Credits for Nike "Need Motivation" TV Spot: Agency, Director, Music, Production, Editorial and More.

(If anyone is listed incorrectly, I apologize, please let me know.)

Nike "Need Motivation" Credits

Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky

Executive Creative Director: Alex Bogusky
Creative Director: Evan Fry
Associate Creative Director: Dave Swartz
Art Director: Mark Taylor
Copywriter: Todd Tilford
Group Executive Producer: Matt Bonin
Production Company: HSI
Production Services: Film Planet Argentina
Director / Director of Photography: Samuel Bayer
Editorial Company: Bug Editorial
Editor: Andre Betz
Producer: Joy Copeland
Assistant Editor: Ben Shababo
Post Production: RIOT
Producer: Alex Decaneas
Producer: Peter Stanik
Flame Artist: Tom McCullough
Telecine Artist: Billy Gabor
Telecine: CO3
Visual Effects: WETA Digital
VFX Supervisor: Chris White
VFX Producer: Libby Hazell
VFX Onset Digital Supervisor: Susie Kleis
VFX Onset Digital Supervisor: Matt Sloan
VFX Head of Production: Eileen Moran
Music/Sound Design: Amber Music
Composer: Eugene Cho
Music: 2nd piece: The Hives, "Return the Favour"
Sound Design: Bill Chesley
Producer: Kate Gibson
Agency Music Producer: Bill Meadows
Sound Mixer: Philip Loeb
Sound Mix: Sound Lounge

The Worst Brand Extension: Turkey Gone Mad...Not Turducken But Turgooponducheasnishuaichuffguihagaga?

Ok...Christmas is a little less than a week away and I've been doing tons of research since my Thanksgiving post on Turducken (pictured above from a website with an alternate spelling). I know it's silly but there's a lot of written background online and on the blogs. It never fails to amaze me.

I've found the ultimate Turkey line extension (as we call it in marketing). All the bell and whistles you could want.

From Wikipedia. "Some enthusiasts come up with the turduckencorpheail. This is a standard turducken, (Turkey stuffed with duck, hen, and cornmeal) which is then stuffed with a cornish game hen, which is then stuffed with a pheasant, and finally stuffed with a quail. Still others have pushed the envelope even further with the turgooponducheasanishuail, which includes both a goose and capon, in addition to the component birds of the turduckencorpheail. In recent years, another version called the turgooponducheasnishuaichuffguihagaga has been growing in popularity. It has all the properties of the previous two versions listed, but also includes beef, pork, lamb, and frog. The turduckencorpheail, turgooponducheasanishuail, and the turgooponducheasnishuaichuffguihagaga are not for the faint of heart; both are extremely time consuming endeavors, as birds of the proper size must first be obtained, and then prepared; removing extremely fragile bones from a bird such as a quail without breaking the skin is impossible for most."

By the way...before Wikipedia how would we know about this Cajuninsanitywith1800calories that's critical-to-know-stuff. I promise no more Turkish entrees/entries for awhile. Happy Holidays. Canned ham anyone?

Photoshop Contest: A "Pirates of the Caribbean" McDonald's Product Placement.

It's Thursday night and time for the weekly Photoshop Contest. You deserve a break today so we've put together a match made in CAA heaven (or more accurately, CAA hell). McDonald's and Pirates of the Caribbean. Johnny Depp & Company meet the Big Mac. Without doubt, this is one of the best drive ups that McDonald's has ever had (of their 31,000 locations worldwide). You needed that factoid, right? More product placements next week. Tune in.

U2 3D: Smart Marketing Widget for a Historic Film.

Be forewarned: when movie critics and communications analysts look back at U2 3D they'll see a historic event. U2 is amazing: as musicians and as marketers. Their absolute dedication to creating great work with the best creative teams available has made them the band of the last quarter century.

U2 3D was directed by Catherine Owens (U2 director of visual content for 15 plus years) and Mark Pellington (a U2 video director). The movie was created by 3ality Digital with 9 pairs of SonyAlta 3-D cameras. The final product was selected from 700 hours of film footage (multiple cameras) shot at 7 shows, virtually all in South America.

