Studies show that if cows like a song they can produce more milk. Can you create a song that cows will love? If you answered yes then have we got a contest for you! Read on my cow loving music making friends and when your done be sure to head over to www.musicmakesmoremilk.com and make some music.

MORE COWBELL! BC Dairy Association Explores Connection between Music and Milk Production
British Columbians to Compose Songs for Dairy Cows in New Online Challenge

The BC Dairy Association invites British Columbians to try their hand at composing original music for a burgeoning new audience of aficionados: milk producing dairy cows.

Developed by DDB Canada and its integrated groups Tribal DDB Vancouver, DDB Public Relations and OMD Vancouver, the online initiative entitled Music Makes More Milk takes as its basic premise a common observation among dairy farmers that cows respond positively to music.

“Over time, BC dairy farmers get to know their cows well. They understand their behaviour, their moods, their likes and dislikes,” says Dave Eto, executive director, BC Dairy Association. “One thing they’ve come to learn is that happy cows produce more milk.”

Music Makes More Milk contestants will use an online music composition tool to create original songs to play for the cows. The tunes of semi-finalist contestants — determined through a public voting system — will have their compositions played directly to cows on a BC dairy farm. Videos of the cows reacting to each shortlisted song will be shared online on November 7, 2012. Ultimately, it is the cows that will serve as the final judges of the contest, identifying an overall winner based on the highest milk production achieved while listening to the five finalists’ compositions. Music-related prizes will be awarded to 15 semi-finalist and five finalists, and the winning contestant will also receive a trip for four to the 55th Annual Grammy™ Awards in Los Angeles.

“You don’t need to be an accomplished composer to participate. The music composition tool was developed for all ages and music skillsets,” explains Dean Lee, creative director, DDB Canada. “As an added incentive to purchase and drink more milk, contestants can enter UPC codes on milk products to unlock additional sound effects and instruments to include in their composition.”

The online initiative is being supported with media relations, social media cultivation and a paid-media program with Global TV BC and Slice.ca.

In order to prime the cows for the contest, an accomplished quartet of classically trained musicians – led by Coast Symphony Orchestra conductor Edette Gagné– visited the Fraser Valley’s Valedoorn Farm yesterday and performed an “opening act” of Mozart numbers.

The six-week Music Makes More Milk contest launches to the public on Wednesday, October 10th, 2012 and the final winner will be announced on Monday, November 26th, 2012. Everyone is welcome to submit a tune at www.musicmakesmoremilk.com, but only British Columbians may enter the contest...The rest of Canada is not happy about that!

Director David LaChappelle brought his usual style and flair to a new ad for Smirnoff Vodka called "Fluffed & Whipped," which features music from Thwak! Music UK, the London office of the noted music house company led by Creative Director Tony Verderosa

Thwak! Music provided on the raunchy blues track heard on the back end of the spot, representing the "Whipped" Smirnoff product. The music heard in the beginning provided by Human.

Creative Credits:
Client: Smirnoff
Project: "Fluffed & Whipped" TV: 30
Agency: J. Walter Thompson, New York
CCO: Peter Nicholson
ECD: Matt MacDonald/ Jeremy Postaer
Art Director: Eric Larkin
Director of Content: Sergio Lopez
Producers: Carrie Lewis / Andrea Curtin
Director of Music: Paul Greco
Sound Design: Alan Friedman
Audio Post Mix: Andy Green
HSI, Los Angeles
Director: David LaChappelle
Music Supervision/Music License: Thwak! Music UK
Additional Music License: Human Worldwide

Ribbons
Music and song is "Desperate Heart" by Gram Rabbit.

Rings
Music and song is "Time Lapse" by Annie Automatic and Luke Mazino is on the rings.

Backflip
Music and song is "Rift" by Whisper City

Trampoline
Music and song is "Bring Me Close" by Mindy Gledhill

Breakdance
Music and song is "Dust Monolith" by Whisper City

Anthem
Music and song is "Head Up" by Mako

Credits:
Advertising Agency: The Richards Group/Dallas, USA
Agency Producer: Sheri Cartwright
Art Director / Creative Director: David Morring
Copywriter / Creative Director: Tim Tone
Production: Furlined
Director: Nez
Producer: Caroline Pham
DP: Max Goldman
Music: Primal Scream Music
Music EP: Nicole Dionne
Composers/Artists: Mako, Annie Automatic, Gram Rabbit, Mindy Gledhill, Whisper City
Editorial Company: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Elliot Graham
VFX Company: A52

The Recording Academy® and TBWA\Chiat\Day have teamed for the sixth year to promote the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards® with the ad campaign "#TheWorldIsListening." The 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards (www.grammy.com) will be held on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live in HDTV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network.

"Slammed Door" featuring Rihanna above and below is "Soundcheck" with The Black Keys and voiceover by Dr. John

"#TheWorldIsListening" campaign features both established and up-and-coming artists across a variety of print, out-of-home and digital communications, as well as three TV commercials. The first commercial, "Slammed Door," tells five-time GRAMMY® winner and current nominee Rihanna's story. The second commercial, "The World is Listening," features artists including the Kills, Snoop Lion and Taylor Swift alongside emerging artists such as Grace Potter, Kishi Bashi and Dam-Funk. Two-time GRAMMY winners and current nominees the Black Keys will appear in the forthcoming commercial titled "Soundcheck."

