Advertising

Johnnie Walker Tackles Driving Drunk Head-On

By Delphine Hirasuna | December 6, 2013September 4, 2014

When Johnnie Walker signed onto the Join the Pact initiative to promote responsible drinking, the whisky maker did more than lend its name to the campaign; it gave an impactful demonstration of what might happen when you drink and drive.

Marketing agency APAC Iris Singapore worked with Johnnie Walker to create this 90-second public service spot. The agency took advantage of the fact that Johnnie Walker has been a long-time sponsor of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula One racecar team, and proposed building a CGI model of a Formula One car out of 1,750 Johnnie Walker whisky glasses. The project, headed by Iris regional creative director Grant Hunter and film/3D director Russell Appleford, proved to be an arduous task. Just the crash scene alone required more than 100 gigabytes of data. Two-time world drivers’ champion Mika Häkkinen, Johnnie Walker’s responsible drinking ambassador, was brought in to give the voiceover message authority, advising, “Staying in control is what matters in racing. Split-second decisions are the difference between finishing first and finishing last – or not finishing at all.” For a liquor company, this approach is bold and civic minded. It addresses the potential danger of their product directly and doesn’t try to slip in a self-serving “buy more whisky and party hearty” plug.

Greek EcoNews Intro

By Delphine Hirasuna | October 18, 2013September 4, 2014

Anthimos Xenos in Athens, Greece, produced this animated introduction for the Greek environmental television network, EcoNews. For the 30-second video, Xenos served as art and creative director, motion designer and 3-D animator, and completed the project from start to finish in one month. Music and sound compositing was by Xenakis Lefteris and additional direction by Nikos Tsimouris. In February 2013, Xenos founded his own firm, Darling Creative Motion, in Athens, to focus on TV branding and advertising.

Packaging

Maki Sushi Wrapped in Design

By Delphine Hirasuna | April 9, 2013September 5, 2014

What happens when two branding experts join forces to start a sushi restaurant? Maki-san, that’s what. This one-location, create-your-own sushi place in Singapore looked too well conceived to be a humble local startup. A little online snooping unearthed the fact that Maki-san was started by art director Joseph Koh and copywriter Omar Marks, whose roots trace back to McCann Erickson Singapore. That explained why the brand concept seemed to cover all the essentials — graphic tone of voice, color palette, market positioning, typography, logo, target audience, etc. — indicating that professionals were involved.

Public Service Campaign

Goodwill Goes from Thrift to Style

By Delphine Hirasuna | October 25, 2012September 4, 2014

Is it possible to brand a thrift store stocked with donated goods and make it a look like a place where you’d want to shop? Goodwill in San Francisco is doing just that by giving its in-store signage, website and fleet of trucks a complete makeover.

Fashion

Herself Magazine: Fashion Make-Believe

By Delphine Hirasuna | September 13, 2012September 4, 2014

Herself Magazine is a bi-annual, all-illustrated fashion publication produced in the UK. Virtually every image shows celebrity “models” (living, dead and animated) wearing high fashion apparel and jewelry by the likes of Valentino, Yves Saint Laurent, Prada, Gucci, Chanel, Boucheron and Faberge. The models’ poses and background settings all look like they were copied from high-end fashion photographs – and maybe they were. Every illustration is drawn by a person named Lula, who identifies herself as editor in chief and creative director, with art direction by Annual. No other staff credits are given.

A very text-light publication, Herself includes fictitious Q-A interviews between Herself and stars including Marilyn Monroe, Coco Chanel, Frida Kahlo, and Susan Sontag. Another article in Issue 2 features Disney fairy tale princesses, including Pocahontas, Cinderella, Belle, and Snow White, modeling contemporary fashions. As concepts go, Herself is intriguing, unique, and surreal.