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Seedwell Produces “Rewind YouTube Style 2012″ feat. PSY, WOTE and Star-Studded YouTube Celebrity Cast

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Seedwell Creative Studio

We’re calling it the biggest creator collaboration in YouTube history. Last month we got to meet PSY (Gangnam Style), who walked into the new YouTube Space LA studios to shoot a music video with us. It was midnight and he had just come from playing a concert with Justin Bieber. This was the cherry on top of our third 16-hour day of shooting with the largest number of top-tier YouTube celebrities to share a bill ever. Did we mention Walk off the Earth also showed up? We are honored that YouTube commissioned Seedwell to produce this mash-up of culturally defining moments of 2012 (both on and off YouTube). It was a total blast and we made a lot of new friends. [UPDATE 12.24.12 - We are proud to report the video achieved over 50 million views in its first week live!]

WATCH THE VIDEO: http://youtu.be/iCkYw3cRwLo | BEHIND THE SCENES + IMAGE GALLERY BELOW!
Can you name all the stars and can you spot all the references?

We’d also like to extend a HUGE thank you to all of the cast and crew involved in the project, many of whom worked long hours and went above and beyond to make this a success!

Best,
Peter, Beau and David
Seedwell digital creative studio

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Directed by Peter Furia | Produced by Michael Rucker, Peter Furia, and Beau Lewis
Executive Producers: Lee Hunter, Michael Rucker, Kevin Allocca, Dom Elliott
Associate Producers: Catherine Goldschmidt and David Fine | Assistant Director: Beau Lewis
Director of Photography: Catherine Goldschmidt (http://catherinegoldschmidt.com)
Edited by Peter Furia and David Fine
Music Composer: Jeff Kite (http://jeffkitemusic.com)
Choreography by SuzE Q (http://suzeqrocks.com)
Visual FX and Intro Titles by Monstro (http://monstrodesign.com)
Production Designers: Michele Yu and Cindy Chao | Stylists: Esha Gupta and Alexandra Schardt
Make-up & Hair: Jenna Tucker, Caroline Ramos, Michelle Tabor Ramos
Gaffer: Daniel McNutt | Key Grip: Lev Karamov | Location Mgr: Dan Eason | Studio Mgr: Whitney Rosenthal
Color Correction by Peter Brunet
End Card Designed by Vanessa Johnston | End Card Characters by Fuji Dreskin
1st AC: Sebastian Sokolowski | 2nd AC: Joe Bou | Steadicam Operator: Brian Freesh
Electrician: Joey Kennedy | Best boy electric: Derek Hoffman | Best boy Grip: Josh Markvan
Grip: Efrem Karamov | 4th Electric: Greg LeFevre | Audio Playback: Phil Amidon | DIT: Peter Brunet
Production Stills: David Fine
BTS Camera: Anthony Cote and Natasha Blass | BTS Edited by Alex Mallonee | BTS Assistant Editor: Alexandra Schardt
PA’s: Alex Mallonee, Julio Newman, Sydney Veazey, Hank Hartnell, Justi Reynolds, Vanessa Augustin, Alexander Hernadez

BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO+PICS FROM THE SHOOT

Viral Video Ad Round-Up: July 31st, 2012

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Seedwell Creative Studio

DC & Ken Block | Gymkhaha Five “Urban Playground San Francisco”

The most incredible part of this video is not Ken Block’s driving, the city of San Francisco, or the DC shoes that appear for all of twenty seconds; it is the sheer scale of the production. Mad props go out to the location scout that secured shooting in some of our fine city’s most iconic locations: the Financial District, Russian Hill, and even the Bay Bridge.

The video, shot over four action packed days, opens with Block revving the engine of his custom Ford Focus on a seemingly empty Bay Bridge – traffic having been slowed down by CHP. Once the initial disbelief over the improbability of the setting wears off, Block slams down on the gas and takes us on the wildest ride through the city since the days of Steve McQueen. He drifts around moving Cable Cars, zooms past buddy Travis Pastrana, and gets some serious air soaring over the hilltop streets of SF before eventually crossing a finish line atop Twin Peaks. All of it is shot from a variety of angles, in excessive slow-motion, and even incorporates bullet-time effects.

