''

From suffering food poisoning in a bridal shop to dropping the C-bomb, the ensemble cast of Bridesmaids don't play clean. Feig said he and executive producer Apatow even shot a PG-version of every scene in case the women at test screenings didn't like it.

``But they loved it,'' he said.

The film follows a rag-tag group of Bridesmaids as they're led through the pre-wedding rituals of bachelorette parties, bridal showers and dress fittings. Led by Wiig, Bridemaids also stars Melissa McCarthy, Jon Hamm, Aussies Rose Byrne and Rebel Wilson (Thank God You're Here, Fat Pizza) in her first big Hollywood role. Wilson plays the sister of Annie's weird room mate, Little Britain's Matt Lucas.

``I'm so happy Rebel's in it, I'm such a big fan of hers,'' said Feig.
``The room mates weren't originally in the script but we knew Matt Lucas wanted to do something in the film but we didn't know where or what.
``Then Rebel came in to audition for one of the bridemaids and she was so hilarious, I turned and said to Judd `she looks like Matt's sister.'
``She's such a great improvisational comedienne and it's so exciting to have her in it.''

With Bridemaids a financial and critical success and talk of a sequel, Feig and Apatow are now working on another comedy starring Mad Men's Jon Hamm. Hamm has openly spoken about his appreciation of the skilled and suave Fieg - who's known for wearing a suit to work everyday.

``Other directors are just a bunch of slobs,'' joked Feig, in reference to the director's stereotype of casual dressers.
``I've been doing it for the past 11 years.
``In fact, I went to direct Mad Men and I showed up on the first day and they thought I was there for casting.''

An emotional and uplifting new TV ad for Toronto's Hospital For Children's (Sick Kids) fall brand campaign. The commercial is wrapped around their signature line "Together We Will," and helps to capture the strength, compassion and determination that make SickKids the incredible place that it is.
This spot feature real SickKids patients, families and staff singing along to Roy Orbison's "You Got It" and highlights unconditional love among families and the lengths to which they go, together with SickKids staff, to help make sick children better.

Learn more about the campaign please visit www.sickkidsfoundation.com/together. Full Press Release below.

SickKids campaign rallies community to come together to support children’s health “Together We Will” emphasizes strength in unity Picture this: A four year old leukemia patient braving the MRI table for his next scan. A newborn in an isolet hooked up to oxygen. A child being rushed to the emergency department by ambulance. A dad cradling his baby in a rocking chair in the baby’s hospital room. A teenage cancer patient in her bedroom putting on her wig. A mom and her son doing crafts in a hospital playroom in between his treatments.

These are just some of the scenes portrayed in a new marketing campaign for The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) set to launch November 12 for six weeks through to December 31, leading up to the busiest giving season of the year. The campaign is centred on the tagline “Together We Will” and emphasizes the strength of a community coming together to help improve children’s health. SickKids staff, patients and families featured in the ads help capture the strength, compassion and determination that makes the hospital an incredible place to the thousands of families who rely on it each year.

The creative concept is brought to life with a focus on the breadth of people it takes to help a sick child, both at home and at SickKids. Set to the emotional lyrics of Roy Orbison’s You Got It, the television spots feature children, youth and their parents together with SickKids staff in real hospital settings singing along to “…anything you want… you got it… baby.” The spot closes with the caption: We’ll do anything for them. But we can’t do it alone. Together We Will.

Twelve patient ambassadors aged 17 months to 17 years old from throughout Ontario, with conditions ranging from brittle bone disease to organ transplants and various childhood cancers, are featured in the campaign. Although many of them are in active treatment, these young patients muster all of their energy to sing along and lend their help to inspire people to support the hospital through donations.

“These scenes capture some of the most poignant moments between a child and their parents or their medical team, reflecting the family-centred care approach at SickKids,” says Ted Garrard, President and CEO, SickKids Foundation. “This campaign truly illustrates the lengths to which staff and families will go, together, to help improve and save children’s lives. Families know they can count on the multidisciplinary medical teams at the hospital when their children need them. This holiday season we need the community’s support to help SickKids continue to be there for anything our patients need, now and in the future.”

In keeping with the spirit of a community joining forces to help children who need life-saving medical care, a mural featuring leukemia patient Hunter Kemp, 5, and a sampling of 19 representatives from his SickKids circle of care will be installed at Dundas subway station. In the mural, Hunter is joined by his family and his extended SickKids family who have been there for him throughout his cancer treatment, including everyone from his nurse and oncologist to his Child Life Specialist and psychologist. Hospital President and CEO Mary Jo Haddad is also featured. The mural symbolizes the group of people who come together when a child is seriously ill and bears the caption: Together We Will. No Matter How Many of us it Takes. The mural is the focal point of a subway station domination which also includes branded wrapped pillars, stairs and turnstiles.

The ‘Together We Will’ theme is also integrated with the print campaign which features patients photographed with either a parent or someone from their SickKids medical team with aspirational claims of what can be achieved together with community support. Together We Will Make a Hospital Feel Nothing Like a Hospital and Together We Will Search for Answers are examples of how the print campaign aims to inspire people to help SickKids achieve its vision to advance children’s health in Toronto and around the world.

Elements of the campaign include mass marketing with television, print and out-of-home advertising including a branded domination at Dundas subway station and at 10 Dundas St. E., elevator wraps in 35 buildings and presence on 110 elevator screens throughout buildings in downtown Toronto. A: 60 second television spot is the focus of the campaign, with supporting 15-second spots, print ads and digital banner ads. The 60-second spot will run before every movie in six Cineplex theatres in the Greater Toronto Area.

There is also a digital component called SickKids Free Movie Day. People can help fill a virtual theatre online at www.sickkidsfoundation.com/together to send SickKids kids on an exclusive movie experience this holiday season. Cineplex will provide a complimentary movie screening for young patients who are healthy enough to attend the theatre in the new year.

The campaign website will go live on November 9 at www.sickkidsfoundation.com/together and will feature the 60-second television commercial and patient stories. People who wish to support SickKids can donate by visiting the Together We Will campaign website.

The Together We Will concept, creative and digital development was handled by JWT and media planning and buying was handled by Maxus. Partners Film produced the television spots, directed by Kathi Prosser, and photography for the print campaign was done by award winning photographer and filmmaker Mark Zibert.

Credits:
Client: Sick Kids Foundation
Agency: JWT, Toronto
VP/Managing Director: Neil MacLellan
Copywriter: Jed Churcher
Art Director: Andy Brokenshire
Agency Producer: Raquel Rose
Account Director: Michelle Ching
Production Company: Partners Film
Director: Kathi Prosser
Executive Producer: Aerin Barnes
Line Producer: Amalie Bruun
Director of Photography: Tico Poulakakis
Editing Company: Panic and Bob
Editor: David Baxter
Music: Eggplant
Producer & Music Director: Adam Damelin
Producer: Nicola Treadgold

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 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]

Ontario students launch "Stick It To Fast Food" campaign and urge everyone to join the fast food boycott.

See all the posters, logos and banners from the Stick It Shout page.
I'll give these kids credit for having the courage and the smarts to start this campaign, but it's going to be challenging...as I was reading more about the Stick It campaign and found myself reading the article Helen Branswell of The Canadian Press News wrote on the CTV News website, I couldn't help but laugh at the advertisement that displayed, image below.

Here is the Who, What, Why and How the Stick It To Fast Food Campaign came to be (from their website)
WHO
A collaborative effort by high school students across Ontario, the Ontario Student Trustee Association (OSTA-AECO) and Key Gordon Communications, a Toronto-based Design firm.
WHAT
Social media driven fast food boycott and awareness campaign.
WHEN
Boycott = November. Uncooling fast food = forever.
WHERE
Today, Ontario. Tomorrow, across the globe.
We know what you’re thinking: who the hell designed this campaign? That logo, it’s so obscene! Yeah, it’s a little crude, but that’s exactly how we wanted it to be. That’s why you’re here isn’t it? That’s why it grabbed your attention. That’s also why it empowers individuals and helps to un-cool something that should have been un-cooled a long time ago.

