Cannes It Be?

So there it was – Cannes Lions 2009.

Fewer people than usual – certainly. More straight-laced than normal – probably. Less top work on show – hell no!

The Film Lion winners of Cannes ’09 had the usual share of wildcard surprises, saw-that-coming expectations, what-were-they-thinking expulsions and grin-widening shockers. Rather than running through all of the winners – a job done manfully by the official site here – we thought we’d present the Second Annual Reel-Deal Cannes Awards to a choice handful:

The ‘We Told You So’ Award

Philips ‘Carousel’ - TRIBAL DDB Amsterdam / STINK DIGITAL London (Grand Prix)

Not wishing to get all Mystic Meg on this but WE BLOODY SAID THIS WOULD RULE THE AWARDS. Any non-believers out there need only check our pre-Cannes post, our interview with uber-producer Mark Pytlik and the Editor’s Comments in both UK and International April Edition’s DVD booklets. Then again, anyone with eyes, any understanding of advertising or with a penchant for clowns would say the same – and we’ve got all three.

The ‘Don’t Mention Flashmob To Our Pals At Contagious’ Award



T-Mobile ‘Dance’ – SAATCHI & SAATCHI London / PARTIZAN London (Gold)

Clever idea, perfect timing and it actually WORKED (i.e. people texted, SMSed, videoed the event with their mobiles).

The ‘Finally Putting My Film Degree To Good Use’ Award



Stella Artois ‘Dial Hard’ – MOTHER London / LANDIA Buenos Aires (Gold Campaign)

Funny enough for the casual viewer, but the sniper-sharp touches make this a stand-out campaign for lovers of the nouvelle vague.

The ‘Made Our Mums Happy’ Award



Washington Lottery ‘Birds’ – PUBLICIS IN THE WEST Seattle / STICKS+STONES STUDIOS Hollywood (Silver)

Heartwarming and emotive without a dollar sign in sight (surely a first for an American lottery ad!). Plus, we’re sure you see a penguin smile!

The ‘So Pretty It Made Our Eyes Hurt’ Award



Tiji ‘Balloon’ – DDB Paris / WANDA PRODUCTIONS Paris (Silver)

Anyone who’s stumbled across a copy (digital or otherwise) of The Reel before will know we love animation, but this is one piece we actually want to marry and have babies with.

The ‘Most Likely To Fire Up Geldof And Kofi’ Award



Environmental Defense Fund ‘Polar Bears’ – OGILVY New York / BISCUIT FILMWORKS Los Angeles (Silver)

A smart, simple idea executed perfectly.

The ‘Took Us A While To Get It On The DVD But Was Worth It’ Award



Shelter ‘House Of Cards’ – LEO BURNETT London / Outsider London (Silver)

Beautiful the second we saw it ... and managing to retain its beauty though endless can we/can’t we calls to agency and production company.

The ‘Milk Came Out My Nose’ Funny Award



Pizza Pops ‘Robot Friend’ – COSSETTE Toronto / HOLIDAY FILMS Toronto (Silver Campaign)

Simple, hilarious, heartwrenching. We wish we had a robot friend.

So there we go, Cannes in a can. Keep an eye on our blog/newsletter in the upcoming weeks, as we’ll be posting the fruits of our labours sporadically (including an interview with the E-Street’s and Soprano’s ‘Little’ Steve Van Zandt). On a parting note, enjoy one of our picks from the Saatchi & Saatchi New Director’s Showcase:

Reel Newsletter 03/07/09

Tim O’Kennedy gets pencilled in...


D&AD has pulled out the stops and appointed grand fromage Tim O’Kennedy, brand and communications consultant and former MD of Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam, as it’s Chief Executive.

Having experience on both the client and agency side, O’Kennedy’s overarching objective is to provide focused, strategic leadership to ensure that D&AD continues to flourish in the UK and on the world stage as an influential creative awards body and as a leading and inspirational learning centre for creatives.