Not unlike automotive cousin NASCAR, the video is bubbling over with branded advertising. DC’s name is obviously all over the place but let’s not forget Block’s Ford Focus and the slew of additional sponsors the vehicle displays as it tears up the city streets. And after seven and half minutes of Block’s stunning display the brands get their chance to shine, taking over the rest of the ten minute video to promote themselves while Styk’s “Sailing Away” blasts in the background. It’s a win-win-win-win for all parties involved.

AMC | Put Zombies Back on TV

AMC is not standing idly by while Dish Network removes the channel from its programming. They’ve taken the fight to the streets… literally.

Using top of the line make-up, AMC’s team has transformed a dozen or so New Yorkers into zombies, not unlike the ones you’d find on their hit show The Walking Dead. Released on the streets among the general population the zombies elicit a range of reactions: everything from startled to fleeing to laughter to disbelief. The best moments come when the undead appear in uniform and on the job (a zombie postman, construction worker, & meter maid). I mean the undead have to make a living too, right? Perhaps unintentionally, AMC is making a point about the mindlessness of blue-collar city work.

Only at the end of the video do we get a clue as to AMC’s real intent: a zombie drags a satellite dish behind him, as he stumbles forward text appears, asking us to put the zombie’s back on TV. Clicking the link at the bottom of the video brings you to The Walking Dead homepage and it finally becomes clear that this is indeed a branded video, not some random prank with a huge make-up budget. The subtleness of AMC’s approach is what will allow this video to become a viral hit.

And what is up with Zombie pranks lately? Back in May there was the man who was found eating another man’s face , then last month this video appeared online, and now this AMC spot. What’s the world coming to? Then again, it is 2012…

Virgin Mobile Australia | Meet Doug Pitt “Fair Go Bro”

Wait, that’s really Brad Pitt’s brother? Then this is genius. We are introduced to Doug Pitt a.k.a. the “second most famous Pitt in his family” in Virgin Mobile’s new viral ad “Meet Doug Pitt” (catch the reference to one of brother Brad’s flicks?).

Doug’s life is a far cry from Hollywood royalty. When he shoots, he doesn’t always score (literally). Sure he’s an amatuer gourmet (he can make lasagna!) but the misses controls what’s on TV and Doug is forced to go into his “man cave” to listen to his 70’s rock music – on headphones.

Luckily for Doug, Virgin Mobile is here to make sure that he gets his 15 seconds of fame – a concentrated dose of brother Brad’s lifestyle. So they’ve built their ad campaign around Doug, giving him his first endorsement, and are asking fans to throw the poor guy a bone – or in this case a “like”- by visiting their site.

Bravo to Doug for being a good sport about everything. He might not posses the dramatic range of Brad but he nails the deadpan delivery and is comfortable parodying himself. Let’s hope this isn’t the last we see of him.

Airtime | “Best Internet You’ve Ever Had”

It’s paying off to be cheeky on the Internet these days. After the spot for Dollar Shave Club went viral back in March it has become clear that the ironic, direct-address approach pioneered by the folks at Old Spice is now an advertising standard. The new video-chat service, Airtime, is the latest company to embrace the strategy.

Airtime is the biggest invention since the sextant and phonograph, at least that’s what fictional millionaire Buckley Rivington would have you believe. Buckley introduces the service while simultaneously showing off his eccentric lifestyle: he uses Airtime to meet attractive girls, chat with pal Kurt Russell, and take business advice from MC Hammer. The spot is a fantastic parody of pompous millionaires and shows off the new company’s sense of humor – which Old Spice and the Dollar Shave Club have shown us is increasingly important. We’ll just have to wait and see if that strategy pays off for the young Airtime.