U2 3D is going to kick ass and take no prisoners. It's the first ever live action digital film. Period. I saw the Vertigo Tour a couple times, most prominently on October 8th, 2005 at Madison Square Garden in New York. It was a great show to turn into a 3D movie with state of the art technology (click on "What is 3D" to learn much more about 3D and 3ality). I'm just as excited to see the movie as the concert given all the points of view the camera will expose you to. Fans who have seen the in-theater preview describe Bono throwing a glass of water off the screen as if you're going to be soaked. U2 3D debuts at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2008 and January 23 to the public playing in major cities--only in 3D. Run time is 92 minutes with 16 songs.

An important sidebar from an advertising standpoint: what's also amazing to me is how well this 2D trailer simulates 3D. And, of course, very wise use of widget marketing. More on U2 marketing this Christmas in following posts. So if you like U2...get ready to think about them from a music marketing vantage point.

1/1/08 UPDATE ON CITIES AND THEATERS: Many of you have come here looking for the cities and theaters this film will play in. U2's mini site states that it will be a worldwide release in IMAX theaters in 38 countries throughout the world (280 theaters, 60% in the US & Canada, aside from IMAX in educational institutions and museums, listed here.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IMAX_venues). U2 3D will also appear in the 1200 worldwide theaters with digital 3D.

Interactive Environmental Christmas Card from Wieden and Kennedy, London.

This is just a great interactive Christmas card from ad agency Wieden + Kennedy London. Based on a green initiative you can name your own tree, plant it and pump three buckets of water into it (don't give up even though you're almost ready to). At that point you can start decorating it with the tons of different ornaments you can see on the screen capture. The catch...to add more ornaments and lights you have to grow it by returning every day to water your tree at which point your entry will get bigger. Mine, no surprise, is scottstree. I started out traditional but I have great plans. The counter shows how many people have planted trees in what ultimately should become an intriguing forest (competitive one too, given the sites's sponsors).

Good stuff. Check it out and let me know what you think.
http://www.wiedenswood.com/index/index/hash/gzw18z5gxtwg8

Photoshop Contest: A "Kill Bill" Movie Product Placement for Gillette

Ok...it's Thursday night and time for the weekly Photoshop Contest again. This is wry and a bit sardonic...a perfect pairing, as they'd say at the CAA talent agency. Uma Thurman from Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" with Gillette blades. Hey, I just had an idea...what if we went back to movie classics and added in new product placements. Better and more profitable than colorization. I've got two months of movie advertising product placements via the magic of Photoshop coming up on Thursdays. Please tune in. G'nite.

Nike TV Spot "Need Motivation" for the new Nike Plus running shoe.

Ok...much anticipated and here it is...Crispin Porter + Bogusky's first work for Nike. I've just watched it three times. Certainly an over the top look at the world of the Nike Plus running shoe. A cast of hundreds spanning centuries. And an enormous budget. My initial impression is that it's overblown. A simpler more singleminded idea might have worked better. I'll take Quicksilver's "Dynamite Surfing" anytime over this (see my October posts). But...let's wait for the :30...should correct much of the self indulgence here. And...the false ending with the title card "Need Motivation" followed by the Nike Plus team breaking the glass (Apple 1984ish) is very cool. Breaks on Grey's Anatomy tonight. Then lots of MTV and NFL football. Just remember a key audience, as it always is these days, is viral. That's where this will do best. Let's measure it in two weeks.

Upate on December 19th. I've gotten a lot of visitors googling for the director's name or the names of the music tracks. If you'd like to know more about all the credits for everyone involved take a look at the December 19th entry above.

Catholic Saints Images on Cell Phones: Church Leaders "Horrified" by the New Mobile Santini.

Everyone who moves in Italy has a wrinkled and worn saint card taped to their dash--or in their wallet or purse. So why not download your favorite saint (or saint to be in John Paul II) to carry around on your mobile phone. On Tuesday it became a reality. A sort of modern download that advertises the best of Catholicism (how I as an adguy think of it). Or...just a better, more permanent way to carry your Saint Christopher santini. Seems like a smart idea to me. And would look great on a new iphone.

But not everyone agrees. "This is in really bad taste," Bishop Lucio Soravito De Franceschi, a member of the Italian bishops conference committee for doctrinal matters, told the Turin newspaper La Stampa. "It is a distortion of sacred things...selling 'santini' for cell phones is horrifying," he said.