At the heart of this year's "#TheWorldIsListening" campaign is a newly created Web site, www.grammyamplifier.com, which allows musicians to share their tracks via SoundCloud for a chance to have their music tweeted out by a panel of musical icons, including Linkin Park, RZA, and Snoop Lion. While social media has given musicians more ways to share their sounds than ever before, the online music space is increasingly fragmented. As a result, it gets more difficult for emerging artists to be discovered. "#TheWorldIsListening" campaign and the GRAMMY Amplifier aims to help solve this problem by exposing new artists through social platforms — with the ultimate goal of discovering artists with the potential to be the next generation of GRAMMY winners..

"This year's campaign highlights the raw emotion and desire of the artist's journey, and is amplified via social media in order to draw more music fans into an engaged music conversation," said Evan Greene, Chief Marketing Officer of The Recording Academy.

Patrick Condo, Creative Director, TBWA\Chiat\Day, said, "Sure, the music industry embraces fame — but music always comes first. From RZA to Rihanna, to the young girl taking her first piano lesson, it's their passion for the craft that will, ultimately, lead them to the public and then fame. This year's campaign celebrates this passion and the talent as burgeoning artists embark on that quest for fame."

All of the campaign materials prominently feature the hashtag #TheWorldIsListening, a first in GRAMMY history and a testament to the role of social media with regard to the GRAMMY telecast. In February 2012, the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards generated more than 13 million social media comments making it the biggest social media event in the history of television at the time.

"The World Is Listening" 55th GRAMMYs Full Campaign Credits:
Artists: The Black Keys, Gary Clark Jr., DaM-Funk, The Gaslamp Killer, Jim James, Kaskade, The Kills, Lianne La Havas, Linkin Park, Moon Duo, Nas, Ozzy Osbourne, Papa, Grace Potter, Rihanna, RZA, Simian Mobile Disco, Snoop Lion, Taylor Swift, Anthony Valadez, Warpaint, Patrick Watson, Jonathan Wilson.

Global Creative President: Rob Schwartz
Executive Creative Director: Patrick O’Neill
Creative Directors: Patrick Condo & Bob Rayburn
Associate Creative Director/Copywriter: Eric Haugen
Associate Creative Director/Art Director: Kirk Williams
Art Directors: Hillary Coe, Rebecca Ginos, Katie Dittman
Executive Director of Integrated Production: Richard O’Neill
Executive Producer: Sarah Patterson
Producer/Music Supervisor: Michael Gross
Assistant Producer: Whitney Fromholtz
Director of Creative Technology: Ricardo Diaz
Account Director: Michele Tebbe
Management Supervisors: Mike Peditto & James Aardahl
Account Supervisor: Daryl Conui
Group Planning Director: Rad Tollett
Digital Strategist: Kyle Luhr
Business Affairs Managers: KK Davis & Lisa Lipman
Typography Design: I Love Dust

DIGITAL PRODUCTION
Music Supervisor: Liza Richardson
Creative Technologist: David Riegler
Tech Lead: Gevorg Ablabutyan
Senior Developers: Marcelo Duende & Jake Edur
QA Lead: Lester Broas
QA Engineer: Walter Velasquez
Senior Producer: Justin Taylor
Producer: Kiley Story
Tech Lead: Mike Bucks
Technology Manager: John Byrne

PRINT & OOH PRODUCTION
Photographer: James Minchin
Executive Art Producer: Karen Youngs
Print Producer: Matthew MacDonald
Project Managers: Jane Martin, Collin Beckles
Creative Retouching: Arthaus
Prepress: E-Graphics

FILM PRODUCTION
Director: Saam Farahmand
Production Company: Furlined
President: Diane McArter
VP Executive Producer: Eriks Krumins
Producer: Dave Robertson
Original Music, Sound Design, & Mix: Barking Owl
Creative Director: Kelly Bayett
Mixer: Brock Babcock
Sound Design, "Slammed Door" and "Soundcheck": Barking Owl & Michael Anastasi
Editorial: Arcade
Editor, "The World is Listening": Kim Bica
Editor, "Slammed Door" and "Soundcheck": Greg Scruton
Post Producer: Kirsten Thon-Webb
Managing Partner: Damian Stevens
Executive Producer: Nicole Visram
Assistants: Dean Miyahira, John Jenkins, Pete D'Andrea, Laura Sanford
Visual Effects: The Moving Picture Company
Creative Director / VFX Supervisor: Paul O’Shea
Smoke Artist: Mark Holden
Telecine Artist: Ricky Gausis
Producer: Juliet Tierney
Executive Producer: Asher Edwards