Viral Video Ad Round-Up: May 17th, 2012

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Seedwell Creative Studio

P&G London 2012 Olympic Games Film | Best Job

This heartfelt ad for Proctor & Gamble rolled out a few timely weeks before Mothers Day, receiving steady interest and heavy shares until grabbing the top spot on the viral video ads chart almost two weeks ago and holding on tighter than a goodbye hug. It currently has over 7 million views and is still receiving more than 600 shares a day. Talk about tent-pole. How many people skipped the card this year and sent their mom this ad instead?

The P & G products play second fiddle to the sound of your heartstrings as you watch dedicated, loving mothers around the world gently wake their children, help them get to school and practice, cheer them on, make them dinner and, of course, do some clean-up. The dishes and laundry are just part of the job. Rather than thinking about the product they use to scrub, we’re thinking of a mother’s kindness and our own gratitude. Proctor & Gamble sells them some soap, but these women create Olympic athletes.

Applaud goes to Weiden + Kennedy for creating one helluva an ad.

Radio Klassisk | Flash Mob in the Copenhagen Metro

They sound scary. That’s the funny part. If your grandma heard that you’d run into a “flash mob,” she’d ask if you were okay and offer to make you dinner. Then again, the concept of grandmas these days is changing faster than I can type so I could be wrong. Maybe she was part of a Thriller mob just last week.

But I digress. This is the one kind of mob that you’re actually jealous you missed. Who doesn’t hope for a group of strangers to press pause on their day and break the monotony with an unexpected choreographed dance number, curious social experiment or philharmonic performance of Griegs Peer Gynt on your train to work? The 2 million people sharing this ad for Denmark’s Radio Klassisk are no doubt saying to each other “How cool is this? I wish I’d been there! I hope some day I see a flash mob live!” They’re also subtly reminded of how beautiful and mood altering a classical piece can be through the reaction of the metro passengers and of themselves.

StopTheTraffik.org – Girls going wild in red light district

This PSA from StopTheTraffic.org was all about the surprise ending. Like a flashmob, there is an unexpected element from the beginning and the passerbys as drawn are into a dance number by the sexy red light district girls in the window. A heavy dubstep track plays from the shop as the girls pop, lock, shake and coordinate like they’re in a store selling Marquese Scott clones. Every one in the crowd (of mostly men) is smiling and in awe. The women in windows above act as though they’re holding the puppet strings of the dancers below and as the dance comes to an end, the crowd that has now filled the street claps and whistles.

Then the message: “Every year thousands of women are promised a dance career in Western Europe. Sadly, they end up here.” In other words: These girls had dreams, you jerks. Don’t encourage the nightmare. Stop the traffic.

Samuel Jackson iPhone 4S/Siri commercial (HD)

Siri is the most harassed woman in tech. She fetches you information while you drive or perform surgery or whatever it is you do and how do you repay her? By testing her patience with curse words or a ridiculous game of 20 questions while repeatedly proving how little she’s actually capable of. But who could blame you?

Apple is desperate to convince you that you love Siri. She’s like the little sister you never wanted! She’ll do all your chores! She does call you “Rock God“ after all …

So to follow-up the highly spoofed “Rock God” iPhone 4S ad, Apple predictably enlisted two of the most beloved celebrities in current pop culture, Zooey Deschanel (if you like that sort of thing) and Samuel L. motherf*$@in’ Jackson. The latter of which especially seems like a guaranteed win, but alas, Apple killed it. No, not that good kind of killed it. The other one. Yeah, like ruined.

What is this soft side of Samuel? Date night and fancy mushrooms? Both ads fall flat. Zooey is annoying. Did she really just ask Siri the weather while looking at the rain outside? And who wants a square Sam? Neither commercial portrays anything new about the Siri service. Instead, they make it look pretty ridiculous and unnecessary. Don’t get me wrong, Siri is a cool convenience, but if these ads are Apple’s way of showing how useful she can be, I’ll take the Google glasses any day.