O’Kennedy had this to say about his recent appointment:

“I feel honoured to take the reins at this amazing organisation, which has always lived in my mind as the absolute reference for creativity in the communication arts. D&AD’s multi-disciplinary purview is a big part of the appeal for me: I grew up in the worlds of advertising and design, and have a deep-seated appreciation for both, as I do for the possibilities afforded by interactive media.The world of communications is changing, and at an exponential rate - but it’s doing so in ways which can make D&AD more relevant than ever. While I believe that the role of CEO is by definition multi-faceted, my most important job will be to reinforce this relevance, to further secure D&AD’s position as the standard-setter for creativity worldwide.”

Pulse Films Signs Andrew Douglas

Pulse Films recently announced the signing of world-class multi award-winning commercials, features and documentary director Andrew Douglas upon his return to the UK.

Andrew, who has worked for the advertising industry on both sides of the Atlantic, joins Pulse for UK Representation. He is represented in the US respected LA-based Anonymous Content where he earned a reputation as one of the finest commercial directors in the world. Nominated as Best Commercials Director by the Directors Guild of America, he has directed commercial work for an array of clients such as Nike, Adidas, Citroën, Coca-Cola, and Microsoft.

In addition to his commercial work, he made his feature film directorial debut with international box office hit, The Amityville Horror, grossing $130m dollars worldwide. Andrew’s credentials in documentary film-making include the RTS award-winning Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus for BBC Two’s Arena strand. The film was subsequently released theatrically in the US and won the Seattle Film Festival’s Jury award for Best Documentary.

Andrew Douglas adds: “I am excited to be joining Pulse on my return to the UK. I wanted to work with the high calibre of creativity that London - and the rest of the UK - has to offer and this is precisely what Pulse can offer.”

http://www.pulsefilms.co.uk/

Anonymous Content signs academy award-nominated Cuaron

Adding to its already sprawling network of talent, Anonymous has signed Mexican filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer Alfonso Cuarón to its Commercial division. The internationally acclaimed Cuarón's most recent work, Children of Men, starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore and Michael Caine, was nominated for three Academy Awards.

His Spanish-language feature film Y Tu Mamá También, earned a Best Original Screenplay Academy Award nomination and enjoyed major international success. Commercial credits include spots for Nike, Pac Bell, and Miller, with an Emmy win for PBS Fish out of Fallon Minneapolis.

Meribel Festival becomes The Cristal Awards

The Ad industries favourite winter meet has recently had a slight name (or nom) change. The Meribel Ad Festival has morphed into the namesake of its coveted trophies – and become The Cristal Awards.

Since the creation of the first Festival in Méribel 2001, the crystal expansion has been fairly rapid – and saw the event sprawl out to China at the China Cristal Awards and the MENA Cristal Awards for the Middle East and North Africa.

Not only has the festival changed its name, it has also moved geographically. The Festival will now take place at the Swiss station of Crans Montana. Locates at the heart of the Swiss Alps, Crans Montana is one of the most prestigious ski resorts in Europe, and benefits from enormous grandiose surroundings as well as offering a whole new accessible quality to the Cristal Festival that Meribel sadly could never offer.

For more info go to www.centraleuropecristal.com/

In The Cannes

Off to Cannes? Barely prepped?

Fear not, as The Reel provide their handy Top 3’s (in no particular order) of the festival. Follow these to the letter and you’re trip will be a smooth as titanium. You might even bump in to us too! Hooray!!

TOP 3 TROPHY TIPS

Comcast - Rabbit

Smart idea, clever execution and flash visuals. This one’s going home with something.

Philips - Carousel

Brilliantly made filmic spot that speaks directly to its intended audience.

Diesel XXX - SFW

Call us juvenile if you want, but we have never been forwarded a viral by so many people.

TOP 3 EVENTS

The Saatchi&Saatchi New Directors Showcase
Thursday 25 June
12:00 - 13:30
Grand Audi

Want to know who'll be directing the big ads in 2010? Want to check out the new Cunningham/Gondry/Ledwidge before the rest of the pack? Check out The Reel’s Ones To Watch … or go to this marvellous showcase constructed by the in-the-know folk of Saatchis.