Say good bye to your old microwave and that annoying "Beep...beeep...beeeep" when your food is ready. Thanks to a brilliant idea from the ad agency Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi who came up with idea of a music playing microwave for the firm BGH. The test was so successful that they are going begin mass production of the Quick Chef Music Microwave and available to buy in 2012.
And yes, that is the music of The Mamas & The Papas in this commercial and the wildly popular song "California Dreamin."
Credits:
Advertising Agency: Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, Argentina
Executive Creative Directors: Maxi Itzkoff, Mariano Serkin
Creative Directors: Diego Medvedocky, Ignacio Ferioli
Creatives: Guilherme Souza, Breno Costa
Producer: Camilo Rojas
Agency Producers: Adrian Aspani, Lucila D'Amico
Account director: Jaime Vidal
Account Executive: Manuela Sorzana
Microwave product development: Marcelo Da Torre / Creavis
Production Company: Pank
Directors: Pablo Fusco, Juan Chappa
Executive Producer: Lucas Urquiza
Photography Director: Federico Cantini
Post Production Company: La Sociedad Post
Music: Diego Grimblat
Advertiser's Supervisors: Ezequiel Devoto, Viviana Insaurralde

It's a commercial for fruit, nope I was wrong it's a commercial for the new Old Spice Fiji Bar Soap that just happened to be buried in basketball, that is actually a watermelon that you plunge you're hand into to pull out that bar of soap. While the fabled isle of Fiji may or may not actually exist, new Fiji Bar Soap from Old Spice definitely does exist, probably at a grocery store or a sports area or somewhere else.

Credits:
Ad Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland
Executive Creative Director: Joe Staples
Executive Creative Director: Susan Hoffman
Creative Director: Jason Bagley
Creative Director: Craig Allen
Art Director: Croix Gagnon
Copywriter: Nathaniel Lawlor
Senior Producer: Lindsay Reed
Head Of Production: Ben Grylewicz
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks/Revolver Film
Director: Steve Rogers
Executive Producer: Shawn Lacy, Holly Vega, Michael Ritchie
Line Producer: Pip Smart
Director of Photography: Ben Seresin
Editorial Company: Work Post
Editor: Richard Orrick
Assistant Editor: Healy Snow
Post Executive Producer: Erica Thompson
VFX: The Mil
Executive Producer: Sue Troyan
Producer: Adam Reeb
Production Coordinator: Samantha Axelrod
VFX Supervisor/Flame Artist: Tim Davies
Lead Flame Artist: Sarah Eim
Flame Artist: Bill Higgins, Elad Offer
Compositor: Steve Cokonis, Remedy Huynh
CG Artist: Ryan Reeb, Blake Sullivan, Martin Rivera, Misha Panov, Jacob Bergman
Shoot Supervisor: Steven Anderson
Music: Libman Music
Composer: Paul Libman
Recording Studio: Sear Sound
Engineer: Ted Tuthill
Mix Company: Avatar Studios
Mixer: Jay Messina
Music Editing: Madpan Productions
Music Editor: Uri Djemal
Music Editing: Lime Studios
Music Editor: Rohan Young

Old Spice launches it's new manly bar soap with this new commercial simply entitled "Shower" featuring a hunky guy that has his own shower blasting him wherever he goes.

Credits:
Ad Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland
Executive Creative Director: Joe Staples
Executive Creative Director: Susan Hoffman
Creative Director: Jason Bagley
Creative Director: Craig Allen
Art Director: Croix Gagnon
Copywriter: Nathaniel Lawlor
Senior Producer: Lindsay Reed
Head Of Production: Ben Grylewicz
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks/Revolver Film
Director: Steve Rogers
Executive Producer: Shawn Lacy, Holly Vega, Michael Ritchie
Line Producer: Pip Smart
Director of Photography: Ben Seresin
Editorial Company: Work Post
Editor: Richard Orrick
Assistant Editor: Healy Snow
Post Executive Producer: Erica Thompson
VFX: The Mil
Executive Producer: Sue Troyan
Producer: Adam Reeb
Production Coordinator: Samantha Axelrod
VFX Supervisor/Flame Artist: Tim Davies
Lead Flame Artist: Sarah Eim
Flame Artist: Bill Higgins, Elad Offer
Compositor: Steve Cokonis, Remedy Huynh
CG Artist: Ryan Reeb, Blake Sullivan, Martin Rivera, Misha Panov, Jacob Bergman
Shoot Supervisor: Steven Anderson
Music: Libman Music
Composer: Paul Libman
Recording Studio: Sear Sound
Engineer: Ted Tuthill
Mix Company: Avatar Studios
Mixer: Jay Messina
Music Editing: Madpan Productions
Music Editor: Uri Djemal
Music Editing: Lime Studios
Music Editor: Rohan Young

HIFI PROJECT PROVIDES MUSIC & SOUND DESIGN FOR VISUALLY COMPELLING STARZ RE-BRAND CAMPAIGN

Los Angeles & Minneapolis – (May 13, 2013) Collaborating with ad agency Fallon, HiFi Project is the creative force behind the music and sound design for the new, visually compelling re-brand for cable network STARZ. According to HiFi Creative Director/Composer Paul Robb, this was the most extensive sonic branding campaign to date for the company, which is better known for working on commercial and advertising campaigns such as new spots for Gap, Jaguar, and Chevy.

HiFi Project was tapped to create an extensive soundscape that was innovative and revolutionary, taking the listener on a musical journey; while design firm yU+co was called on to create a design language that infused the entire landscape of the STARZ platform with their new tagline, “Taking You Places.” “We had a great time on this project because they really gave us a tremendous amount of freedom to create music,” explains HiFi’s Robb. “We were tasked with creating a soundtrack for the network that was thrilling, but never heavy-handed. They didn’t want music that was overly whimsical or cheery, but something that was gripping, seductive, and premium.”