The Stick It logo was developed by the guys at Key Gordon Communications. Stick It was designed to grab attention with its racy logo and simplify the too often conflicting health messages directed at today’s youth. The quality of the food you eat matters. It’s not the only thing that matters, but it is freaking important. It really shouldn’t take a team of scientists to figure out that fast food isn’t good for you to eat everyday. You’re better off bringing a lunch.

In May, 2012, Grant Gordon, Founder of Key Gordon, was invited by the Ontario Student Trustees` Association (OSTA-AECO) to speak at their annual conference. This group of peer-elected super-students represent Ontario’s 2.4 million students and bring the student voice to the Ministry of Education, school boards, and education-stakeholders. Grant’s passionate remarks about the food industry and the health problems related to poor eating habits inspired the students. They asked Grant how they could make a difference. Grant shared the germ of an idea – the badass logo.

The student trustees were immediately engaged. Key Gordon was flooded with emails!

So Grant and OSTA-AECO began to collaborate on the idea for a boycott of fast food and soon the campaign was born. The Stick It to Fast Food campaign is simple, clear and has an achievable goal: to empower youth to take care of their health through cooking for themselves and swearing off fast food junk. We don’t want to ban fast food but we do want it to be ‘de-normalized’. Too many people eat it everyday.

We’re pretty stoked about how it worked out. It’s student driven, it’s grassroots, and it developed organically – just the way an activist campaign should. Only this one has a sweet logo and website.

More about Stick It To Fast Food on their website and Facebook page HERE and HERE.

Looking for an ingenious way to build their online presence, the Johannesburg Zoo has decided to hand over all their Social Media management to ‘someone’ who knows the zoo inside out. BG the Badger! The Johannesburg Zoo’s much-loved resident honey badger and the official JHB Zoo mascot.
How is this even possible? Well, it’s largely due to BG’s new high-tech animal enclosure, cleverly devised by award-winning digital agency Hellocomputer, of the Draftfcb group. Creatives on the job include Candice Hellens (copywriter), Eras Gous (art-director) Moira-Gene Sephton Gous (art-director) and Rory MacRobert (copywriter), and the technology was implemented by tech wizard Tom van den Bon (at BinarySpace) along with Johan Pieterse, Nathan O' Gates and Ben Fourie of Hellocomputer.
Selected because of his cheeky-yet-lovable personality, love of people and his very active nature, BG began tweeting on June 14 this year. You can follow him at @zootweetslive.
The Technology: BG’s high-tech badger enclosure is rigged with wireless infrared motion sensors, which are divided into six zones. The animal-friendly sensors talk to a server that holds a database of hundreds of pre-written BG tweets. As BG moves from zone to zone, the motion sensors pick up on his location and automatically trigger tweets from his Twitter account, in real-time. The built-from-scratch coding ensures that all the tweets are relevant to what BG is doing at that moment e.g. if BG is at the front section of his enclosure he will trigger people-related tweets, when he is near the sides he will trigger neighbour-related tweets and so on.
“The techno-wizards from Hellocomputer are thrilled by the project and the team at the JHB Zoo are amped to have turned BG into – in record time – what they believe is the world’s first LIVE tweeting zoo ‘spokesanimal’”, said Kerry Friend, executive creative director of Hellocomputer.
“The Joburg Zoo does a wonderful job connecting with animal fans using many different traditional media, but it has steered away from the digital realm until now. Having acknowledged the many benefits of engaging with its target base using social media, it wanted an especially appealing way of doing so.”
“Hellocomputer’s logic was that, since the thing that people really love about the Zoo is its animals, it makes sense for an animal to be their spokesperson”.
“The job has fallen on BG’s shoulders right now but there are plenty of interesting candidates, ones who are on the extinction list and who could become ‘spokesanimals’ for their species as well. Who knows what the future will bring,” she said.
“Critical to the zoo’s acceptance of the concept and the system is BG’s safety”, said Johannesburg Zoo’s Brand & Communications Manager, Letta Madlala.
“While we were immediately enchanted by Hellocomputer’s innovative proposal to turn one of our most social animals into a social media spokesperson, we stressed that we could not put BG at risk at all”.
“The system designed by Hellocomputer utilises wireless sensors, so there’s nothing for BG to chew on, choke on or entangle himself in. They are also small and unobtrusive, and have been attached at the highest points of the enclosure, while the base station and its solar power source, which are more difficult to ruggedise, have been placed outside the enclosure.
“The sensors are also enclosed in hard-to-penetrate Perspex so, if BG does manage to get his claws on one – and let’s face it, honey badgers are resourceful and very strong creatures – he will not be able to penetrate it in the short term and it can be retrieved by zoo staff”.
“While several of BG’s tweets will address his daily activities – such as his walks around the zoo (which he adorably takes on a lead), his mealtimes and playtimes, comments on his human visitors and animal neighbours and badger philosophies–he will obviously also be able to promote special events at the zoo and, when relevant, comment on current events”.

“We are thrilled with the results and look forward to many of our supporters and the public engaging with BG on a regular basis,” she said. “He’s a very friendly badger, we’re sure he’ll be very popular on twitter.”
While Hellocomputer has written several rules to govern BG’s tweets limiting the number of tweets a day and an hour or the number of tweets triggered from one station, its server will log BG’s exact movements as they trigger the sensors.
Additionally, all this valuable data will be retained and made available to the zoo should it have a need to research or contribute to research being done on badger habit studies and/or studies on animals in captivity.
“Not only does this system provide the Joburg Zoo with an exciting and totally apt way of communicating with its target audiences through social media, it has the potential to contribute to mankind’s understanding of animal behaviour and — by extrapolation — animal well-being in the future. We couldn’t be prouder,” concluded Kerry Friend.

Its only been out for 6 hours and I'm already sick to death of hearing about The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to actually be alive and old enough to experience a full-blown movie phenomenon as I missed the boat with Star Wars and Indiana Jones. At least I understood the frenzy behind The Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter movies and didn't want to light myself on fire every time it came on the news. But this... this has got even the most hardcore fan inside of me screaming "that's freakin' enough Twihards, settle the frak down!"

Sigh. At least the guys over at Film Drunk feel my pain and have put together a brilliant piece on the absurdness of Twilight fans and their signs at the New Moon premiere. I strongly recommend you read the whole thing in its entirety here. Otherwise, the best bits are below:

"I’m only picking a few of my favorites, but clearly this represented a cross section of America’s finest. Like this guy. He likes America, sleeveless shirts, and vampires that sparkle. I think that was a Bob Seger song. Or this girl, the one behind the girl in the front. She wants to be “a stupid lamb.” Or possibly a stupid lamp, it isn’t entirely clear. Regardless, it’s good to have ambitions. Then there’s these girls,who support the Cullen diet, while standing behind a lady who doesn’t seem to support any diets. Diversity is beautiful. Meanwhile, the girl in the front right is enjoying her one day of the month outside. Anyway, I just thought you guys should enjoy some of these photos, because a lot of good cats went hungry for this."

Well said.

In other vampire news, the poster art for Daybreakers hit the net today and it looks siiiiiiick. And how's the quote from Variety; "Take The Matrix and 28 Days Later and you've got Daybreakers". That's a bloody brilliant line about the film and the poster art looks very slick. Very awesome. Very promising and hopefully a far cry from the romantic notion of vampires, I want to see more bloodsuckers darn it. Daybreakers is an Australian film shot in Queensland earlier this year on a budget of $25 million and stars Ethan Hawke, William Dafoe, Isabel Lucas and Sam Neil. Set in the not too distant future (2019 to be exact), a plague has turned most humans in to vampires who are now faced with a dwindling blood supply. Shot by the Spierig Brothers, I really hope this is a successful attempt by them to cross over in to Hollywood mainstream. If the trailer is anything to go by...

Jennifer Watts, account director at Brandworks International, left, and Scott Morris, media manager at Mindshare Media MICHELLE SIU PHOTO Ad Agency Wars III is set for Wednesday in Toronto!

A year ago, Scott Morris’s typical Friday wind-down with colleagues would have involved beer, pizza and more beer.