Straight8 Screening
Friday 26th June
11:00 – 12:45
Star Cinema, 98 Rue D’Antibes
www.straight8.net

You all know the format (and if you don’t – get involved). One super 8mm cartridge. No editing. This screening contains the pieces chosen for the Cannes Film Festival debut and The Best Of An Ad Bunch, a collection of entries from adland folk. See them watch it for the first time! Magic.

Leo Burnett & Contagious
Wildfire Stories: Pass It On
Wednesday 24 June
16:00 - 16:45
Debussy

Yeah yeah, we know they’re our pals, but the Wildfire seminars ALWAYS pack out the Debussy and this year’s topic examining ‘storytelling’ in advertising and the creation of ever more immersive narratives is set to be a belter!

TOP 3 MANBAG/HANDBAG ITEMS

Sun Cream – The Reel consists of a Geordie and a Ginger. The sun is our mortal enemy.

Business Cards – Plenty of em! Useful for those situations where you’ve forgotten the person you’re talking to’s name. A simple card swap and you’ve got a hand-held reminding device.

Bottle of Rose – Have you seen the queues at the Gutter Bar?

TOP 3 PLACES TO SEE THE REEL TEAM

Adelphoi Pool Party
Thursday – 15:00-19:00
RSVP – FULL!!

We’ll be the guys dipping their toes in the pool whilst munching down on delicious BBQed seafood.

Wanda BBQ
Friday – 12:00-18:00
RSVP – clementine@wanda.fr

We’ll be the guys looking slightly seasick and swooning whenever the lovely Wanda ladies talk to us in their lovely French accents.

CANNES Credit Crunch Party
Plage Maema, Friday – 16:00-21:30
Sign up on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/event.php?eid=92169742085

We’ll be the guys pestering our sales team for their dosh.

So there we go. Cannes in the can! If you fancy meeting up and saying hello at any point in the festival (we’ll be there Wednesday-Saturday) just drop us a line on editor@thereel.net.

No newsletter proper next week, but you can look forward to daily updates on the blog direct from the festival.

Bon!

NewsReel 19/06/09

GELDOF JOINS IN AT CANNES

Live aid founder, TV swearer and Monday hater Bob Geldof has joined the distinguished panel tackling climate change at this years Cannes. Led by Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations, the panel have been brought together to launch a major international campaign on climate change.

The campaign is aimed at world leaders achieving a just deal at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, December 2009. The Panel also includes David Jones, Global CEO of Euro RSCG Worldwide - Havas Worldwide, who will talk about the urgent action required from the advertising and marketing communities to ensure success at the Copenhagen Conference.

David Jones said: "Our industry excels at changing people's behaviour. I believe that we have not only an opportunity, but an obligation to use our creativity to address some of the biggest issues facing the world.

"It’s tremendously exciting that Bob Geldof has agreed to join us at Cannes to launch the global campaign on climate justice. Kofi and Bob are two of the most powerful advocates for the world’s poor.

"To get a meaningful deal at Copenhagen requires everyone to put pressure on their leaders to agree a fair post-Kyoto deal. This is precisely the aim of the campaign we will be launching at Cannes, and the advertising and marketing communities have a crucial role to play."

Mr Annan, Mr Geldof and Mr Jones will be making a presentation on the campaign on Friday 26 June 2009 at 11am in the Debussy Auditorium at the Palais des Festivals, Cannes.

TREVOR ROBINSON AWARED OBE

Trevor Robinson Creative Director and founder of Quiet Storm has been awarded the OBE. Robinson is responsible for unleashing the 90’s ear-slap mania of the Tango man upon the UK as well as a plethora of other famous and award winning campaigns.

In June 2009 HRH Queen Elizabeth II awarded Trevor an OBE for his services to Advertising. Upon receiving the honour Trevor said “I feel incredibly blessed, lucky and humbled by this honour and would like to thank everyone who has contributed towards me getting to this stage. There are genuinely too many to mention here but I truly thank everyone who has helped me along the way. Also a special thank you to all my friends and family particularly my parents, wife and children.”