HiFi initially provided STARZ with 60 original demos, from which network creatives chose five to explore further. After hearing extended arrangements (some as long as four minutes) of the “final five”, a hero track was chosen. HiFi then set about the demanding task of arranging this hero track into five broad style families, for each of the network programming categories. All in all, HiFi Project produced an astonishing 35 complete compositions, ranging from two seconds to over three minutes in duration.

“From a creative point of view, this was just pure joy,” says Robb. “We were given license to create music and sound design for these beautiful, abstract graphics that yU + co had created. We don’t get that level of freedom that often, so we were thrilled.”

“Because a great deal of our work is in the commercial and advertising realm,” adds Executive Producer Birgit Roberts, “and there are oftentimes far more restrictive parameters to that type of work, our team really had a great time with the creative process. It was also great to collaborate with both Fallon and the creative team in-house at STARZ on a re-brand of an entire cable network, which was a first for us.”

Credits:
Client: STARZ
Executive Creative Director: Jessica Creasey
Director of Production: Kandy Barry
Technical Director: Sean Richardson
Creative Director: Michael Vamosy

Ad Agency: Fallon
Integrated Producer: Angie Schoemer
Art Director: Ben Pagel
Creative Director: Andrew Voss

Design Company: yU+Co:
Senior Producer: Carey Michaels Keeney

Music & Sound Design Company: HiFi Project:
Creative Director/Composer: Paul Robb
Executive Producer: Birgit Roberts
Composer: Jason Murgo
Producer: Melissa Mooney

Ikea just launched its first music video-style commercials in the UK, and the adverts look great. The first, released to day is "Playin' With My Friends", Ikea says the ad is about bringing people together the party season and they do a good job of it.

Peter Wright, marketing manager for UK and Ireland at Ikea, said he plans to completely "transform and revitalize" the brand in the UK with its latest ads taking on the form of "music videos". He went on to say, "[Ikea is] moving from talking about products to talking about activities in the home. It's actually going to be done in the style of music videos. They're all up and coming artists so there will be a series of up and coming re-recording of tracks."

We'll be looking forward to seeing more this campaign, full credits and song/music artist to come.

See the behind scenes making of the advert HERE and meet Darren The Bear.

Updated: The music is a remake of the song "Playing With My Friends" by BB King and Robert Cray.
Credits:
Creative Ad Agency: Mother, London
Director: Dougal Wilson
Production Co.: Blink
Producer: Ewen Brown
Editor: Ed Cheesman
Editing House: Final Cut
Post Production: MPC

Cats are the stars of the newest Litter Genie commercial/music video, that's right Walter and the Awful Pawfuls apparently signed a deal with Genie Records and gave us this video: "I Haz a Pie Row Tek Nik" from their debut CD Nine Lives Left. See the earlier Psychedelic '60s video of Walter and the Wizards off the album Litter Trippin' after the credits.

Do you wanna rock? Then grab your owner's milk and tear up the town like it's made of silk. Rock out to Walter and the Awful Pawfuls new music video from the album Nine Lives Left, brought to you by our cat litter brand Litter Genie.

Lyrics
Ohh! Sing it to me.
Come on kitty gonna make you purr.
This Friday night's gonna be a blur.
There's a reason for my good mood.
My litter box don't got a stinky attitude.
My human uses Litter Genie to...
Scoop it up, drop it down,
Come on
Close and pull, all over town.
Ohh Sing it to me!
Its five-layer bag,
That's right
Makes smells wave a white flag.
It holds two weeks of poo.
It's so easy, who knew?
Ohh Litter Genie!

Credits:
Advertising Agency: JWT, New York, USA
Executive Creative Director: Sarah Barclay
Creative Director: Billy Faraut
Art Director: Hope Jordan
Copywriter: David Canavan
Chief Creative Officer: Jeff Benjamin
Co-Chief Creative Officers: Matt MacDonald, Ryan Kutscher
Planner: Mariam Dilawari
Head of Production: Sergio Lopez
Senior Producer: Mustafa Imam
Director of Music: Dan Burt
Project Manager: Jen Schockett
Account Team: Claire Capeci, Ariel Stern, Vanessa Reid, Amy Achenbaum
Director: Keith Schofield
Production Company: Caviar
Post-Production: Final Cut, The Mill
Editing House: Final Cut
Music House: Amber Music
Media Agency: MEC

Under the creative leadership of Producer/Composer Chris Heidman, the Minneapolis office of HiFi Project was called on recently by ad agency Peterson Milla Hooks for a whimsical, new Spring 2013 campaign for The GAP. HiFi Project collaborated closely with popular DJ/Electronic Artist KI:Theory to add just the right musical color to the new ad.

When it comes to music, GAP is known as a forward-thinking brand,” explains HiFi Project Creative Director/Co-Founder Paul Robb. “When we were presented with the striking imagery for the ‘Skimmers’ campaign, we knew we would have to provide music that was just as bright, fresh, and new as the picture. In addition to our original tracks, we approached Ki:Theory, the cutting-edge DJ/Electronic artist and friend of HiFi; and it was his track that succeeded in capturing the mood of the spot perfectly.”