Morris, the media manager at Mindshare Media Canada, still ushers in the weekend with members of Toronto’s advertising community. But for the past three months their fellowship has been devoted to toughening up for a charity boxing event.

Agency Wars III, which takes place at the Arcadian Court this Wednesday, will see 24 men and women from 14 local ad agencies square off to raise money for Ronald McDonald House and the National Advertising Benevolent Society.

The participants, who train with professional coaches, actually become qualified amateur boxers sanctioned by Boxing Ontario for the sold-out event.

One of the final training sessions found a broad range of ad industry employees, from art directors to CFOs and copywriters, drilling down at The Boxing Loft in the Entertainment District.

Morris, 31, had spent last Friday fine-tuning ideas for his Ford Fusion portfolio for next year. But come dusk, he was focused on his upcoming bout with Jason Kan, motion graphics designer at Teehan+Lax.

Even before stepping into the ring for their three two-minute rounds, Morris has already earned bragging rights: he’s shed 35 pounds since training began in September and can now execute at least 40 pushups and an eight-minute mile.

“I’ve never done anything like this in my life,” said Morris as he took a break from light sparring inside the Adelaide St. W. gym. “I feel good. I feel confident. I wake up everyday thinking I’m going to throw up from the nerves, but I just channel past that and stay focused.”

Abs aside, Michael Clancy has seen the long-lasting benefits of exposing his competitive industry’s desk jockeys to the even more cutthroat world of pugilism since he founded Agency Wars three years ago.

“Knowing what to do under fire is really important,” said Clancy, executive creative director for Brandworks. “If you can get into a ring, then you can walk into any boardroom in the world.

“In the ad business, taking care of your stress is really important. And boxing is a spectacular way to do that because you’re not in your head. You have to be very much aware of your body. And hitting a bag, doing that kind of strenuous work, the footwork involved, takes you out of the office and puts you into a very physical place where you do what you’re told. You don’t have to think, and you’ll be fine.”

Clancy, 62, who took out his opponent in the third round, aided by former junior featherweight champ Steve Molitor in his corner, when he fought in 2010, has been the oldest competitor to date in the event, which is taped by Fight Network for later broadcast.

“It’s kind of like a fantasy camp for boxing,” he said. “You get to walk in with your entourage, you get to pick your music and it’s televised.”

Head coach Chris “Mr. Showtime” Johnson, a 1992 Olympic medallist, finds the ad folks “very dedicated.

“They’re hungry. They want it almost to an obsessive stage,” he said. “They believe in perfection, but perfection in a sport like this does not come in three months. It’s taken me almost a lifetime.”

After a 20-minute skipping warm-up, Johnson led the group through various punch combinations, all the while pumping them up for fight night.

“If you get a chance to hit someone, hit ’em hard, because if they get the chance they’re going to hit you hard,” he exhorted.

From his ringside perch, returning announcer Jeromy Lloyd, Marketing Magazine’s online editor, has seen a fight or two stopped for split eyebrows and swollen eyes. He’ll be decked out as usual in a rented tux, but without a catchy “let’s get ready to rumble”-style tag line.

“I’m so scared of trotting on someone else’s intellectual property and getting the event sued,” he explained.

The creative team at Brandworks came up with the nickname “Da Boss (a.k.a. The Shot-caller)” for one of their fighters, Jennifer Watts, and selected their Christmas party favourite, LMFAO’s “Shots,” as her entrance music.

Now endowed with an eight-pack and the ability to do “at least 20 real pushups,” thanks to the rigorous 12-week training, the 6-foot-2 account director is pumped to face off against Mindshare media manager Christina Mirabelli.

“My strategy,” said the trash-talking Watts, 30, “is to keep her back with these long arms so she does not get near my face — and punch her in the head.”

Via: Ashante Infantry | The Star

Here is a sneak peek into The Perrier Secret Place campaign that brilliantly combines modern day marketing strategies. We received our preview invite kit today which included the stamp to get in, and we were also given a special invite code to share with our visitors here at Great-Ads, find it and the link after the campaign Q&A's and credits below.

Perrier Secret Place Premise: If you were at a Secret and Exclusive party and you wanted to party as long as possible, you’d make sure you were as refreshed as possible. And no one can throw a party and ensure you are refreshed to party as long as you can like Perrier.

Q. Tell us about this latest digital initiative for Perrier?
Perrier Secret Place puts you in the shoes of a guest who goes to a very very special evening party. A hidden place in an alley in Paris, behind a laundry mat. An evening where all guests will have the opportunity to live their craziest fantasies. And you'll have the best seat in the house to enjoy since all the characters that you see on the screen are clickable. With one click you find yourself in their skin. Living their fantasy.

Q. How did you come up with this idea?
We started from the following insight: drinking Perrier during the evening party is the best way to take full advantage of all the opportunities available to you… and until the end of the night. In Secret Place, not only are you at the Ultimate Party living out the experience of the Ultimate Party Guest from the beginning, but you also live out the ultimate evening of 60 other guests who are in the apartment.

Q. And there is something to win, right?
Yes. At the ultimate party, we’ve hidden a very special bottle of Perrier. 5 clues are hidden in the rooms of the apartment. They will lead you to the bottle where you are entered into a drawing to win an exclusive invitation to the wildest night of the world party in St Tropez, New Year in Sydney, Miami Art Basel, Carnival in Rio and the closing of the season Ibiza. Only the most experienced gamers will succeed, believe me... Among thousands of different scenarios during the evening, only one leads to the bottle.

Q. So, it’s a game or an interactive film?
Both! This project mixes Brand Entertainment and Gaming. We produced 1 hour and 20 minutes of content that allows all users to experience a unique evening scenario. We also used digital interactivity to inject this dimension of Gaming. This involves the quest of finding the bottle and the opportunity to live the lives of all guests by clicking on them.

Q. Why Secret Place?
This was inspired by the emerging phenomenon of speak easy. A party venue at the rear façade that has absolutely nothing to do with the place. This is quite in line with Perrier. Completely unexpected.

Q. How are you using social networks to amplify this experience?
In partnership with the agency Buzzman, we worked on a social strategy:
Become a fan on Perrier Facebook and regularly you will get tips to find clues that will lead you to the secret Perrier bottle. We'll give you a little tip. Slip into the skin of the young man who looks through the keyhole and live out his fantasy. Or play a game of "Pillow Fight" (Sounds weird, but it is Perrier!)

Q. How will the experience function on the mobile?
We have specifically developed an application that runs on iPhone / Android / iPad. This is not a replication of the desktop experience but a concept designed for specifically for the mobile device. By downloading the application you enter the rooms of the Perrier apartment and you can navigate through each room. The challenge: find the Secret hidden bottle of Perrier in the apartment.

Q. What was the biggest challenge to pull off this experience?
This is the most ambitious project to carry. We spent 18 months writing lots and lots of different scenarios. Produced a film in which we choreographed each scene so that it is connecting with one another when the user clicks on the characters. Sound design work has also been a real challenge. Imagine having to reproduce the sound of a bottle on a bar as many times as there are people in the room who can hear it.

Q. Where will Secret Place be launched?
The experience will be available worldwide but open to 20 countries to play in the major markets for Perrier France, United States and Canada. This is the first time that Perrier launches a project of this magnitude in the United States. The challenge is enormous. Positioning is also a little different there. Much more premium. We really hope that the French touch--its audacious content-- is embraced well there.

Q. What results do you expect?
There is a counter on the site that counts the number of lives that all users worldwide will live on the site. 1 life = 1 click on a character. I want to hear from Perrier that this idea made 10 million lives by the end of week five of the experience’ launch.

Q. How is this truly innovative?
We believe Secret Place is truly a digital first. Not because it’s the first time you can click on something and enter into his point of view. But, the ambition was really to say: Imagine you enter in any movie theater, have the quality screenwriting and the direction of cinema but also to have permanent control over the course of the story.

Q. What kind of partner did you work with to make this type of project?
Fighting Fish is our production partner based in Paris. This is the first time that we’ve made a digital experience for Perrier conducted by the French. This is an opportunity to remind the world that France is in a good position on Digital Excellence.