Last year Trevor also presented ‘A Mother’s Tear’ written by two 15 year old school children after winning a competition ran under his Create Not Hate initiative. This was a project to help tackle gun and knife crime creatively, which has received extensive global PR (from news channels in Japan to Germany) with the film being shown nationwide in cinemas and on TV. Already planned is a competition to build a Peace Garden for 2012; Design a range of T Shirts and much more. For more information about the project, please visit the Create Not Hate website www.createnothate.org

Well done Trevor!

SKINNER GETS TOOLED UP

The wonderfully named Tool of North America is excited to announce the signing of Grant Skinner, an internationally recognized leader in the field of rich interactive experiences. He joins Tool's Digital practice as a creative technologist developing concepts and providing creative technical solutions for brands. Skinner will also collaborate with Tool's directors as their technologist by blending live-action content with cutting-edge technology.

Skinner's signing gives Tool enhanced capability to push out more innovative work of the sort such as the recent Cold War Kids ‘I've Seen Enough’ video helmed by Tool director Sam Jones.

AND FINALLY…


OK, this is one to get a sit back to and relax with a nice cup of tea. Using the newly released 'life simulator' EA title Sims 3 as a base, clever games student Robin Burkinshaw conducted an experiment in creating a homeless family in the game's suburban settings. The real joy, however, is not in the results (which are pretty remarkable) but in the expert way the blogger writes his entries to make you care about the characters. Docu-Machinima? We don't know, but it's bloody lovely.

http://aliceandkev.wordpress.com/

Reel Opinion - Paul Reynolds

For this month’s Reel Opinion we’ve enlisted the big brain of Adelphoi Music Head of Production and New Business Paul Reynolds, squeezing in time between preparing for the Adelphoi Music Cannes Party and departing for Geneva to take part in The Fireflies Ride. Phew! Here are his views on five top choices from the May Reel DVDs:

Paul Reynolds

Head of Production and New Business

Adelphoi Music

Coca Cola – Yeah Yeah Yeah, La La La

Agency: Mother London

Production: Blink London

Director: Dougal Wilson

So, for Gremlins, water is bad but Coke is OK. Coke will induce the cute little critters to create a masterful Calvin-Harris-Summertime-Dance-All-Over-The-Countryside-And-Enjoy-Coca-Cola-Smash-Hit-Pop-Tune while water will unleash a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters. I'm all for a bit of ad weirdness (Coke bottles grow on grassy hillsides you know) and the use of real puppets over CGI gives it the 'ahh' factor. Altogether a brave and interesting departure from the Happiness Factory.

Oasis – RubberDuckZilla

Agency: Mother

Production: HSI London

Director: Joseph Kahn

Ok you've got my attention. This is bonkers. Quite a tough job to parody the Japanese Godzilla and Mothra monster movies as they are quite daft already but this does it well for me. I don't know if it will cause a YouTube meltdown as some of the references might completely miss the younger market, but I'm already quaffing my 2nd bottle of Summer Fruits. There's something a bit iffy about the girls on the bed though...

Campbell’s – Fully Loaded

Agency: Clemenger Sydney

Production: Goodoil Films Sydney / Mustard London

Director: Hamish Rothwell

It's another spoof of the real man needing a real man's product theme. Not as infectious as some ads on a similar theme but it's well up there in the daft stakes. Full points for the rock vocals. I never thought I'd hear the words 'vegetables & pasta' sung with such passion. I'd have dropped the plate shots though as it looks like warmed up pavement pizza.

T-Mobile – Singalong

Agency: Saatchi&Saatchi London

Production: Partizan London

Director: Michael Gracey

As an event, this really worked. Thousands of people coming together and singing along, all care of T-Mobile. As an ad, 'Dance' was much better as it was unexpected and created buckets of public interest. I was a bit bored by 60" in and by the time the end of the ad came around I wanted to crawl under my desk and claw my ears out. 'Sing-along' is interesting to all those who were there, and maybe their families, but anyone else?