“Using toy pianos, manipulated vocals, and a wide variety of ‘cut-and-paste’ production techniques, Ki:Theory was able to take a pretty traditional group of instrumental sounds and combine them into something that sounds newer than new, but still somehow sounds familiar,” adds Chris Heidman, who oversees the Minneapolis office of HiFi.

“HiFi Project was great to work with on this new, spring campaign for The Gap,” concludes Daron Walker, Music Supervisor for Peterson Milla Hooks. “They have access to a truly diverse and talented group of artists. I was familiar with Ki:Theory, and when HiFi suggested him, I knew he was going to be the perfect fit for this project. I gave them a broad idea of what we were looking for, and we really worked well through the creative process together.”

Credits:
Agency: Peterson Milla Hooks
Executive Creative Director: Dave Peterson
Head of Production: Aldo Hertz
Broadcast Producer: Sean Healey
Music Supervisor: Daron Walker
Account Supervisor: Liz Sudit
Account Representative: Erica Lachat
Production Company: Bees and Honey
Directors: Alexander Dynan/Dave Peterson
DP: Alexander Dynan
Line Producer: Bianca Cochran
Editorial: Channel Z/Minneapolis
Editor: Brett Astor
Producer: Kelly Thaemart
VFX/Finishing: Pixel Farm
VFX Supervisor: Kurt Angel
VFX Producer: Krystal Lamoureux
Music Company: HiFi Project
Creative Director: Paul Robb
Executive Producer: Birgit Roberts
Producer: Chris Heidman
Composer: Ki:Theory

Rob Dyrdek performs some cool stunts in another Chevy 2012 Super Bowl Commercial, this one entitled "Stunt Anthem". The ad features all-new Chevy Sonic and this Sonic is up for some adventure as Dyrdek take's the Sonic first time skydiving, bungee jumping, kick flipping, and performing with OK GO.
The song and music is "We Are Young" by the band Fun featuring Janelle Monàe.

Credits:
Advertising Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners, USA
Creative Director: Jeff Goodby
Executive Creative Directors: Jamie Barrett, Hunter Hindman
Associate Creative Director / Art Director: Nick Spahr
Associate Creative Director / Copywriter: Jonathan Graham
Director of Broadcast Production: Cindy Fluitt

Executive Producer: Hilary Coate
Senior Producer: Michael Damiani
Assistant Producer: John Riddle
Agency Music Supervisor: Todd Porter
Group Account Director: Todd Grantham
Account Director: Steve Barry
Account Manager: Brendan Pascoe
Assistant Account Manager: Phong Tran
Operations Director: Christine Piper
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Karen Keoleian
Business Affairs Associate Manager: Heidi Killeen
Production: Biscuit Filmworks
Director: Noam Murro
Managing Director: Shawn Lacy
Director of Photography: Jeff Cutter
Executive Producer: Colleen O’Donnell
Line Producer: Jay Veal
Production Designer: Bruce McCloskey
Editorial: Arcade Edit
Editor: Stewart Reeves
Assistant Editor: Luke McIntosh
Producer: Kirsten Thon-Webb
Post Production / VFX: Method Studio
VP of Production: Gabby Grourrier
Executive Producer: Stephanie Gilgar
Sr. VFX Supervisor: Rob Hodgson
VFX Supervisor / Creative Director: Benjamin Walsh
CG Supervisor: Jason Schgardt
Executive Producer: Gabby Gourrier
Head of Production: Stephanie Gilgar
VFX Producer: Krystina Wilson
VFX Coordinator: Anastasia Von Rahl
Lead Compositor: Dominik Bauch
Lead Lighter: Kevin Sears
Post Production / VFX: Method Studio
Matte Painting: Mike James, Danny Janevski, David Woodland
Senior Compositor: Gabriel Reichel
Roto: David Orman, Ben Tanti
VFX Supervisor: James Rogers
Executive Producer: Andrew Robinson
VFX Producer: Jayne da Costa
Telecine: Company 3
Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld
Music Licensed Track: ‘Looks Like We Made It’ Performed by Barry Manilow
Courtesy of Arista Records LLC Arrangement by Sony Music Licensing
Written: Will Jennings, Richard Kerr
Published: Irving Music / BMI
MIX: Lime Studios
Engineer: Rohan Young
Assistant Engineer: Jeff Malen
Producer: Jessica Locke

Egg Films' Jason Fialkov directed Rise, the new Skyy Vodka commercial conceived by Young & Rubicam's chief creative officer Graham Lang and creative director Nkanyezi Masango.

Taking a music video approach, Jason created a seductive rooftop party full of surreal luster.

To escape the rain, the penthouse just rises above the clouds, thanks to some seamless CGI work from BlackGinger. The commercial is driven by an original composition from Pulse Music New York, who’ve worked with the likes of Mary J. Blige and Britney Spears. It’s shot by Peter Tischauser, styled by Elaine Jeacocks, and edited by Matthew Swanepoel at Priest.

Credits:
Title: Rise
Client: Skyy Vodka
Agency: Young & Rubicam
City: Cape Town, South Africa
Agency producer: Mthuli Bam
Chief creative officer: Graham Lang
Creative group head: Nkanyezi Masango
Production company: Egg Films http://www.eggfilms.tv/
Director: Jason Fialkov
Director of photography: Peter Tischauser
Production co-producer: Margie McMahon
Executive producer: Kerry Hosford
Post production company: BlackGinger
Editing company: Priest
Editor: Matthew Swanepoel
Original music: Pulse Music

First Nacho Cheese, then Cool Ranch. What's next? The answer's more obvious than you think, especially if you happen to be surrounded by fire.