Beyond the fact that Fighting Fish is based in Paris, it was able to fulfill the requirements demanded by this project. The team assembled to deliver this feature was made up of an interactive-hybrid. On the team was Lawrence King, the director of the experience and who is currently working on his own film. Arnaud XXX is the production designer and there were the script writers. Franck Marchal oversaw the sound design – having conducted several reputable orchestras before working with us. Fighting Fish puts digital at the heart of its "production thinking" and Ogilvy Paris thinks the same way. This allows a real synergy between the film's producers and those who are thinking through its interactivity.

Q. Why is Secret Place the right creative approach for Perrier now?
Digital and social are playing an increasing role in Perrier's Communications strategy. They have an important, specific role: communicating the edgier, younger, hottest facet of the brand. Reaffirming that Perrier is a must have brand and product when it comes to partying and socialising. And proving, again and again, that the brand loooooves creativity, surprise and inventiveness. This is what Secret Place brilliantly does in my mind. – Benoit de Fleurian, Managing Director | Ogilvy&Mather Advertising.
The digital space has opened up a new opportunity for brands. It's solved a contradiction that exists in the real world. Physically, you can't make an exclusive experience accessible to everybody. But with Secret Place, that's exactly what we've achieved. We give people the opportunity to live an experience they wouldn't normally live, but have always dreamed about. Like those exclusive parties you've always longed to be invited to. And thanks to Perrier, you can live it not once, but multiple times, through the eyes of multiple characters. This is an idea that is only possible thanks to the technology we have at our disposal today, and a bit of creative thinking. — Chris Garbutt, Chief Creative Officer | Ogilvy&Mather Paris, Group

Q. The Director is who? And why did you choose this director?
Laurent King. We chose him because of his ability to manage this kind of project: half movie, half digital and interactive experience. It's really important to have this kind of new director that knows how to direct with all the constraints that a digital experience impose.

Q. Where did you shoot and tell me one challenge with organizing the shoot or a challenge that arrived at the shoot? How did you overcome the challenge?
We filmed in an amazing appartement in Paris that was almost a piece of art by itself. We loved the parisian kind of architecture of it, with lovely rooms, very different to each other. It's very rare to find a place with different moods and atmosphere in it. Moreover, we were looking for a place where you can imagine secret parties happening in it. The biggest challenge was to choreograph all the action of the 60 guests. It was a real challenge because every character had a link to each other in terms of scenario.

Q. Is there a music track?
The track of the experience is played live by the group called "TOYZ".

Q. Would love to hear from one of the party-go’ers at this Ultimate Party...
The Host: All Secret Places have their secrets. You understand why I'll keep this one...

Credits:
Secret Place, a campaign imagined by Ogilvy, produced by Fighting fish while Buzzman was in charge of the Social Media and PR strategy.
Format: Digital/Brand Entertainement
Chief Creative Officer: Chris Garbutt
Creative Director: Frederic Levron, Thierry Chiumino
Copywriter: Baptiste Clinet, Nicolas Lautier, Florian Bodet
Art Director: Baptiste Clinet, Nicolas Lautier, Florian Bodet, Chris Rowson,
Global Business Leader: Constance Capy Baudeau
Account Supervisor: Stanislas Vert
Film Producer: Diane de Bretteville
Digital producer: Hugo Diaz, Cyril Duval, Sandra Petrus
Production company: Fighting Fish, Olivier Dormerc, Cyril Couve de Murvil, Adrien Moisson, Benjamin Przelspolewski
Sound Design: Le COMPTOIR DU SON / Franck MARCHAL & Alexandre POIRIER
Film Director: Laurent King
Story development: Olivier Domerc
Story editor: Benjamin Bloch
Production manager: Caroline Petruccelli
Production designer: Arnaud Roth
Director of Photography: Frédéric Martial Wetter
Line Producer: Vincent RIVIER
Location manager: Timothée TALANDIER
Main title music: Toys
Client: NWFB head of marketing and category, Muriel Koch. Sparkling Brand Director, Fabienne Bravard. Perrier International Brand Manager Armelle Roulland
Social Media & ePR Strategy Buzzman:
Georges Mohammed-Chérif (CEO & DC)
Hubert Munyazikwiye (Head of Social Media & PR)
Nicolas David (Social Media Manager)

Visit www.perriersecretplace.com and use the invite code "PE757 " enjoy the party.

Everyone loves a good biff, especially when it has absolutely nothing to do with The Footy Show. Here, I’m speaking about the one and only Brisbane International Film Festival also known as BIFF. The Gold Coast, being the cultural vacuum that it is, us film geeks eagerly await the annual BIFF where a selection of films from around the world are screened over the course of one and a bit weeks. This year I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the BIFF crew by putting together articles on various films for the website and daily newsletter. With dozens of movies crammed into the 11-day event it would be easy to miss some of the real gems. The good news is I’ve taken a look at the complete line-up of films screening at this year's festival and even watched some of them early. So, the following is my list of the films you MUST SEE or die at this year's BIFF.

For you international readers this can be a handy guide of limited release films you should keep an eye out for in the coming weeks/months.

• An Education — the opening night film starring Peter Sarsgaard and set in the 60s. The Sars-man in a film with romance, drama and intrigue sounds like too rare an opportunity to miss.
• BALIBO — the notorious tale of five young, Australian journalists who were executed while reporting on Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor in 75. An impressive Aussie cast including Gyton Grantley, Nathan Phillips and Anthony LaPaglia expose the Australian and Indonesian governments shameless efforts to cover-up this important story.
• Coraline — has been covered extensively on this blog given its beautiful visuals and dark storyline. Directed by Henry Selick, director of the classic Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline follows the adventures of a young girl who discovers a secret door leading to an alternative reality.
• 500 Days of Summer — a last minute addition to the festival line-up, this quirky, nontraditional love story deserves to be seen purely because it features the talents of my favourite Joseph Gordon Levitt. It also stars everyone’s favourite indie film star Zoey Deschanel.
• CHE: Parts One & Two — director Steven Soderbergh’s stunning two-part opus based on the life Che Guevara and starring Benicio Del Toro in the title role. You’ll be hard pressed to catch this screened back to back anywhere else in Queensland.
• Away We Go — highly peculiar, yet, interesting film which looks at the journey of two thirtsomethings who discover they’re going to have a baby. Instead of settling down and preparing, the couple take to the road to visit old friends. This is the latest thing from the amicable Sam Mendes and marks a return to his off-beat indie roots.
• The September Issue — one of the most anticipated documentaries of the year, this film delves into the life of legendary Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour in the lead-up to the massive September issue.
• Jules And Jim — this French film from the 60s is a classic love-triangle with arguably the most recognisable face in French cinema — Jeanne Moreau.
• Moon — one of the films I’m most looking forward to, this sci-fi thriller i s the debut feature from David Bowie’s son Duncan Jones and stars Sam Rockwell in what is said to be the performance of his career.
• The Missing Person — a private detective is hired to follow a missing person but what started as a simple job rapidly develops into a complex mystery. Full of double-crosses and classic noir moments, this is a film not to be missed by lovers of all things noir.
• The Strength of Water (below) — having Maori parentage, I like to pay special attention to films from indigenous New Zealand filmmakers. The Strength of Water is definitely worth the gaze. A unique look at the complexity of grief through the eyes of a 10-year-old living in an isolated Maori community. Beautiful, naturalistic, creative and moving. A must-see.
• Van Dieman’s Land — the infamous tale of Australia’s very own Hannibal Lecter gets the big screen treatment from a filmmaker heading for the stratosphere.Subdivison — Brisbanite Ash Bradman (from Nova radio fame) wrote and stars in this appealing comedy set in semirural Hervey Bay. Fans of Aussie films like Crackerjack, The Castle and Kenny are likely to enjoy this.
• The Cove — along with Cathy Henkel’s The Burning Season, this has to be one of the most important documentaries of the year and looks at the culling of dolphins in the picturesque town of Tokyo, Japan. Part horror film, part espionage thriller and part environmental documentary, The Cove is all part's essential viewing. It Might Get Loud — there’s no time for air guitar in this documentary which takes the audience on a candid trip into the world of three of rock’s most iconic electric guitarists; Jimmy Page (Led Zepplin), the Edge (U2), and Jack White (The White Stripes).
• Black Dynamite — if I even have to explain to you the plot of this film, given the sheer volume of posts about it on this blog, then you deserve to be pimp-slapped into a China cabinet. Here’s your chance to see what all the fuss is about.
• Dead Snow — Tarantino and Rodriguez fans, like myself, are likely to adore the work of the Norwegian lads behind this low-budget, horror slapstick about Nazi zombies. Writer/director Tommy Wirkola and writer/star Stig Frode Henriksen have been pipped for big things since their debut short Kill Buljo and their first feature doesn’t disappoint. Catch their work before it explodes as their next film Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters has been picked up by The Weinstein Company (bada-boom).
• Storage — a tense, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller from Brisbane filmmaker Michael Craft and starring Gold Coast actor Matt Scully in the lead role. An impressively clever debut from Craft who shot the film in storage facilities in and around Brisvegas. Creepy.
• The Horsemen — containing what is said to be one of the `most amazing fight scenes captured’ is there really any other reason to see this?