Toyota Prius – Harmony

Agency: Saatchi&Saatchi LA

Production: The Sweet Shop New York

Director: Mr Hide

The Prius may well turn ashen countryside to lush green, but turn the night to day? Of all the car's gadgets, that surely is the best one anyone's invented for years. It's a good looking commercial and I like the use of real people in costume, although it makes me think of Woody Allen dressed up as a sperm in 'Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex...' I just wonder why 'Let Your Love Flow' was used. It doesn't sync well and feels completely detached from the film.

So there you go! Big cheers to Mr Reynolds for his thoughts. If you fancy giving the man himself a hefty slap on the back (or face) for anything he said, he can be found at the Fireflys send off tonight (Friday 12th June) from 5:30 in Golden Square. If you’re feeling charitable (as well you should be) get your wallet out and stick some money in this direction too - http://www.justgiving.com/fireflypaul.

Good luck to all the Firefly types – whoever you may be!

NewsReel 12/06/09

HERE COMES TROUBLE...

Paris based company Troublemakers TV have 2 new signings to their books. The talented David Lobser and Decoy a.k.a Ryan Rothermel are now available to cause trouble in Europe (or for commercials and promos if you prefer that sort of thing).

For more David Lobser look here.

For more Ryan Rothermel look here.

They are both available for European commercials and promos.

THE SIMS 3 GETS ADDICTIVE.

Addictive TV, London based audiovisual artists and clever bods in the art of audio/video remixing, known for their alternative Hollywood movie trailers and blistering live shows, have created a remix trailer for the newly-released The Sims 3 game from Electronic Arts.

For this latest incarnation of The SIMS franchise Addictive TV were given game assets and full creative freedom to make a unique short audiovisual track for the release. The Sims 3 offers a whole world of creative possibilities and customization. You can create unique Sims with personalities and control their lives. Fulfill their life destiny, making their wishes come true… or not! Which is pretty much like all the other SIMS games, except this one is better… we think…

The Sims franchise has a rich history of artistic involvement with the game; artists from Katy Perry, Natasha Bedingfield, The Pussycat Dolls and Lily Allen to Depeche Mode, Junkie XL and Adam Freeland have all recorded versions of their tracks with lyrics in “Simlish”, the language of The Sims, but this is the first time a full audiovisual remix has been produced, creating music from the sounds in the game.

See Addictive TV’s snazz remix of The Sims 3 here:

For gig dates and to see more remixes, please visit: www.myspace.com/addictivetv

DUTCH AD AGENCY S-W-H BECOMES ‘INDIE’.

No this hasn’t got anything to do with whips, snakes, Nazis, artifacts, Harrison Ford or Speilberg. This is about the leading Dutch ad Agency S-W-H’s new rebrand!

S-W-H is no more... Now we have the mighty INDIE!

The re-brand comes after 11 years, during which time S-W-H has proven itself to be one of the most respected, award-winning and successful agencies in Amsterdam.

Indie (http://www.indie-amsterdam.com/) is launched at a high point in S-W-H’s history, which was named Agency of The Year in the Netherlands in 2008, recognising S-W-H’s creative talent and progressive campaigns.

The name Indie points to an independent status and an independent attitude towards creative concepts, one which embraces change, new opportunities, creative talent and the power of ideas. By looking at the fundamentals of clients’ needs, Indie’s intention is to create brand platforms focusing on creative and effective solutions without being restricted to any media channel.

We just think this is a great way to shoehorn in space for loads of Biblical artefacts and deadly booby traps around their office… But then that’s just us…

FEEL FILMS DIRECTOR MATT LIPSEY ENTERS PSYCHOVILLE.

Director Matt Lipsey is well known for his ad campaigns for Pimms, Ladbrokes, McDondald's and also for BAFTA award winning Little Britain and a slew of other cult comedy series such as Saxondale, Human Remains and Catterick.

He now brings us Psychoville, a 7-part series written and starring The League of Gentlemen’s Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith.

When? BBC Two from Thursday 18th June 2009.

