My Most Popular LinkedIn Posts: Dec. 2022 to Feb. 2023
My sincere thanks to LinkedIn for hosting my posts, and to the many people who took the time to provide their valued perspectives, insights, creative attributions, and anecdotal experiences.
The featured commercials are by Advertising Agencies; Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett Zurich; Wieden & Kennedy London; Publicis Conseil Paris; DDB Amsterdam; Fallon London; and The Nine Shanghai.
The Road To Recovery
1. Switzerland Tourism, Preparation
Advertising Agency: Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett, Zurich, Switzerland
Production Company: Stories AG, Zurich, Switzerland
With the recovery of the travel and tourist hospitality industry, in many parts of the world, there remains much lost ground to be regained for a sustainable return to robust profitability.
Directed by filmmaker Michael Fueter, this ‘Clocks’ episode of Switzerland Tourism’s advertising campaign features their famous Sebi and Paul ’preparation duo’, with a music soundtrack composed and produced by Spacetrain Studios, Zurich, Switzerland.
Although created several years ago, for me the entertaining parody of making ‘time stand still’ in a country that is renowned for its precision time pieces, serves as an amusing analogy of the extra miles tourism industries have to be prepared to travel, in persuading holiday makers to happily pay more in prolonging their stays.
A Bit of Uplifting ‘Power of Dreams’ Nostalgia for The New Year
2. Honda, The Impossible Dream
Advertising Agency: Wieden & Kennedy, London, UK
Production Company: Stink Films, London, UK
Post Production and VFX Studio: The Mill, London, UK
Honda’s classic 2005 TV-commercial, directed by filmmaker Ivan Zacharias, features a soundtrack by Wave Recording Studios, London, of Andy Williams singing “The Impossible Dream” (also known as “The Quest”) by songwriter, Joe Darion, from the Don Quixote, Broadway musical, ‘Man of La Mancha’.
The inspired ‘Impossible Dream’ scenario, depicts actor Simon Paisley Day, in ‘perpetual motion’ as Honda’s ‘Power of Dreams’, takes him across the world.
After nearly 2 decades, the impressively directed and produced commercial, with scenic landscapes, that include New Zealand, Japan, and Argentina’s Iguazu Falls, is enduringly and nostalgically, fun to view.
Renault’s New ‘E’ Era
3. Renault Trafic Van E-Tech Electric, The Store
Advertising Agency: Publicis Conseil, Paris, France
Production Company: Soldats Films, Paris, France
Post Production and VFX Studio: Prodigious, Saint-Denis, Paris, France
Directed by multi award-winning Brazilian filmmaker, art director, and writer, Rodrigo Saavedra, ‘The Store’ commercial, is a charming visually-driven story, about how the transportation needs of businesses evolve over time, and how Renault vans always evolve alongside them.
Publicis Conseil’s inspired time-span scenario, and masterly produced commercial with outstanding era art direction, features a soundtrack of philharmonic orchestral composer, and songwriter, Georges Delerue’s, “Le Grand Choral”, from the François Truffaut film, “La Nuit Américaine”.
Aliens From Space Invade The Netherlands
4. Centraal Beheer Insurance, UFO
Advertising Agency: DDB, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Production Company: Stink Films, London, UK
VFX Studio: StyleWar, Copenhagen, Denmark
Music & Sound Design Studio: Dangerous Kitchen Music, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Centraal Beheer Achmea is an Insurance Company based in the Netherlands town of Apeldoorn.
In 1984 DDB conceived a campaign for Achmea Insurance with the catchphrase “Even Apeldoorn Bellen” or “Just Call Us”, that ever since, has become the Netherland’s most iconic advertising campaign theme of all time.
Linda Codega on the ‘Shots’ website insightfully commented recently; “It takes guts to stick with a campaign for 45 years. Or maybe just one really good idea.”
One of the most memorable Centraal Beheer commercials of past years, is the impressively directed ‘UFO’ commercial by filmmaker Les Stylewar.
The cinematic, masterly produced alien invasion parody, with spectacular special effects, is a visual delight with a very funny twist, and a tongue-in-cheek end message of, “Just call us … or maybe not”.
Sony’s Unforgettable Year of The Rabbit 2007
5. Sony Bravia, Play-Doh Rabbits
Advertising Agency: Fallon, London, UK
Production Company: Gorgeous Enterprises, London, UK
Animation Production Company: Passion Pictures, London, UK
Post Production Company: MPC, London, UK
The Sony ’Colour Like No Other’ advertising campaign, for the Bravia, Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) TV, was conceived by Creative Director Juan Cabral.
One of the multi award-winning campaign’s famed commercials, was the ingenious and creatively aspirational ‘Play-Doh Rabbits’.
Live-action scenes, filmed in New York USA, and directed by filmmaker Frank Budgen, were combined with stop frame animation over a period of thee weeks.
40 animators used over two tones of plasticine, to shape, mould, and construct, figures and shapes, of numerous configurations, in a history-making, creative collaboration of dedication and amazing passion, that is a timeless delight to behold.
Multi-Talented Creative Visionary Jody Xiong
Installation Artist, Graphic Designer, Advertising Conceptualiser and Film Director, Jody Xiong, after working as Group Creative Director at Ogilvy Shanghai, and as Creative Director at DDB Shanghai, attended a course in film directing at the New York Film Academy, and subsequently decided to establish his own agency of integrated technology, design, entertainment events, and film production, The Nine Shanghai.
6. Volvo X Durex, Safely Feel The Real Word
International Cannes Short Film Festival, Best VFX Award, 2022
Advertising Agency & Production Company: The Nine Shanghai, China
Directed by filmmaker, Jody Xiong, the monochromatic ‘Safely Feel The Real World’, is a mesmerising VFX dual-branding epic, of surrealistic imagery and masterful artistry.