Ticket prices are cheap as chips compared to a normal outing at the movies and BIFF is running a series of workshops where you can meet the director, producer, writer and/or stars of some of the films.

Emily Hodgson and Emilie Riis, the duo currently lobbying Nike to make its coolest men’s trainers available in women’s sizes, have been invited by Reebok to collaborate on its women’s trainers.

Hodgson and Riis (who work together at ad agency 18 Feet & Rising) launched a campaign last month to shake up the predominantly pink and girly women’s trainers market under the name Purple Unicorn Planet (PUP), with a website disguised as a fantasy trainer shop at www.purpleunicornplanet.com

Following the vast amount of press coverage and support PUP received since launch, sportswear giant Reebok got in touch to ask the two Emilies to collaborate with its team.

Press:

Nike lobbyists to work with Reebok to shake up the women’s trainers market

15.08.13: Emily Hodgson and Emilie Riis, the duo currently lobbying Nike to make its coolest men’s trainers available in women’s sizes, have been invited by Reebok to collaborate on its women’s trainers.

Hodgson and Riis launched a campaign last month to shake up the predominantly pink and girly women’s trainers market under the name Purple Unicorn Planet (PUP), with a website disguised as a fantasy trainer shop at www.purpleunicornplanet.com

The pair, who work together at ad agency 18 Feet & Rising, sent a letter to Nike with their requests. Purple Unicorn Planet has its own hashtag #pleasejustdoit and Twitter feed @PunicornP

Following the vast amount of press coverage and support PUP received since launch, sportswear giant Reebok got in touch to ask the two Emilies to collaborate with its team.

Meanwhile, Nike’s response to the campaign has been met with frustration and disappointment at PUP HQ. Nike sent a representative to meet with the pair to discuss PUP and subsequently issued the following statement:

"We have been in touch with Emily and Emilie and we find their campaign very interesting. We have always been and will continue to be supportive of feedback from our consumers. NIKE is committed to our sneaker community and will continue to work on offering new and exciting products."

Despite Nike’s stated commitment to the sneaker community, the brand has given no explanation to Purple Unicorn Planet and its supporters on why the women’s range is so limited, and there is no response to PUP’s goal.
Emily Hodgson said: “It’s great to see someone step up. We’ve been delighted and amazed by the response we have received since we launched PUP. The fact that the people at Nike haven’t yet given us the answers we’re looking for is a disappointment.”

Emilie Riis said: “This is a big opportunity and failing to see it means you will be missing out. We want to collaborate with a brand that is taking the shortage in the category seriously. It’s great to see that we’ve struck a chord with so many women round the world who feel the same way we do, and we are driven by giving them a better trainer selection in smaller sizes.

High in the Italian Alps, thousands of stick-like images of people and animals, carved into rock surfaces, offer a tantalising window into the past. Archaeologists believe that the earliest of these 150,000 images date from the Neolithic but that most originate from the Iron Age. The UNESCO-protected ‘Pitoti’ (little puppets) of the Valcamonica valley extend over an area of some three square kilometres and have been described as one of the world’s largest pieces of anonymous art.

An event taking place next Monday (18 January 2016) at Downing College, Cambridge, will give the public an opportunity to learn more about a fascinating project to explore and re-animate the Pitoti of Valcamonica. Displays and hands-on activities staged by seven of the institutions involved in the EU/European Research Council-funded ‘3D Pitoti’ digital heritage project will show visitors how archaeologists and film-makers have used the latest digital technology to explore an art form often portrayed as simplistic or primitive.

The exhibitors from Austria, Italy, Germany and the UK will show that the thousands of Pitoti can be seen as “one big picture” as dozens of artists, over a period of some 4,000 years, added narratives to the giant ‘canvases’ formed by sandstone rocks scraped clean by the movement of glaciers across the landscape. The images are etched into the rock surfaces so that, as the sun rises and then falls in the sky, the figures can be seen to gain a sense of movement.

Displays will introduce visitors to the scanning, machine learning and interactive 3D-visualisation technologies used by Bauhaus Weimar, Technical University Graz, and St Pölten University of Applied Sciences to record, analyse and breathe life into the Pitoti. Cambridge archaeologists Craig Alexander, Giovanna Bellandi and Christopher Chippindale have worked with Alberto Marretta and Markus Seidl to create Pitoti databases using Arctron’s Aspect 3D system.

The scanned images of the Pitoti are stored in the rock-art research institute in Valcamonica, Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici, and have given the project’s team an unprecedentedly rich resource to play with in exploring the power of graphic art in combination with other media.

The 3D Pitoti team members attending next week’s event will engage with visitors who will be given the chance to experience the scanner, UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), computer sectioning, and the Pitoti ‘oculus rift’ virtual reality experience, made possible by using advanced imaging systems which are creating a new generation of ‘real’ images. The live demonstration of the interactive 3D Pitoti children’s app, developed by Archeocammuni and Nottingham University, is likely to prove popular with younger visitors who will have the chance to handle the technology and ask questions. Also taking part in the event will be the renowned craftsperson Lida Cardozo Kindersley who will demonstrate the art of letter cutting as an intensely physical process.

“Many of the images at Valcamonica are contemporary with classical Greek art but are an under appreciated form of art. I believe that the Pitoti are an example of minimalism, an early precursor to work by Alberto Giacometti and Pablo Picasso. They can be just as powerful as the classical art of Athens and Rome in their own way. By showcasing our project in the neo-classical setting of Downing College, we are highlighting this clash of visual cultures and using the digital to raise the appreciation of what has been seen as ‘barbarian’ or ‘tribal’ art.”

Members of the 3D Pitoti team captured thousands of images of people, sheep, deer, horses and dogs found on the Valamonica rocks. The digitised images gave the project a ‘casting directory’ of thousands of ‘characters’ in order to create imagined narratives. The creation of moving images using pixels, or dots, echoes the making of the Pitoti which were pecked out of the rock by people striking the surface with repeated blows to produce lines and shapes.

Dr Sue Cobb, from the University of Nottingham, who led the international team of scientists, said: “Thanks to the 3D Pitoti project, archaeological sites and artefacts can be rendered in stunningly realistic computer-generated models and even 3D printed for posterity. Our tools will give more people online access to culturally-important heritage sites and negate the need to travel to the locations, which can be inaccessible or vulnerable to damage.

“We overcame a number of technical challenges to innovate the technology, including developing weatherproof, portable laser scanner to take detailed images of the Pitoti in situ in harsh, rugged terrain; using both a UAV and glider to take aerial shots of the valley for the computer model and processing huge masses of data to recreate an immersive, film-quality version of the site in 3D.

Next Monday’s event will include a test screening of a 15-minute 3D generated film called ‘Pitoti Prometheus’ which reimagines the story of Prometheus (who, according to legend, created men from clay) by animating digital images captured in Valcamonica. The fully finished film will be launched later in the year.