What? An embittered one-handed clown; a desperately misguided midwife; a lovestruck telekinetic dwarf; a blind avaricious collector; and a serial-killer-obsessed man-child... five seemingly unconnected characters share one thing in common. Despite coming from different parts of the country and having different backgrounds and interests, each one has been sent an anonymous, black-edged card bearing the chilling message: "I know what you did..."

…Sounds right up our street…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/psychoville/
http://www.feelfilms.co.uk/commercials.html

Soho ShortsList

The entries are in, the judges are primed and the projectors are oiled (at least we think it’s that way round) – THE RUSHES SOHO SHORTS SHORTLIST IS HERE!

With entries, requests and interest from 112 countries (1,462 cities!) over 1,159 films have been received, 140 of which have been selected for competition. The 18 countries represented this year include Peru, France, Mexico, Chine, Spain, USA, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands, Iceland, Australia, Slovenia, Israel, Ireland, Canada, Luxembourg and the UK. All films had to be under 12 minutes in length without credits and fall into the following competitive categories: The International Award, The Long Form Award, The Documentary Award, The Short Film Award, The Animation Award, The Music Video Award, The Broadcast Design Award and The Newcomers Award.

In keeping with our love of all things filmic and short here at The Reel (especially the film Willow), the festival shortlist is filled with splendid mini-movies, ads and promos that we’ve either seen or are keen to see. The full list of films screening in competition, along with the directors and companies that made the work, can now be seen be seen at www.sohoshorts.com

We caught up with Festival Director Joe Bateman to quiz him on the ins and outs of the selection, and to find out what festival goers have in store from 22nd July.

How do you feel this year's submissions compare to 2008's?

I feel more conscious of the breadth of entries this year. There’s, maybe, slightly less UK driven content (but not hugely so) and we’ve definitely increased our international attention. The standard seems higher and there seems to be more confidence in the narrative. If we had the facility we could have doubled the amount of content we wanted to showcase. It’s a painful experience choosing the final line up.

Why have you chosen to introduce the two new categories?

Every year we look at the volume of work and quietly wish we had more room to show more work. It was clear early on in the entry period that we were receiving more than our usual quota of international entries so we committed to creating a programme for them. At first this was going to be a guest programme, along with our other 12, but then it became clear that with a little extra effort we could deliver the programme in-competition, it was a forgone conclusion. Creating the category meant we could also showcase the strong UK contenders. It’ll also mean that we can provide unique UK Showcases to foreign events, something that we’re currently working on. The Long Form category came about because with the added interest from abroad I was getting a few emails stating “If you were a proper international film festival you’d have a longer running time for your films and except my 20 minute film”, may be that’s a slight generalisation but close enough. I was paranoid enough to think that they had a point, it also meant that any films that may have, dubiously, been hitting the stipulated 12 minute running time now had a legitimate category to compete in.

Can you give us a sneaky heads-up on what events we can expect to see in the festival week, and which ones you're most looking forward to?

Mmm. The opening night premiere feature film will be great, the stand-up comedy should be good too, the ‘all day’ events at BAFTA and London Film Academy will certainly be fun and I’m looking forward to our networking night at The Movieum. We’ve kept a similar set up (to previous years) with the lunchtime seminars and afternoon panel discussions which are always enlightening. We’re also hosting the Advertising Producers Association presenting the CPFE/Shots Young Directors Programme once again and of course the amazing straight 8 programmes. Our two exhibitions, suitably titled DNA and TURD BRAINS, will be fantastic and they’ll be backed up with experimental and very artistic screening programmes. But I think the biggest event for me, and what I always look forward to, is the grand finale, The Rushes Awards Ceremony and the after party! Someone please make sure I get a BIG pint of beer!

Is the legendary Terry Christian hosting the awards show again?

How could he not!

So there we go, shorts, events and turd brains a go-go PLUS Mr Terry Christian! We’ll be there, front row centre, and urge the rest of ya to get involved. The Festival runs over 10 days; Wednesday 22nd July to Friday 31st July, and all the information you could ever wish for can be found on the website - www.sohoshorts.com.