Not so says the originator of the idea. "We found a need and filled it," Barbara Labate, who developed the concept with her business partner in a cellphone services company based in Milan. "We are merely catching up with the times. I think this will appeal to young people as well as grandmothers," Fifteen saints launched the service. More are planned. About $4.50 a text message initiated download.

Rockstars can only be next. How about Saint Bono? Or Mr. Sympathy for the Devil incarnate, Mick Jagger?

Martin Scorsese Freixenet Ad: A Great Example of The New Advertising

The "Key to Reserva", Fabulous stuff. Long...but this Spanish cinema ad is where advertising should and WILL (well maybe not shot by Scorsese) be going. An ad for Freixenet Carta Nevada Reserva sparkling wine...plus an homage to Hitchcock. If you're into advertising, Scorsese or Hitchcock it's well worth the 9 plus minutes. The creative director Alex Martinez of JWT Barcelona has it right "...it's not enough now to buy the audience time--we have to create advertising that the audience chooses to spend time with." That's the cardinal rule of the new advertising no matter what the delivery system. In two weeks...I predict huge YouTube viewership numbers

Smart Strategies Drive Law & Order "Criminal Intent" (and Law & Order) to Return to NBC on Wed. 1/9/08

Here's the result of Dick Wolf's perseverance and the value of great writing, direction and acting. And a very smart and unconventional programming strategy to move "Criminal Intent" to cable this fall (where it's done great for cable with 2-3 million viewers/episode). A local syndication juggernaut (great ratings) has also helped build momentum. Big news. I'm a huge Law & Order fan (especially "Criminal Intent"). Very positive news for the franchise and its fans (and boy have you tuned into my last posting on the program, thanks...please leave comments). This news gives both programs a chance to survive and fight again (more Vincent D'Onofrio, I hope). A lot more promotional spots on NBC for the shows. Of course, "Criminal Intent" will be reruns from the fall USA Network season. But new Law & Order shows.

From James Hibbert at TV Week:

"The 18th season of "Law & Order" will return with a two-hour premiere Wednesday, Jan. 2 at 9 p.m. Then, on Jan. 9, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" will have its broadcast premiere (originals air on USA Network) at 9 p.m., with the flagship program shifting to its former well-worn time period at 10 p.m. The schedule gives NBC a two-hour block of "L&O" franchise episodes during the week, echoing "Criminal Intent" leading into "SVU" last season."

Trojan Condoms TV Spot "Evolve" Music?

See the entry immediately below and take a look at the spot if you haven't seen it. There've been lots of questions about who wrote the music. For those of you not patient enough to scour your search engine here you go. iV music group created it. Steve Keller their CEO and Creative Director took an instrumental originally composed by Rivers Rutherford, built on its foundation, and wrote new lyrics. Keller is the singer...gossip says he did a scratch track (rough version) and the client liked it and went with what you've just heard. Fabulous stuff.

Trojan Condoms TV Spot "Evolve" Now on Google Universal Search.

Google's evolving Universal Search function which combines news, YouTube videos, books, images and more is becoming more and more helpful to me. I love getting videos when I just expect the typical written results. When I was Googling Trojan Condoms the other night for factoids for the Photoshop Contest featuring a Trojan Condom product placement, I ran into this fabulous spot which I should have seen but never did. What a way to break through the clutter. And what a great example of the importance of the music in a TV spot (see more above).

Law & Order Criminal Intent Programming Strategy of New USA Shows and Local Syndication Going Gangbusters.

This is another example of just how the world of network domination is crumbling. Soon...shows will move directly to the internet and skip cable. I love Law & Order Criminal Intent so I'm overjoyed that Dick Wolf and NBC moved the show to USA Network with all new episodes every Thursday night at 10 PM (at least as long as the new shows last before the writer's strike takes its toll). Ironically, in an amazing reversal, reruns may appear on NBC at some point down the road. More impressive, because the show runs on cable now, NBC Universal decided to sell the show into local station by station syndication for old episodes. The result has been a ratings bonanza, recently attracting 2 million viewers/week in syndication...with enormous strength in the women 18-52 audience (thanks to Vincent D'Onofrio, love the way he cocks his head and looks distant, and Chris Noth).