The film’s 3D engineer Marcel Karnapke and film-maker Fred Baker (contributing via Skype) will take part in a discussion at the end of the day, enabling the audience to ask questions about the film and the unfolding of an ambitious project which breaks new boundaries in terms of European cross-disciplinary collaboration.

“We use the word ‘pipeline’ to describe the process by which we’ve scanned and channelled the rock art images through time and space to bring them to mass audiences,” says Baker. “It’s a pipeline which stretches well beyond what we’ve produced and future technologies will undoubtedly open up new understandings of art forms that communicate so much about humanity and our relationships with each other, with the environment, and with imagined worlds.”

Next Tuesday morning (19 January 2016), a series of talks and workshops, aimed primarily at academics, will take place at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. The two days of events are the official culmination of the 3D Pitoti project. For details of Monday’s event, which is free of charge, go to http://3d-pitoti.eu/

Source: University of Cambridge [January 14, 2016]

The Sevens, launched today on Secret Location’s website, is a multi-layered narrative experience will also live online at www.whatarethesevens.com and can be enjoyed on a number of levels: as a short film, an interactive game or a fully immersive mystery in which users can participate.

“The interactive film is the start of a larger narrative that we’ll continue to build on over the next year and beyond,” explains company founder James Milward. “A lot of the time the most experimental ideas we have aren’t appropriate or are too risky to hinge the success of our clients on. As a result, we built this experience as a sandbox for us to play in and experiment with ideas, techniques and technology in a way that will prove concept with real users.”

For the past four years, Secret Location has produced several experimental interactive experiences, including Rookie Blue: Interrogation Room, Stanfield’s Guy At Home and Endgame Interactive, which won an International Digital Emmy® in 2012. The Sevens begins with a phone call and contains three puzzles for viewers to solve. In a suburban home, a young girl named Julie is confronted with a series of mysterious symbols that, once arranged in a particular order, unlock a phone number and passcode. If users solve the puzzles and dial the number, they are taken deeper into the story’s narrative by being given a chance to solve one final puzzle in order to reveal an alternative ending.

“The nature of the story is that it keeps drawing you in further and further, making you more vulnerable. It’s the classic Alice In Wonderland rabbit hole scenario,” says Pietro Gagliano, creative director and partner at Secret Location. “We want people to feel shaken up by how deeply immersive the experience feels at the end.” The idea evolved from Secret Location’s portfolio launch four years ago. Set up as a Choose Your Own Adventure-type narrative, the site drove 120,000 people through the portfolio in the first three months. Incidentally, the designers posted a phone number on the bottom of the site for potential clients to call but visitors assumed it was part of the game. “We received nearly 100,000 phone calls in the first six months,” says Gagliano. “Suffice it to say, it was annoying but it did give us an idea and proved that people would call if we asked them to – or even if we didn’t ask them to.”

The team began brainstorming and writing The Sevens in November 2011 with writer/filmmaker José Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço and production began in February 2012. Now that it’s live, the creative team intends to grow the story, add new characters and create related content that can live on other sites, such as YouTube. Secret Location has already rolled out several real world elements connected to The Sevens. In tandem with the site launch, cryptic posters featuring characters from the film and chalk stencils of the mysterious symbols and the URL have begun appearing in select cities across North America, including Toronto, New York and Los Angeles. “We’d love to keep adding elements to this narrative,” says Gagliano. “That’s why we created an open invitation at the end of the experience for the user to contribute ideas.” “This is really not the end,” adds Milward. “It’s just the beginning of a growing story eco-system and mythology that we’re creating around The Sevens.”

About Secret Location: Secret Location is an Emmy® Award-winning interactive agency that launches products and solves problems through storytelling for brands, broadcasters and producers. Just four years old, the company is a three-time Webby Awards honoree, was shortlisted for a 2011 Cannes Lion and is a Gemini, AToMiC, Creativity International, CASSIES and Marketing Awards winner. Secret Location is based in Toronto, Canada, and is led by President/Executive Producer James Milward. http://www.thesecretlocation.com/

Credits:
Created by Secret Location
Executive Producer: James Milward
Creative Director & Lead Designer: Pietro Gagliano
Technical Director: Ryan Andal
Project Manager: Ashlee Lougheed
Art Director: Stefan Grambart
Graphic Designer: Kai Salminen
Editing & Motion Graphics: Steve Miller
Assistant Editor: Michael Kazanowski
Web Developers: Gino Fazari, Michael Phan, Paul Stodolak
Music & Sound Design: Lodewijk Vos & Joseph Murray
Cast– In Order of Appearance
Dad: David Straus
Julie: Elle McFeeters
Dog: Pearl
Mom: Jennifer Fullerton
Written By: José Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço & Secret Location
Directed By: José Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço
Director of Photography: Henry Less
Assistant Director: Billy Shand
Line Producer: Luke Bryant
Assistant Camera: Nick Giordano
Gaffer: Dave Lewis
Art Director: Michael Leach
Set DResser: Dylan Jackson
Sound Recordist: Edward Senkowski
Hair & Makeup: Margot Keith
Wardrobe Stylist: Sarah Millman
Production Assistant: Derek Modesto
Contributors:
Adam Drake
Adam Park
Ann Marie Donnelly
CJ Hervey
Graham Budd
Jenn Hartnoll
Jory Krüspe
Josh Manricks
Kathryn Rawson
Noora Abu Eitah
Sabrina Saccoccio

OK love birds, Trojan Condoms is at again, this time they are taking to the streets with a fleet of Pleasure Carts to promote Trojan Vibrations.

Americans are getting ready to experience a pleasure revolution as the makers of Trojan™ Vibrations shake up the nation with a multi-city vibrator giveaway. Kicking off in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, November 13th, Trojan™ Vibrations will be touring the U.S. to serve up their latest line of Trojan™ Vibrations products via specially-designed Trojan™ Vibrations Pleasure Carts modeled after traditional hot dog carts.

This holiday season, the Trojan™ Vibrations Pleasure Carts will be satisfying pleasure cravings in multiple cities across the nation, where pleasure-seekers can swing by to receive a free Trojan™ Tri-Phoria™ Vibrator or Trojan™ Pulse Vibrator, while supplies last. The giveaway comes on the heels of this summer's buzz-worthy New York City sampling effort, where the Trojan™ Vibrations Pleasure Carts were greeted by thousands.

"With the success of the Trojan™ vibrator giveaway in New York City, it is evident that Americans understand that pleasure is a normal part of sexually healthy lives," said Bruce Weiss, Vice President of Marketing, Trojan™ Sexual Health. "By innovating high quality vibrators and making them easily accessible on drugstore, mass merchandiser and grocery store shelves, Trojan™ remains dedicated to taking pleasure out of the bedroom and into the mainstream."

Vibrators, Get Your Vibrators Here!

As temperatures outside start to drop, the makers of Trojan™ Vibrations will help heat things up by deploying a fleet of Trojan™ Vibrations Pleasure Carts over the coming weeks. The tour kicks off in our nation's capital and moves on to other cities, where brand ambassadors will be on hand to distribute free Trojan™ vibrators. People can track the tour and uncover upcoming stops by visiting Facebook.com/TrojanVibrations.

First stop? Washington, D.C., Location:The Park at Fourteenth 920 14th St., NW Washington, D.C. 20005. When: Tuesday, Nov 13th from 12:00 PM — 4:00 PM.

Join the Pleasure Party: Trojan™ Vibrations unites the country with a platform that aims to bring pleasure to the people. Visit the Trojan™ Vibrations Pleasure Carts for some post-election fun.

If you can't swing by the Trojan™ Vibrations Pleasure Carts, visit Facebook.com/TrojanVibrations for a chance to win a free Trojan™ vibrator.

What's the Buzz All About?

American couples are embracing vibrators more than ever before.[i] In fact, research from The Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University found that more than one in two American women (53 percent) and close to half of all American men (45 percent) have used a vibrator in their lifetime.[ii]

The makers of Trojan™ Brand Products are helping to lead the mainstreaming of the category by making high-quality vibrators accessible across a multitude of channels—at drugstores, grocery stores, mass merchandisers, online and in select adult stores—making it easier for couples to bring a higher level of fun and intimacy into their relationships. From vibrators to a wide variety of condoms, for over 90 years, the makers of Trojan™ Brand Products have remained dedicated to providing people with the tools they need to increase the heat index in the bedroom.