Sauza Tequila – Make it with a Fireman

Make what with a fireman…? Margaritas? Oh. Yeah, that’s what we were hoping. Sauza made this one especially for the ladies and we’ve got to admit, it’s some extremely successful pandering.

You’ve got a burly, fireman with a kitten. He wants to rub your feet or go antiquing - whichever you prefer. He says he’ll help you “relive that summer in Paris.” He says kittens make everything better (and this one is especially cute and has a beret). He also happens to have a very simple, so simple you’re pretty sure you can remember it, mouthwatering recipe for margaritas. And he wants you to call him.

It would be over the top except that the whole thing is very tongue-in-cheek. Especially the bit about jeggings. He’s just the kind of man that doesn’t exist. And it’s just enough to make you want a drink. Bad. The ladies in the office would tell you, except they just went out for margarita fixins.

Roller Kingdom, Reno NV by Rhett & Link – Say NO to Crack, Say YES! to Roller Skating

Self-titled “Commercial Kings” Rhett & Link are back. Of course, they didn’t really go anywhere and have continues cracking us up on YouTube regularly, but they’ve returned to their marketing roots, once again making ads for obscure businesses. This video for a roller skating facility in Reno features the duo as thugs, backing up some geriatric drug dealers trying to lure kids to the dark side. Also deifnitely worth checking out is this one called “Black and white people furniture” Red House Furniture. Our favorite part is that the comedy duo are able to make these commercials pro-bono via MicroBilt and www.ilovelocalcommercials.com where anyone can nominate their favorite local business.

Viral Video Ad Round-Up: March 19, 2012

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Seedwell Creative Studio

Vytautas Mineral Water – It’s Earth’s Juice!

It’s really pretty difficult to make a good advertisement for H2O. We’ve seen the purity of the “natural, mountain sources” almost as often as we’ve seen the lips of models break into smiles as they’re refreshed by a bottle of stolen Fijian resources. But the most limited of resources seemed to be marketing ideas for the world’s most ubiquitous commodity … UNTIL NOW!

This ad for Vytautas Lithuanian mineral water oversells the crap out of water. Literally. It tells you their water is “poop-less,” unmarred by fish or bird feces, squeezed directly from Earth itself, so enriched with sparkling, pure minerals that it will allow consumers to digest leather coats and sandwiches made from iPads! This water is so hilariously in-your-face that by the end of the ad all I wanted to do was joke about wild animals in space and YELL. OUT. EVERYTHING!!! (In the fashion of the insane narrator). AND I DIIIID!!! ALL! DAY! This was the most viral ad of the week and, according to AdWeek, was the brainchild of some ~~silly~~ genius university students. Lithuania FTW.

Zoo York – Kate Upton Takes Zoo York

This is officially the last time I will write about Kate Upton (I hope). If you have somehow avoided her boobs until now, she is this year’s Sport’s Illustrated Swimsuit Edition covergirl, she’s done a series of Carl’s Jr. spots that make you hungry for much more than a burger, and this week her boobs went viral yet again in this Zoo York ad for … clothes or something?

A couple of gnarly cockroaches are chatting on the dumpster (sounds like the beginning of a good joke). One is talking about the approaching skateboards (oh, that’s right, there were skateboards in the ad! Maybe it’s for skate gear?) and the other is transfixed on, you guessed it, Kate Upton’s boobs.

They think they’re talking about the same thing until the dirtier of the two is so distracted he gets crushed by a skate trick. The foul-mouthed cockroaches got the ad banned from prime-time TV which, of course, significantly upped its online shares. It was a clever commercial for something-or-other but with that being said, I’m ready for a new it-girl any day now … Like maybe one who speaks?

Old Navy – Best T Infomercial

This ad for Old Navy’s new t-shirt line ‘Best Tees’ takes the infomercial format to hilariously hyperbolic new heights. It’s also surprisingly effective at selling the product. Like, I want one … Now.

