Evidently Toronto is a good place to be right now. Especially if your intent is to create engaging video content for a hungry Canadian Internet market. The jury is out, and the verdict is that Canadians watch online video more than any other country in the world. The crazy Canucks just can’t get enough. Continue reading ‘Canada’s Internet Video Addiction’
Monthly Archive for July, 2010
Unilever were undoubtedly the stars of this year’s Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, winning the renowned ‘Advertiser of the Year’ award. It has to be said, that after 50 years of inspiring and pioneering campaigns, it’s thoroughly well-deserved.
Unilever won their first Cannes Lion with Omo washing powder in 1961 and there’s been no stopping them since, with over 200 Lions in total. Their campaigns include the groundbreaking Dove ‘Evolution’, the much loved PG Tips ‘Chimp Family’ and Marmite’s uniquely brilliant ‘Love It or Hate It’ ads.
We were thrilled to be asked to make a film that would showcase Unilever’s fantastic heritage of advertising campaigns (an accompaniment to Keith Weed’s acceptance speech as Chief Marketing Officer). With over 400 brands to choose from, and 50 years worth of material, we were spoilt for choice.
In terms of advertising, Unilever have always been on the mark -- they were behind the first ever TV advert to be broadcast (Gibbs Toothpaste 1955) and continue to be ahead of the game with recent viral campaigns such as Axe’s ‘Clean Your Balls’. We wanted to celebrate Unilever’s success whilst placing their work in context. Here’s what we came up with…
We live in a highly visual time. In the urban world nature has long ago relented to the onslaught of build and design. Most of the things that people design and create are easily overlooked as they blend into the clutter of our daily lives. We’ve all heard the cliche assertion that the average person sees thousands of branded messages a day, and likely remembers or even consciously acknowledges very few of them. Amidst such competition, seeing a visual style so striking is rare and instantly captivating. I came across the work of Alex Varanese months ago, and somehow found myself compelled to go back for more. While thematically he offers some variety, stylistically his consistency draws a very clear picture of the view from his frontal lobe. To me that is the rare part. There are recurrent elements that create texture and context, but also make his work recognizable and memorable. There is a feeling of deep layering that pervades and makes me think he toiled over the intricacies with the dedication of old time craftsman of unfettered resolve.
Alex Varanese may or may not be your favorite artist, but just see if you can get away with only one look at his collection.