Credits:
Client: Taco Bell
Spot: "The World's Most Hottest Idea"

Agency: Deutsch, Los Angeles
Group Creative Director: Brett Craig
Creative Director: Jason Karley
Creative Director: Josh DiMarcantonio
Senior Art Director: Gordy Sang
Senior Copywriter: Brian Siedband
Director of Integrated Production: Vic Palumbo
Executive Producer: Paul Roy
Senior Producer: Mila Davis
Music Supervisor: Dave Rocco

Production Company: Arts & Sciences
Director: Matt Aselton
Director of Photography: Nigel Bluck
Executive Producer: Marc Marrie
Managing Director: Mal Ward
Line Producer: Scott Kaplan
1st A.D.: Craig Pinckes

Editorial Company: Cut and Run
Editor: Jay Nelson
Assistant Editors: Luke McIntosh and Sean Stender
Senior Producer: Amburr Faris
Executive Producer: Carr Schilling

Post Facility: MPC
Colorist: Ricky Gausis

Visual effects Company: Method
VFX and Online Artist: Jason Frank
VFX Assistant Artists: Patrick Vollkommer
Creative Director: Claus Hansen
Producer: Stephanie Alllis
Music/Composer: Massive Music (Music Festival scene only)
AFM Stock Music (Airbrushing scene only)

Sound Designer Company: 740 Sound Design LA, CA
Sound Designer: Rommel Mollina
Assoc Producer: Jeff Martin
Executive Producer: Scott Ganary

Audio Post Company: Lime Studios, Santa Monica, CA
Mixer: Rohan Young
Assistant: Patrick Navarre
Executive Producer: Jessica Locke

End Tag Mnemonic: Method Studios-Santa Monica, CA
Executive Producer: Robert Owens

Additional Deutsch Credits:
Chief Executive Officer: Mike Sheldon
Account Management Credits:
Group Account Director: Walter Smith
Account Directors: Amanda Rantuccio
Account Directors: Christi Johnson
Account Supervisor: Steve Scutellaro
Account Executive: McKenna Pickett
Account Planners:
Chief Strategic Officer: Jeffrey Blish
Group Planning Director: Christian Cocker
Traffic/Business Affairs:
Director of Business Affairs: Abilino Guillermo
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Ken Rongey
Business Affairs Manager: Nestor Gandia
Director or Broadcast Traffic: Carie Bonillo
Broadcast Traffic Manager: Sarah Brennan

Los Angeles-based ad agency Arcana Academy are reminding consumers that the mattress is often the scene for many familial ups and downs in “Life Before Your Eyes,” a poignant brand affinity spot for mattress giant Sealy Posturepedic.

Taking the cheeky and avant-garde creative under the brand’s category re-defining ‘Whatever You Do In Bed, Sealy Supports It’ campaign into new emotional territory, the spot recounts the story of a family moving across the country. When they hit a bump in the road, the mattress flies off the back of their moving track and the seminal moments in lives flash before viewers’ eyes.

“People fall in love with their bedding, their pillows and even their bed frame, but ask around and you might be surprised to discover that most people aren’t sure what brand of mattress they sleep on, let alone express an emotional connection to it,” said Arcana Academy co-founder Lee Walters. “If you love your mattress, is it possible for it to love you back? This spot says, yes. Definitely.”

“Life Before Your Eyes” will debut on April 1 and air during heavy retail periods throughout May, June, July and August. In between those periods, it will act as a brand affinity spot to broaden consumers’ perceptions of Sealy Posturepedic mattresses.

Credits:
Title: Life Before Your Eyes
Client: Sealy
Agency: Arcana Academy, Los Angeles
Executive Creative Director: Shane Hutton
Executive Creative Director: Lee Walters
Art Director: Lee Walters
Art Director: Alex Esseveld
Copywriter: Shane Hutton
Copywriter: Agustin Sanchez
Executive Producer: Florence Babbitt
Agency Producer: Jessica Darke
Agency Producer: Denice Hutton
Account Executive: Elizabeth Miller
Directors: Annabel Jankel and Jackson Jankel-Morton
Production Company: Curious Pictures
Director of Photography: Martin Ahlgren
Executive Producer: Bill Reilly
Line Producer: Carol Haak
Editorial: Arcana Academy
Editor: Keith Hamm
Animation and Visual Effects Company: Big Block
Managing Director, Big Block: Kenny Solomon
Executive Producer, Big Block: Leslie Sorrentino
Producer, Big Block: Cindy Chapman
VFX Supervisor: Randall Smith
Lead/Designer: Curtis Doss
Flame Artist: Brian Schneider
Animator: Peter Sperrazza
Colorist: Bob Curreri, Cinelicious
Sound Design Company: Eleven Sound
Executive Producer, Eleven Sound: DJ Fox
Sound Engineer, Eleven Sound: Scott Burns
Music Company: Egg Music
Original Music: Brack Herfurth, Egg Music
Executive Producer, Egg Music: Eric Fawcett
via: Glossy