First they got the “best T ever: Mr. T” (a.k.a B.A. Baracus, a.k.a How does this guy go out in public? a.k.a. Mr. T will do your commercial too) to sell t-shirts and make bad puns with all the intensity he once used to mangle bad guys. Then comes comedian/actress Anna Faris to demonstrate how Old Navy’s Best T’s have changed her from a “dillweed” to a cake-and-meat making sweetheart. While the jokes are definitely cheesy, they are also plentiful and perfectly-timed to make this ad so over the top that it is actually pretty darn funny.

On top of all that, you’ve got an infomercial-simple product that everyone wants but that really is a headache to buy (not that my shirts get caught in drawers or anything) and Old Navy does an excellent job selling us on theirs.

Red Bull – Jesus

Getting a commercial banned from television is a pretty fail-proof viral mechanism, but the verdict is still out on blasphemy as a selling technique. Red Bull, thanks to their ‘our-sugar-juice “gives you wings” motto, is no stranger to walking to biblical line in their ads. It was only a matter of time before they crossed it (pun intended). This ad is another one of their low-budget cartoons which features a bored Jesus out on a boat fishing with some plebes or prophets or something. You’d think it’s the Red Bull that enables Jesus to step out of the boat and flit across the water, but you’d be wrong. Jesus doesn’t need Red Bull. “It’s no miracle,” says cartoon Jesus, “you just have to know where the stepping stones are.” Ouch.

Meant for South African viewers, the ad has gotten plenty of free international press as well as international upheaval from Christian and Muslim organizations. Only Red Bull can decide if the controversy and public apology are worth it, but in the world of capitalism, there is only one faith and that’s marketing. View counts will be the judge.

CDC (Center for Disease Control & Prevention) – Tips From Former Smokers

Amid the spoofs and boobs on the Internet this week was one serious and sad string of anti-smoking PSAs from the CDC. Each spot features one former smokers message: a mother and her asthma-riddled child, a cancer patient getting ready in the morning, a father after a heart-attack. They don’t point to big tobacco companies, they don’t claim to be victims. They very simply lay out the reality they now live in because of their decisions and they give the viewer suggestions to avoid making their same mistakes.

The anthem ad features a handfull of ex-smokers doing every-day tasks like showering, shaving, gardening, shopping and painting the house except that each of them has a surgical stoma implant in their necks that they have to use to breathe and speak. Now, when performing every-day tasks, they also have to avoid getting water in their throat or having food come back up and they give these glimpses into their life as tips to viewers who may or may not be headed in the same direction. Because of their condition, most of us don’t often encounter stoma users in our own every day lives and so seeing them in theirs makes for a very effective reality check.

Viral Video Ad Round-Up: March 12, 2012

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Seedwell Creative Studio

Dollar Shave Club – Our Blades Are F***ing Great

We cannot tell you how many times we’ve cursed the razor-and-blade sales racket through the hygiene aisle of the supermarket. The number is too great and so are the expletives.

That’s why this ad from brand-new online service Dollar Shave Club is viral not only for its Old Spice-esque sense of humor, but also for its on-point critique of the current state of shaving services. “Do you think your razor blade needs a vibrating handle, a flashlight, a scratcher and 10 blades? Your handsome-ass grandfather had one blade and polio,” Mike Dubin says in his hilarious matter-of-fact sales pitch. TIME magazine informed us that Dubin has a background in digital marketing and was also a part of the comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade. He’s a one-man dream team for viral success.
The spot is filmed in the supposed Dollar Shave Club warehouse where Dubin introduces himself to viewers in front of an entire wall of dollar toys and crap. He catches our attention by telling us their blades aren’t good – (pause for dramatic effect) – they’re f***ing great. From there, Mike’s pitch includes a couple of unsuccessful attempts at using office supplies for effect, a toddler giving a shave, a dancing bear and an endearing female employee who Dubin refers to repeatedly as Alejandro. Oh and let’s not forget the dollar dance party at the end there. Go ahead and laugh for yourself:

Invisible Children – KONY 2012

While the Dollar Shave Club was the funniest viral video this week, its 3 million views are chump change in comparison to the 50 million views on the somber ad KONY 2012 from the non-profit activist group Invisible Children. The video was intended to make Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony infamous worldwide for his criminal activities exploiting and killing Ugandan children. At the rate at which the ad has been seen and spread, the effort was no doubt successful.

