There are three things we at The Reel look for in a Reel Opinion guest – shrewd, insightful observations, caustic wit and a neat haircut. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before we knocked on the virtual e-door of Rokkit’s new Executive Producer Nick Hussey. Here are his sublime takes on five choice selections from The Reel’s March DVDs.
Comic Relief - Brand Aid
Agency: Fallon London
Production: Spank Films London
Director: Steve Bendelack
Perfect Comic Relief fare that's cleverly populist. Chris Bovill & John Allison have an amazing track record of engaging us all, without pandering to a knowing elite or going for the lowest common denominator. Getting the permissions for each of these icons must have been, er, comically grim. I'm sure the clients at Admiral and Bounty didn't take long to say yes though. Amazing that Meerkat gets straight in there. That's a sign of an effective (dirty word but the best word?) ad. I'd be interested to know how it went getting the permissions for the defunkt icons. I haven't checked, but I wonder if there's a politically correct spread of UK ad agency ideas on that table. It pains me to think of the negotiations. I hope the producers on this still have hair.
Nike - The Cortez Brothers
Agency: Nike EMEA Brand Design Amsterdam
Production: Picasso Pictures London
Director: tokyoplastic
Tokyoplastic did a great job with creating the look of this, but it does feel flabby. Why should I watch it all? Maybe if you're a Cortez freak, this is Nike Porn. But I definitely drifted off the stop-motion shoe colour frenzy. It needed a backbone, or some characters throughout. Instead it came off as a moving brochure. Which is cool for instore screens, but not entertainment in it's own right. I have a pretty major problem with the track, which is like chewing batteries sweetened with molasses. Nike Amsterdam do wicked stuff, but I think out of context this film is just a really shiny catalogue.
WWF - Earth Hour
Agency: Hasse & Lasse Stockholm
Production: Film De Liberte AB Stockholm
Director: Joakim Eliasson
Some beautifully shot moments that could have been bound together more tightly with narrative. We've seen a lot of spots and shots of light switches being turned off, and charity fatigue may mean that viewers do the same. Turn off, not think on.
My favourite scenes involve mimicking darkness with the bags and blindfolds, and I think that was a route worth pursuing further. It's essentially a pretty montage, and thus was overlong, needing trimming to 30-40 seconds. I found the visuals emotive for their images of human society, but it didn't remind me why I should be turning off my lights. Back to the narrative. Perhaps a juxtaposition of the fun side, verses the beauty of nature lost in time? Hell, I'm certainly no copywriter. I should back off.
Visa - Bill
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi London
Production: Academy / Ghost Robot
Director: Joey Garfield
Taken directly from a music video that the director did with wonderful dancer Bill Shannon, this is really all about that performance. Its an arresting idea that hasn't been shoehorned with the project, but fits nicely. However, and I am quibbling, because I'm a fan of this spot, it's difficult to get enough of the languid beauty of Bill's moves into the timeframe, along with the necessary Visa narrative. I would have preferred to have seen a one-shot treatment, as with the RJD2 original, to get that across. Coming from production, I'm more circumspect about the direction and photography. Specifically it was too sparse and bleached for me, but I can see how that was necessary to leave us concentrating on the dancer. It stands out in the ad break and brightened my day, so I come away tasting sweetness.
Puma - Lift
Agency: Droga5 New York
Production: MJZ New York
Director: Rupert Sanders
Gondry. There I said it. Sanders would hate me for it, but that's all I can think. That whole projection moving set thing is impossible to disassociate from him. But that's unfair to all involved. I loved it. A technicoloured STORY that bears up to, infact requires, repeat viewing. And the Puma client have been cool enough to step back from insisting the brand be constantly on screen. We've seen these one-shot fantasias done before (specifically by Monsieur G) but this is a locked off shot that lets us take in what we can, as it comes at us apace. Clever, thought-provoking, serious, funny, wild and saucy. And I just realised, it's a wicked music vid cut to ad length with a shot of a shoe. Promos will rise again. Let's hope.
Agency: Fallon London
Production: Spank Films London
Director: Steve Bendelack
Perfect Comic Relief fare that's cleverly populist. Chris Bovill & John Allison have an amazing track record of engaging us all, without pandering to a knowing elite or going for the lowest common denominator. Getting the permissions for each of these icons must have been, er, comically grim. I'm sure the clients at Admiral and Bounty didn't take long to say yes though. Amazing that Meerkat gets straight in there. That's a sign of an effective (dirty word but the best word?) ad. I'd be interested to know how it went getting the permissions for the defunkt icons. I haven't checked, but I wonder if there's a politically correct spread of UK ad agency ideas on that table. It pains me to think of the negotiations. I hope the producers on this still have hair.
Nike - The Cortez Brothers
Agency: Nike EMEA Brand Design Amsterdam
Production: Picasso Pictures London
Director: tokyoplastic
Tokyoplastic did a great job with creating the look of this, but it does feel flabby. Why should I watch it all? Maybe if you're a Cortez freak, this is Nike Porn. But I definitely drifted off the stop-motion shoe colour frenzy. It needed a backbone, or some characters throughout. Instead it came off as a moving brochure. Which is cool for instore screens, but not entertainment in it's own right. I have a pretty major problem with the track, which is like chewing batteries sweetened with molasses. Nike Amsterdam do wicked stuff, but I think out of context this film is just a really shiny catalogue.
WWF - Earth Hour
Agency: Hasse & Lasse Stockholm
Production: Film De Liberte AB Stockholm
Director: Joakim Eliasson
Some beautifully shot moments that could have been bound together more tightly with narrative. We've seen a lot of spots and shots of light switches being turned off, and charity fatigue may mean that viewers do the same. Turn off, not think on.
My favourite scenes involve mimicking darkness with the bags and blindfolds, and I think that was a route worth pursuing further. It's essentially a pretty montage, and thus was overlong, needing trimming to 30-40 seconds. I found the visuals emotive for their images of human society, but it didn't remind me why I should be turning off my lights. Back to the narrative. Perhaps a juxtaposition of the fun side, verses the beauty of nature lost in time? Hell, I'm certainly no copywriter. I should back off.
Visa - Bill
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi London
Production: Academy / Ghost Robot
Director: Joey Garfield
Taken directly from a music video that the director did with wonderful dancer Bill Shannon, this is really all about that performance. Its an arresting idea that hasn't been shoehorned with the project, but fits nicely. However, and I am quibbling, because I'm a fan of this spot, it's difficult to get enough of the languid beauty of Bill's moves into the timeframe, along with the necessary Visa narrative. I would have preferred to have seen a one-shot treatment, as with the RJD2 original, to get that across. Coming from production, I'm more circumspect about the direction and photography. Specifically it was too sparse and bleached for me, but I can see how that was necessary to leave us concentrating on the dancer. It stands out in the ad break and brightened my day, so I come away tasting sweetness.
Puma - Lift
Agency: Droga5 New York
Production: MJZ New York
Director: Rupert Sanders
Gondry. There I said it. Sanders would hate me for it, but that's all I can think. That whole projection moving set thing is impossible to disassociate from him. But that's unfair to all involved. I loved it. A technicoloured STORY that bears up to, infact requires, repeat viewing. And the Puma client have been cool enough to step back from insisting the brand be constantly on screen. We've seen these one-shot fantasias done before (specifically by Monsieur G) but this is a locked off shot that lets us take in what we can, as it comes at us apace. Clever, thought-provoking, serious, funny, wild and saucy. And I just realised, it's a wicked music vid cut to ad length with a shot of a shoe. Promos will rise again. Let's hope.
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