Work It Kitty, a great multi-phase campaign for the Temptations cat treat full press and credits below:
TEMPTATIONS TREATS LAUNCHES THE PURRFECT CAT WORKOUT: WORK IT KITTY

The cat’s out of the bag! The makers of TEMPTATIONS® treats, the irresistible snack cats love, is shaking up the feline fitness world in order to encourage Canadians to get more active with their cats. The leading Canadian cat treat brand quietly soft-launched its WORK IT KITTY™ campaign with the release of a cat workout/music video and www.workitkitty.com microsite.
The WORK IT KITTY™ video is the exclusive meowzercise workout for cats and features fictional characters Kate and George— cat hotel owners and premier cat workout professionals. Reminiscent of a 1980s workout, sweatbands included, cathletes Banjo, Fritz, Harley, Pumpkin and Tom, demonstrate the hottest feline fitness moves, including ‘paw rotations’; ‘jumping box squats’; and ‘paw extensions’.
“The TEMPTATIONS® All Natural treats brand wants to encourage Canadians to find simple ways to keep their cats active in a fun way,” says Brittany Compton, Senior Brand Manager, TEMPTATIONS®, Mars Canada Inc. “The WORK IT KITTY™ campaign video and microsite have generated great consumer response, and we’re thrilled that the campaign is gaining so much organic attention.
The WORK IT KITTY™ campaign, created by the TEMPTATIONS® treats’ creative agency DDB Chicago, officially supports the TEMPTATIONS® All Natural treats product portfolio.

Created in partnership with Ultra Music and produced by Biscuit Filmworks, the WORK IT KITTY™ video features the song I Don’t Wanna Dance by Alex Gaudino ft. Taboo. The video was seeded out to consumers through Ultra Music’s YouTube channel and encourages viewers to visit www.workitkitty.com. The video and microsite are currently supported with public and media relations by Fleishman-Hillard Toronto, and Proximity Canada is communicating the campaign through the TEMPTATIONS® treats Canada Facebook page.
The WORK IT KITTY™ campaign officially launches mid-July 2013 and targets Canadian cat owners and lovers, ages 18-49 years old. It will feature the video repurposed into a national, English and French 15 second ad by DDB Chicago that will run on a national television and pre-roll media buy co-ordinated by MediaCom. Match Ignite developed and will execute an in-store UPC collection and redemption promotion and in-store display tools as well as mass direct-to-target consumer sampling.
Agency Credits:
Title: WORK IT KITTY™
Client: Mars Canada Inc. TEMPTATIONS® All Natural Treats
Creative Ad Agency: DDB, Chicago
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks
Director: Andreas Nilsson
Managing Director: Shawn Lacy
Music Video Seeding: Ultra Music
Public Relations: Fleishman-Hillard Toronto
Media Buy: MediaCom
In-Store Marketing / Direct-to-Consumer Sampling: MatchIgnite
Facebook: Proximity, Canada

The first music magazine in the world that plays the music you are reading about. That’s the idea of the project created and developed by the Ogilvy Brazil and its digital team to make a difference for its client Billboard.

Now, the readers would just need to touch their mobile phones over the Billboard’s cover and listen to a top list of music bands Billboard is talking about in that edition. How? No app downloads, no QR codes, no Bluetooth and 100% wireless.

The shopper only needs to carry modern mobile with NFC (Near Field Communication) technology that comes in almost all new models. The secret of the action is a NFC sticker behind the cover that transmits the music to the consumers with a single touch.

After a period of tests in selected newsstands and bookstores in Sao Paulo, Billboard Brazil publishers are now ready to change the music magazine as we know in a large scale. Readers have just become listeners.

Credits:
Title: The End of the Silent Magazine
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Brazil
Title: Billboard Magazine Brazil- The End Of The Silent Magazine
CCO: Anselmo Ramos
ECD: Roberto Fernandez, Paco Conde
Creative Director: Fabio Seidl
Copywriter: Fabio Seidl
Art Director: Juliana Martins
Head of digital: Daniel Tartaro
User Experience Director: Pablo Moura
Production Company: Bossa Nova Films
Director: Tiago Soban

All-Girl Rock Band the Runaways

Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning prove they are the Queens Of Noise in a biopic about 70s all-girl rock band The Runaways. The career of The Runaways was short lived, spanning only five years, but the impact they had on the music industry was immense. The all-girl teenage rock band helmed six albums and several hit singles such as Cherry Bomb, Queens Of Noise and Born To Be Bad, and helped shape female rock icon Joan Jett. Yet it was a dirty, tumultuous ride as shown in The Runaways, the directorial debut from Floria Sigismondi.

Set in Southern California in the mid-70s, Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) is a shy and sulky glue-sniffer who dreams of becoming a rock star like Suzi Quatro. She takes that burning ambition to music promoter Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) and after pitching him the idea of starting an all-girl rock band, he starts to recruit teenage girls for The Runaways. He and Jett find their front woman in the stylish and dreamy Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) and the young women are soon subjected to a rigorous training regimen where Fowley teaches them how to handle rowdy crowds, deal with hecklers and howl, wail and strut in a passionate brand of macho feminism.