Millions of people now know a little bit more about Uganda and its plight, but do they know the whole story? The Invisible Children campaign also generated a fast and forceful backlash, attacking their financial accountability, their over-simplified portrayal of Uganda’s government and struggles as well as their violin-and-heart-string video itself, playing on viewers lack of understanding and leading them to believe that simply spreading the video is doing the cause justice.
It is not a black and white issue … except that it is. Well-intentioned western aid has been known to do more harm than good and it is a huge mistake to see any African country as helpless and in need of saving. On the other hand, as the video spread, so did the discussion of its merits or lack thereof. This article from The Atlantic points out how wonderful that arena for discussion truly is and in that light, it is undeniable that KONY 2012 is a very successful use of social media in advertising.

International OCD Foundation – Case Study

We take you now from a 30-minute effort to enlighten, to quite possibly the most effective 1-second ad ever made. The International OCD Foundation, rather than explaining the effects of obsessive-compulsive disorder at length, used a 1-second text-only ad to demonstrate the frustrations people with OCD experience first hand. The ad is too short to read in one viewing so, as the title explains (and even challenges) “You may have to press play more than once …”

In a culture where obsessive-compulsive disorder is often used in jest, teasing your mother who insists on color-coding her spice rack or used to apologetically explain your need to have every pen in the office cup pointed downward, the OCD Foundation chose to take just one of the more serious symptoms of the disorder and make viewers experience a bit of that frustration themselves. Of course we all pressed pause, but it still took a couple views to do that and, well, you get the point. The ad cost practically nothing to produce but garnered plenty of attention due to its unique, user-focused approach.

GQ – British Comedy Special

Paul Rudd, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Ken Jeong, Robin Williams and … well, we could’ve sworn there were some British comedians somewhere in this funny, little trailer for the upcoming GQ magazine UK Comedy Special.

Regardless (oh! Ricky Gervais! There’s one), the gaggle of funny celebrities combining silly sounds and funny faces into a (pretty darned good) iPad beatbox is fun enough for repeat viewings (and listenings). Combine that with Olivia Wilde shaking her own boobs as though they’re talking and now this video has been seen by men the world over. It’s too bad that Wilde’s boobs are the only female featured in the Comedy Special, but that’s our only gripe with what is otherwise a unique and creative viral commercial.

Converse – Do Ya Thing

Through product placement and beloved brand sentiment, Converse has made their shoes a timeless wardrobe staple that appears will never loose their cool. At this point, the brand barely needs to advertise as it seems like they do just fine putting out a few new styles and prints to covet in the windows of Foot Locker every month.

This ad isn’t even an ad really, it’s well-produced, fun to watch music video for the cartoon hip hop group The Gorillaz, who also seem to do no wrong. There are a couple sightings of the shoe here and there as well as one prominent shoe to the head scene, but there’s also so much going on in the video with the characters, the cameos (Andre 3000 is a main player) and the crap strewn about (including a few monsters and a bowl full of ears) that the brand is not overt. The Gorrilaz are so popular, and their work is so anticipated, that Converse got their name in not only advertising press but music news as well, with thousands of fans enjoying their ad.

Viral Video Ad Weekly Round-Up: March 5, 2012

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Seedwell Creative Studio

Mercedes-Benz – Invisible

Not all publicity stunts are created equal. Often times, attempts at organic press coverage confuse potential customers more than lure them, usually because the marketer’s message is lost in the mess of the stunt. Whether Mercedes’ invisible car will help sell the brand’s new fuel-cell, electric vehicle is yet to be seen, but the message is decidedly effective. Their point? The new fuel-cell vehicle from Mercedes leaves no trace, has no impact on the environment and is therefore invisible as far as the planet is concerned. Granted, there are some gaping holes in their logic, but covering the car in camera-equipped LED lights so as to mask it in the image of its surroundings is nevertheless a memorable message speaking to sustainability as well as modernity. The German automaker spent a week around the country engaging the public in this mobile message and since Saturday the ad has already tracked over a million views.