Trojan™ Pulse Vibrator delivers precise stimulation and boasts six vibration modes—three speeds and three pulse patterns, and is discreet and portable.

Trojan™ Tri-Phoria™ Vibrator provides 24 unique pleasure combinations via three interchangeable tips and eight vibration modes.

Trojan™ Twister™ Vibrator offers a unique twisting handle, allowing for multiple positions and options, including four unique twistable positions and eight vibration modes of five speeds and three pulse patterns. While Twister™ will not be featured as a giveaway at the Trojan™ Vibrations Pleasure Carts, you can find it at your local drugstore.*

For more information, visit Facebook.com/TrojanVibrations or TrojanVibrations.com.

About TROJAN™ VIBRATIONS

TROJAN™ VIBRATIONS is a line of high-quality vibrators and vibrating rings that help users enhance their sexual pleasure. This premium line of products offers unique features including multiple speeds and pleasurable pulse patterns in a variety of sizes and sensual designs to accommodate an individual's personal preferences. For more information, visit www.TrojanVibrations.com.

SOURCE Trojan(TM) VibrationsFrom PR Newswire

Ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi reinvents the iconic Kool-Aid man and "Oh Yeah" he's still busting through walls.

Kool-Aid is unveiling a new look for its big red mascot Monday, as the powdered drink brand looks to refresh its image and tout a new liquid mix.
The Kool-Aid Man, known for busting through walls and his "Oh yeah!" tagline, will now be computer-generated and take on the personality of a celebrity trying to show he's just a normal guy. In past ads, the character was played by an actor in foam costume and had little to say or do besides crashing through a wall with a big, smiley face.
The campaign comes as Kool-Aid plays up its liquid mix, which debuted in January. The new mix reflects a push by Kraft Foods to adjust to changing tastes and replicate the success of its liquid flavour enhancer called MiO.
MiO, which people squirt into water for flavour, has already spawned copycats including Coca-Cola Co.'s Dasani Drops. Executives say people like them because the small bottles are easier to carry around than powder mixes and let people add as much or as little flavour as they like.
The growing popularity of liquid mixes hasn't been good for Kool-Aid. In 2012, the brand's U.S. sales were down 5 per cent to $338 million, according to the market researcher Euromonitor International. That was following a 4 per cent drop the previous year.
The liquid mix is a return to Kool-Aid's roots. It began as a syrup called "Fruit Smack" in 1920. The product wasn't modified into a concentrated powder until 1927, when it was renamed "Kool-Ade." The current spelling followed in the early 1930s.
The Kool-Aid Man, meanwhile, made his first appearance in 1954 and has taken on various looks through the years. Kraft says his last big makeover was in 2000.
'He didn't really have a developed personality'Erica Rendall, senior brand manager at Kraft Foods Group Inc., says the new ads are intended to fill in the blanks in Kool-Aid Man's character so people can relate to him.
"He said a few things here and there [in the past], but he really didn't have a developed personality," she said.
In one of the new commercials, the scene opens with the character's round silhouette behind a shower curtain. When he steps out, he's a clear pitcher of water and he explains in a voiceover that his life isn't all "cherry and sweetness."
"I put my pants on one leg at a time," the voiceover notes, as he stands in front of a pantry full of Kool-Aid mixes deciding what to wear. "Except my pants are 22 different flavours. I've got grape pants, I've got watermelon pants."
But Kraft isn't abandoning trademarks of its past campaigns in the new ads, which were developed by the ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi. At the end of the commercial, the Kool-Aid Man heads out to work by calming busting through the front door. When he emerges, he waves cheerily to two awestruck kids riding their bikes past his front lawn. via: CBCnews — AP

“The archaeologist,” said Sir Mortimer Wheeler, one of the grand old men of archaeology, “is digging up, not things, but people.” The point about sites of antiquity is that, often surviving in a fragmented state, their meaning doesn’t immediately rear up and hit you between the eyes. It can be hard on a 21st century holiday to see a temple and imagine the priests and priestesses, the colours, the crowds, the ceremony and the sacrifices.

Sicily’s archaeology is extremely high calibre. The island was at the centre of trade routes in the days when travel was often easiest via sea. Ancient empires, from the Greeks and Romans to the Moors and the Normans, cast covetous eyes upon Sicily and left an enduring imprint with a great many magnificent buildings.

When the Greeks arrived here shortly after the turn of the first millennium BC, they quickly settled and started building their magnificent stone temples on an enormous scale. At Agrigento, they were erected along a ridge to create an intimidating line of massive architecture visible from the sea, which remains visually arresting today.

At Syracuse — once occupied by the Corinthians and over which the Greeks and Romans waged a drawn-out war – much of the story is told by remaining monuments: temples, fortifications and the famous stone quarries which doubled as the final prison of thousands of enemy soldiers used as slaves, most of whom died.

All of ancient life is here; religious, military, those of vast fortune with their showy villas, as well as the gifted craftsmen and artists who made them.

In some places in Sicily, the archaeologist’s trained eye helps put together the less obvious clues to bring the place vividly back to life.

The Graeco-Roman theatre at Taormina, set against the formidable backdrop of Mount Etna, also takes some beating for sheer emotional impact.

Andante stresses the “knowledge worn lightly” aspect of these comprehensive tours of the island, and also offers a Relaxed Break here – seven days based in one lovely hotel on the island of Ortygia with your own archaeologist, as well as Andante With Independence, for those who want the archaeologist and the specialist arrangements, but less of the “group” aspect.

Sir Mortimer would have been proud — on every tour it is not the monuments that are the focus, but the people who made them.

Author: Jack Wilkinson | Source: The Telegraph/UK [February 03, 2012]

WGBH's Emmy® Award-winning Design Squad Nation is introducing a revamped website to inspire the next generation of engineers. The online community is fueling kids' spirit of inventiveness, providing a destination where they can discover firsthand that engineering isn't something done by boring grownups in hidden labs: it's solving problems in creative ways...everyday, and all around you. Full press release below.

PBS KIDS' Design Squad Nation® Introduces Revamped Site To Inspire Community of Creative Kids
-- Emmy® Award-winning Team behind Design Squad Launches Extensive Updates and New Features to Inspire Next Generation of Engineers --
(Boston, MA, Tuesday, October 2, 2012) — WGBH announced the official launch of the revamped Design Squad Nation®, an online community that provides kids with a forum to express their adventurous, do-it-yourself spirit and share their creative ideas with other like-minded kids. Hot on the heels of a renewed DIY movement, the PBS KIDS Design Squad Nation website is the latest iteration of a franchise that includes a four-season run of the Emmy® and Peabody Award-winning TV shows Design Squad and Design Squad Nation. Design Squad Nation can be found at http://pbskids.org/designsquad/.

Why it's important

By nature, every young kid is a budding engineer: building contraptions with glue and Popsicle sticks or sketching an idea for an automatic pet feeder. But as kids get older, they have fewer moments in their daily lives where they can develop those critical thinking skills. Design Squad Nation fuels kids' spirit of inventiveness, providing a destination where they can discover firsthand that engineering isn't something done by boring grownups in hidden labs: it's solving problems in creative ways...everyday, and all around you.

How it works

Kids can join Design Squad Nation for free; earn points by contributing ideas, sketches, and photos of the projects they dream up; and keep track of all the things they have made in their own profile pages. As users contribute more to the site, they earn more points and move up in rank from "Newbie" to "Phenom." The goal is to frame the design process as a game, encouraging a virtuous cycle that gets kids to continue sharing their own ideas while cheering on others to do the same.

Kids ask great questions that deserve great answers! On Design Squad Nation, engineer-hosts Nate Ball and Deysi Melgar respond to questions in a series of short videos posted online. One week, Nate will add his own ideas to kids' sketches of waterpark rides. The next, Deysi will share what's so amazing about NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. As mentors and guides, Nate and Deysi show kids how engineers see things through a creative lens, inspiring kids to do the same.

