Scarlet faces all round

When is a TV series not a TV series? When it's a series of TVs! OK, the joke may lose something in translation, but when you dupe the likes of Lindsey Lohan, Holly Willoughby and The Feeling (yes, THE FEELING!) into brushing down their glad rags and hitting the town for the look at the next Alias-a-like tele-show and then revealing that they're actually at the launch of LG’s latest gogglebox range, the guffaws come hard and fast.

Pitched as an action-adventure US TV show directed by David Nutter (X-Files, Smallville), ‘Scarlet’ is the tale of a secret agent/model/TV star type who’s got a big secret that seems to involve explosions and car chases. Hyped for aaaages, with its new found star – Natassia Malthe – becoming a ‘sleb’ in her own right, the soon to be aired pilot was hotly tipped for greatness. Cleverly seeded media attention and striking press, digital and poster executions made sure the audience was ready for the big reveal.

All, however, was not as it seemed. As exposed in a star studded bash in Hollywood on the 28th and London on the 30th of April, Scarlet was not a new show, rather the fetchingly coloured new range of HD TVs from LG. Complimenting this, the advertising updated to reveal the true star of Scarlet. Even the trailers made better sense, with phrases like ‘I want to put her in every home in the planet’ and ‘waddya mean she’s gonna change TV forever’, seemingly innocuous on the first viewing, brought the agency’s ruse into sharp focus (snazzy HD TV pun not intended).

Speaking of the campaign, Kwan-Sup Lee, VP, Brand Marketing of LG Electronics Digital Display Company said “Brand marketing now is all about a having a ‘story’ in which a brand communicates with consumers, strengthening consumers’ emotional attachment to that brand is the key to long-term success.”


Adding to this feeling of connection with the consumer, Chan Suh, CEO of Agency.com, said, “The launch of ‘Scarlet’ is more than an integrated campaign; it is a connected campaign. It was made possible by an innovative client who saw the value in working in an unconventional way. The team of individuals and agencies worked in unison despite multiple continents, time zones and languages separating them. The result is a campaign that is truly a unique and holistic marketing solution and one-of-a-kind”.

All in all, the campaign was enormous, encompassing extensive use of PR, digital, TV and cinema advertising, print, OOH and social networking through a top-secret pre-reveal and post-reveal phase. Digital and social networking included pre-reveal (www.scarletseries.tv) and post-reveal websites (www.LGScarlet.tv), viral videos, downloads, IM icons, Facebook and MySpace presence, actor blogs and web videos, rounding out the 360-degree solution. Phew!

As intrepid reporters, The Reel were looking fresh in whistles for the UK reveal, and the event certainly did have the feel of a large-scale launch. Upon the revelation (nicely accompanied by a spot of Carmina Burana), folks around the grand hall tittered with amusement, confirming KS Lee’s theory that the twist would ‘appeal to premium seekers who will appreciate … the unconventional campaign.”

The multi-platform, multi-language, global campaign was a result of a connected agency model, led by Agency.com and partner agencies including TEQUILA\London, branded entertainment agency, Stream, and Premier public relations. Also in from the inception, London based Production Company Great Guns produced the project out their new Bangkok office. Big thanks to our pals at The Media Foundry for getting us in and cocktailed up!

NewsReel 01/05/08

As always, please send any news and press releases to sam@thereel.net and we'll do our best to include it here.

A handy ANDY GRANDY for the Master Chief
McCann Erickson and T.A.G San Francisco won the biggest prize at the 44th ANDY Awards held in New York last night. Their campaign for the launch of the eagerly anticipated third installment in Microsoft’s Halo series, featuring the mighty Master Chief, won the coveted GRANDY and $50,000 prize money. For many the highlight and keystone of the whole ‘Believe’ campaign was the beautiful diorama TV spot, as featured in September’s Reel.

To see the full list of winners, including a healthy UK contingent, click here.

Another director
Another Film Company’s recent signing Martha Delap was among the winners at last week’s television BAFTAs for her direction of the nation’s favourite potty mouthed chef in Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.

Tim Marshall, Another’s Managing Partner, recently said of her signing, ‘We’re very excited to be involved in introducing such a young and dynamic talent into the commercials world. Martha makes programmes that have great popular appeal; they look good, are engaging and honest. A move into commercials makes perfect sense.’

Martha’s first commercial with Another is already in the can (and on The Reel), directing the nation’s favourite diminutive mockney chef Jamie Oliver in Sainsbury’s ‘Feed Your Family for a Fiver’ campaign for AMV BBDO.

Downing Wan-da
Wanda in Paris has signed new director Michael Downing for European (excluding UK) representation. Before joining Wanda, Michael attended the American Film Institute where he made a short film called 'Fine', which won a student Oscar. He is now directing a Toyota commercial for Wanda, which will hopefully hit The Reel soon.

Epoch Films sign Collision
Epoch Films has announced the signing of established music video collective Collision for UK commercials representation. From an animation and graphics background, award-winning Collision have developed a distinctive voice through an inventive approach to filmmaking. Working in a mix of live-action and animation they’ve already worked with some top-notch indie bands including Radiohead, the Killers, Franz Ferdinand, Scissor Sisters, Editors, the Zutons, and the Bees, and they’ve just delivered the latest promo for the Young Knives. Their first work through Epoch London is a cinema and viral campaign for Mother re-launching Covent Garden called ‘Spring Renaissance’.

Some more Stinkers
Stink has signed creative and directing duo Dark Fibre. They’ve recently made waves with their ‘Stuff of Life’ spot for Amnesty International and have previously produced David LaChappelle’s glossy Oscar shortlisted film ‘Rize’ and produced and directed serious telly like ‘Living Goddess’ for More4 and ‘Zombie Town’ for Channel 4.

Blink…and they didn’t miss him.
Blink has signed Argentine director Nicolas Kasakoff for commercial representation in the UK. The ginger haired dynamo loves the idea of working with Blink, ‘As anybody who could distinguish between apples and bananas, I could easily recognise Blink as a high-class company not only in the UK but worldwide. In addition to that, their visual and narrative style seemed to be totally aligned with my way of thinking.'

Jason Studholme, Blink’s managing director, obviously enticed by his director’s fruit-recognising abilities, is also delighted with the arrangement, ‘I happened to be doing a Motorola job in Buenos Aries with Patrick Daughters which gave me the opportunity to get to know Nico. I discovered that as well as being super talented he is also a lovely person and I heard nothing but good things about him locally. The die was cast.’