The Guardian – Three Little Pigs

You’ve got a British news source that has been in publication since the 19th century. You’ve got a fable as old as time itself. And then you’ve got this week’s brilliant viral advert combining the two into something entirely new. For years now The Guardian, like many other standard print publications, has been reporting earnings losses, so it thrills us to see them taking this creative, incredibly effective approach illustrating the evolution of news and their role in the news of the future. In the ad, The Guardian reports, online and in print, the murder of the Big Bad Wolf. Social media allows citizens to chime in on the case with opinions, observations and even new information and the story changes before our eyes from three innocent pigs defending themselves to a foreclosure scandal in which the wolf was framed. Coverage combined with national debate spark citizen dissent and riots, all the while the ever-present news source is involved and informative, engaging its readers to be a part of the news and see all sides of the story. It appears that perhaps we’ve been hearing the story of the three little pigs from a less-than reliable source.

Kia Optima – Dunkology

Will Ferrell and the team behind Funny or Die have been bottling up their viral magic and selling it like hot cakes to brands like K-Swiss, Denny’s and Pepsi. The site is becoming a major player in creating one of the few forms of marketing anyone cares about anymore: viral advertisements. With this week’s Dunkology ad and subsequent interview (is that a two-for-one price, FOD?) Kia joined the list of viral brands on the web’s top comedy source. Jeff Goldblum is obviously someone to trust, especially when wearing a lab coat (sometimes I think Jeff Goldblum was born in a lab coat) and since he is now an expert in “dunkology,” it makes perfect sense that basketball star Blake Griffin would take part in a stunt where a Kia drives over his head (sort of) to dunk a basketball. Dunkology 101. The ad is funny, but the post-stunt interview with comedian Wyatt Cenac is hilarious. Links to Funny Or Die below:
Kia Optima Dunk
Post-Dunk Interview

Carl’s Jr – Drive-In

Okay … Let’s see … What is there to say about the new Carl’s Jr. ad featuring Kate Upton? You see this photo here? It’s even hotter than that. It has something to do with a spicy burger. Yeah, that’s it. There’s a burger and there’s some jalapeños and it’s so spicy that this year’s Sports Illustrated cover model gets all sweaty (in the attractive way, of course, not the real-life way) and writhes around in her convertible while eliciting stares at the drive-in. She takes clothes off, we watch over and over. I thought videos of this nature weren’t allowed on YouTube, but Carl’s Jr. must have found a loophole. Sexiest. Burger. Ever.

Bamboo Sushi – The Story of Sushi

‘The Story of Sushi’ is an artisan advertisement. Part PSA, part self-promotion, this tale about the state of the world’s fishing industry took 7 months to create and produce. Feature length Hollywood films are done in less. The miniatures were all crafted by hand specifically for this advertisement for Portland’s Bamboo Sushi. Nothing gets the slow-food message across like a painstaking production process. We saw a similar throw-back approach with the stop-action video ‘The Joy of Books’ from Toronto’s Type bookstore, romanticizing our connection to pages and stories, and they too received lots of attention (not to mention 3 million views) for their heartwarming viral ad. ‘The Story of Sushi,’ however, is less heartwarming than it is alarming and informative. It is an attempt to wake consumers up from eating in ignorance and consider the source of their seafood. The problem is, few of us know anything about how the fish we eat was caught, but that is also why this restaurant’s message works so well. Because at the very least, we now know that we should care, that Bamboo Sushi cares and that their tables can be trusted. The time spent on this production was absolutely worth it. We wouldn’t be surprised to find ‘The Story of Sushi on next year’s TED compilation of Ads Worth Spreading.

The Story of Sushi from Bamboo Sushi on Vimeo.

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