Video made for the YouTube Generation

Into fashion? We've got a video about how engineering connects to it. How about cooking, sports, camping, or dancing? We've got those, too, and we're rolling out more videos all the time-from cool stunts to how-tos. We know that kids have many interests, and that their favorites shift from one thing to the next. No matter what they are into, Design Squad Nation has a video, project, or inspiring example of how engineering can further their interests.

The team behind the site

A passionate team of educators, Emmy® Award-winning producers, and website engineers at WGBH created Design Squad (the TV show) and Design Squad Nation. And that team is constantly looking for new ways to share the power of engineering and inspire kids to dream big. Their efforts are garnering wide acclaim. Design Squad Nation just earned a 2012 Emmy Award in the category of New Approaches-Daytime Children's.

"More than a website, Design Squad Nation is a growing community built around the belief that through creative problem-solving and engineering, any kid can make a difference," says executive producer Marisa Wolsky. "We currently are hard at work to make this community bigger and stronger, inspiring a new generation of engineers to dream big and change the world."

Design Squad Nation invites the next generation of great thinkers to get involved at pbskids.org/designsquadnation. Viewers also can follow Design Squad Nation on Facebook and on Twitter.

Right on the heels of three extraordinarily successful projects — garnering record breaking ratings for their clients — BIGSMACK unveils a new promo campaign for the National Geographic Channel. The energy-packed, mind-tickling campaign for the channel’s newest series “Brain Games” broke earlier this week in anticipation of the series launch on Monday, April 22nd at 9 p.m. (ET/PT).

Under the creative leadership of Founder/Head Creative Andy Hann and Senior Creative Director Matt Hall, BIGSMACK collaborated with National Geographic’s in-house creative team to complete the creative concepting. BIGSMACK wrote, produced, and created extensive CGI and graphics for the new launch campaign. http://www.bigsmack.tv/work/nat-geo-brain-games/

Hosted by Filmmaker and TED Talks icon Jason Silva, the new television series will use illusions, mind games and interactive experiments to reveal the inner workings of the human brain. Each episode of “Brain Games” will explore a different topic. These will include attention, fear, perception, sense of time and memory. Silva is a self-professed "wonder junkie," who has spoken widely about neurology, the human brain, and technology. The timing of the show is perfect, as President Obama announces a broad new research initiative to invent and refine new technologies to understand and map the human brain. Silva is joined on “Brain Games” by “The Gentleman Thief” Apollo Robbins, a deception specialist.

“National Geographic Channel has been a great, long-term client of ours,” says BIGSMACK’s Hann. “We worked on the promo for the “Brain Games” special last year, and it was so popular and successful that Nat Geo decided to turn it into a series. We were thrilled when they came back, and asked us to work on the promo campaign for the new series. We have a very collaborative relationship with Nat Geo. They really utilize us as a collaborative creative agency, and we work very well with their in-house team. They have a great deal of creative trust in us, which we really appreciate. This was a hugely fun campaign for the BIGSMACK team to work on. One of the biggest challenges was the research that we needed to do in order to find fun, and thought provoking examples of brain puzzles and teasers; as well as the choreography of the spots which required the cameras, experiments, and the on-screen talent to be in sync. Many of the shots were all done in one-take, which was quite a feat.”

Hann shared the director’s chair on set with BIGSMACK’s Senior Creative Director Matt Hall, since a great deal of the work was done in CGI and post, after the studio production wrapped. “The series host, Jason Silva, is renowned for his ability to improv,” explains Hall. “So we gave him an outline, but he added a lot of the material on his own while we were shooting. Because of the improv, most of the CGI/effects were added in the postproduction phase, without a lot of pre-planning. The creative process was truly an evolution, with BIGSMACK working with the in-house team at Nat Geo. At every stage, something new was added on-screen, continually making the spots that much better, and leading to a great end result.”

Due to the outstanding success of promo and show launch campaigns created and produced by BIGSMACK in the last 6 months, the team has been hard at work in the studio. “I couldn’t be more proud of the quality of work that continues to come from Andy and our BIGSMACK team” says Head of Marketing Andrew Kobliska, “The idea generation is endless, and this team truly understands how to create a successful campaign for our clients.”

Credits:
Project: Multi-spot promo campaign for the launch of new series “Brain Games”
Client: National Geographic Channel
SVP/Group Creative Director: Andy Baker
CMO: Courteney Monroe
Design Director Marketing & Creative: Carla Daeninckx
Director Ad Sales & Cause Marketing: Allison Mitchell
VP Creative & Consumer Marketing: Emanuele Madeddu
Producer: Valerie Carrillo
Agency, Production & Post Company: BIGSMACK/New York & Philadelphia
Head of Creative: Andy Hann
Senior Creative Director: Matt Hall
Head of Marketing: Andrew Kobliska
Executive Producers: Heidi Erney, Kevin Lahr
Senior Producer: Rich DiNublia
Senior Writer/Producer: Laura Gillespie
Production Coordinator: Meg Hughes
Director: Andy Hann
EFX Director: Matt Hall
DP: Andrew Turman
Line Producer: Larry Schwartz
Design/Animators: Jason Harmon, Rick Malwitz
Graphic Artist: Dan Hoffman
Editor: Mark Farkas
Mixers: Bob Schachner, Mike Taylor
Colorist: Janet Falcon

IKEA is launching a new campaign in the UK and Ireland, titled ‘Make Room for Your Life’, which examines how good storage can improve your life at home. The work continues the brand’s new strategy to demonstrate an understanding of the everyday challenges that people face in their homes.

‘Make Room for Your Life’, which launches on 19th January, explores IKEA’s storage ranges and highlights a wide range of smart solutions for everyday storage problems. The campaign uses the insight that poor storage doesn’t just cause mess and clutter, it also affects our relationships and the people we live with. By illustrating the effects of poor storage, the new spot demonstrates that making room for your life through good storage can be the first step towards happiness and wellbeing.

The campaign launches with the TV ad ‘Living Together’ in the UK and Ireland on 19 January. The spot, created by the agency Mother, shows a couple kept apart by a maze of mess. However, thanks to smart storage solutions from IKEA, the couple can tidy their way through the maze, removing the clutter from their lives to finally meet across a KIVIK sofa bed.

‘Living Together’ features a cover version of the Bee Gees song ‘Living Together’ by the band An Escape Plan. Three versions of the TV advert have been produced and include 60” and 30” adverts that run until 23 March on TV as well as a full length music video running online at http://www.youtube.com/ikeauk. The campaign also features outdoor, press ads and two filmed documentaries that will be launching on 11 February on the IKEA UK YouTube page.

Peter Wright, IKEA UK and Ireland Marketing Manager, said, “With the second burst of our new brand campaign it is our ambition to continue the revitalisation and transformation of IKEA brand in the UK and Ireland. ‘Make Room for Your Life’ demonstrates our understanding of everyday life at home and the problems that a lack of good storage gives everybody. We hope to show that we are more relevant than ever to help with consumers’ everyday challenges and ultimately for more consumers to choose IKEA more often for their home furnishing needs.”

The campaign is also integrated into the IKEA FAMILY loyalty programme with a series of editorial-style e-newsletters, direct mail and product focused online content, created by agency LIDA. The emails direct members of the programme to further online content packed with ideas and tips to help them ‘make room for your life’ and suggest how they can cut out clutter and get sorted with storage in order to be more organised for the year ahead. They also give a taster of the new products launching in-store.

Freddy Mandy, Creative Director, at Mother, said: “The idea for the campaign came from the observation that mess and clutter in our homes keep people apart emotionally as well as physically. We decided to illustrate this in our TV spot which shows a couple unable to get to each other because their stuff forms a maze keeping them apart. They have to clean up their home in order to be together.”

“We all have that space in our homes that really isn't a space – it's a dumping ground. The direct mail piece homes in on this insight and shows that with a little help from IKEA's ingenious storage solutions, you might actually see that carpet again” says Nicky Bullard, Executive Creative Director of LIDA.