Despite their musical talent, they all play their own instruments and write their own songs, Fowler sees an opportunity and promotes The Runaways as a cocktail of empowerment and exploitation. Dressed in hot pants, heels, jumpsuits and lingerie, the teenage girls become both a fetish and a rebellious rock `n' roll band, and subsequently take off. From homegrown success to global domination, including a huge fan base in Japan, the girls begin to struggle with their meteoric rise to fame, the easy availability of drugs, predatory men, lack of supervision and group dynamics.

The focus of the film is the individual stories of Jett and Currie, who are key members of the group and share an intimate relationship as friends and sometime lovers (which cumulates in a pash between Stewart and Fanning). Coming from a background as a photographer and music video director, Sigismondi has an eye for visuals and her competency in creating this grungy 70s world is similar to Catehrine Harwicke's effort in The Lords Of Dogtown. Her direction of the music scenes, which are all sung and performed by the actors, really captures the electricity of the band and their music. However, that is also her downfall because The Runaways retains a glossy sheen that seems out of place given the events unfolding on screen. The story too has been trimmed and moulded from Currie's autobiography, so that it is just rebellious enough, while skipping over some of the more confronting and compelling issues.

But the crux of The Runaways is the performances, with Shannon delivering a suitably sociopathic turn as Fowley and Alia Shawkat makes the most of her small supporting role. Yet it is Stewart and Fanning who steal the show. In case you did not know already, they make this film their declaration that they are no longer child stars, but rather young-adult actresses who deliver tour de force performances. Fanning's David Bowie-esque Currie is as beautiful contradiction, a vulnerable and undecided teenager off stage and a fierey sex kitten on it. Besides her uncanny resemblance to Jett, Stewart ozzes the rock `n' roll mentality and her brooding, attitude-filled performance is reminiscent of a young James Dean.

Flashy and feisty, The Runaways is an entertaining piece of pop art, but it fails to delve deeper into the real story. For an accurate account see former bassist Victory Tischler-Blue's documentary Edgeplay: A Film About The Runaways. Sure, from a technical perspective it may be one of the worst documentaries I’ve seen, but she captures the band’s truly amazing story in interviews and mind blowing revelations. Watch it. In other news, I interviewed her a few weeks ago and she describes Jett as a “fucking c#nt” so she deserves your props for that.

Get ready for whole lot of Beyonce during the 2013 Superbowl, Pepsi announced the Big Games half time performer will also be appearing on Pepsi cans and I'm assuming we wont be surprised to see here in one of Pepsi's Super Bowl ads this year. Read the full scoop at Brand Channel HERE.

The Fact Brief:

Pepsi is announcing a true creative and wide-ranging global collaboration with worldwide music icon, Beyoncé. Together they will collaborate in developing new content and innovative ways to engage fans, consumers and retailers to benefit both brands.

• Beyoncé is our partner and Brand Ambassador for Pepsi. Pepsi has had a relationship with Beyoncé for more than a decade – she first served as a Pepsi spokesperson in 2002.
• Since then, she has become a global pop culture phenomenon – arguably one of the biggest pop stars in the world — winning 16 GRAMMY® awards and selling more than 100 million albums worldwide.
• The multi-faceted collaboration with Beyoncé includes:
• Establishing the Creative Development Fund, a resource devoted to the co-creation of innovative and relevant consumer content.
• Collaboration on design – in addition to having her image on a can or bottle, she is working with us on the design of all materials related to the partnership.
• Beyoncé starring in a new “Live for Now” global TV commercial, currently planned for release in early 2013
• Beyoncé will be appearing in print and out of home advertisements for Pepsi. She will also be visible in-store and on-premise through materials such as shelf promotions, in-store displays and in-store advertising.
• The Beyoncé partnership is the lead example of how Pepsi is pioneering a new way for brands to engage with musical artists, moving from sponsor to partner. This creates a creative and commercial collaboration that serves both artist and brand.
• Beyond the partnership with Beyoncé, we are using our global scale and scope to create a platform to support multiple country-specific Pepsi musical artists.
• With our music program, we can excite our existing fans and attract new consumers to Pepsi, connecting their love of music with the refreshing experience of drinking Pepsi, driving sales of Pepsi globally.
• Our retail partners love music partnerships and are ready to embrace this relationship because Pepsi has a proven record of promotions that drive store traffic and sales.

Smirnoff launches it's "Crazy Nights" new TV ad created by JWT.

The song in the commercial, "Crazy, Crazy Nights" is a cover of the original Kiss song from 1987. It is sung by Sun For Moon and was arranged by Big Foote Music.
Credits:
Chief creative officer: Peter Nicholson
Executive creative director: Matt MacDonald
Creative director/art director: Scott Bassen
Art director: Paul Sidharta
Creative director/copywriter: Chuck Pagano
Copywriter: Juhi Kalia, Ai Lin Tan
Planner: Yusuf Chuku
Director of integrated production: Clair Grupp
Director of content production: Sergio Lopez
Producer: Andrea Curtin, Carrie Lewis
Director of music production: Paul Greco
Account executive: Amy Frisch, Sandra Ciconte
Project manager: Terea Shaffer
Director: Samir Mallal
Production company: Smuggler
Post-production: Lost Planet
Editor: Hank Corwin, Paul Snyder
Editing house: Lost Planet
Music: Big Foote Music
Song: “Crazy, Crazy Nights” (Paul Stanley, Adam Mitchell)
Media agency: Carat