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Stockspot… 85 Seconds. Follow up to last year’s, From Love to Bingo (check post from 05 23 12) Brazillian agency, lmapBBDO delivers another touching spot for Getty Images showing off the stock house’s vast library of video footage. This effort, composed of 105 video tells the story of a young couple who grow up as friends, but whose lives diverge, before they eventually meet again. All in a heart-tugging 90 seconds. Certainly gets you to think about life and possibly about Getty’s 63 million-plus seconds of video which could potentially be the answer to your next creative challenge. Kudos to the creative team for what must have been a colossal research and editing job. Again, while stock video (or still photography) has its well-known challenges, this spot does make you think that there are vast, unexplored possibilities…
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05 15 13
Odd pairings… Open wide for the latest photo editorial from Copenhagen-based contemporary culture and lifestyle magazine, Bitchslap (another new small-circulation title from the recently prolific Scandinavian nations). This story with a featured traditional Danish as centerpiece, delivers an offbeat visual presentation melding smørrebrød, a Scandinavian open-faced sandwich that stands among the Danes’ favorite, alongside a range of casual garb (all Scandinavian). What’s not to enjoy about food and fashion? But in this case, it is more about the variety of seasonal patterns and prints that is intriguing. Not sure the Danes are quite ready for the global runway, but here’s to creativity with imagery. Skål!…
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05 15 13
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05 14 13
Site SPOTTED. Help: One of favorite new brands and websites. Help (official company name is Help Remedies), a pharmaceutical startup launched back in 2008, is fast becoming a branding case study. The idea behind Help is to simplify common medications with single-ingredient drugs in low doses, with casual, clear, symptomatic titles, such as “Help: I Have a Headache” (acetominophen) or “Help: I Have a Stuffy Nose” (phenylephrine). Help injects a large dose of humor into all its communications. “If you try to maintain a tone of science and seriousness, it’s really alienating,” says Nathan Frank, one of Help’s founders and its creative director. There are dozens of mock problems on their website, such as Help: I don’t know what fork to use; Help: I’m going bald; Help: I don’t know if I am gay; Help: I have ghosts; Help: I forgot someone’s name; Help: I am worried about my penis size or Help: I want my cat to be a cover model, each of which links to a clever, tongue-in-cheek solution. Kudos also for the minimalist white packaging featuring color-coded graphics that illustrate the sizes and shapes of the particular remedy inside. Deliberately offbeat marketing tactics including pop-up stores, performance windows and viral videos complete the brand strategy, mixing up straight-forward facts and benefits with endearing humor and silliness. Help products can be found in major pharmacy outlets, as well as Target and Walgreens with aggressive expansion plans on the horizon. Hopefully, we can rest assured that there will always be Help…
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05 14 13
INNA Jam: One of our favorite small company food finds. Both for quality of product, packaging as well as marketing. First, this stuff is delicious. Kudos to proprietor, Dafna Kory, for launching this extraordinary seasonal jam business out of Emeryville, CA. Sourced from local organic farmers, Kory produces single-varietal jams with bright, unique flavors. They also make shrub (?!?) which is a fruit-vinegar-sugar syrup that one mixes with sparkling water or in a cocktail. Again, fresh, natural and wonderfully appealing. Black mission fig, Royal Blenheim apricot, quince to name a few on a seasonally dynamic lineup. Love, love, love the super simple packaging which lets the beautiful colors of the jam and shrub shine, along with the minimalist labeling. No frivolous text or graphics present or needed. Country meets modern is the vibe. Website seems like a starter site, so we look forward to see what INNA does next. In due time. Coming to your favorite, local- or artisinal-appreciating food shop near you. Pump up the jam (and shrub)…
