TV/Film // Magistral “Snowman” > Passion is red hot… unless you’re a snowman that is. Andres Salmoyraghi’s touching stop-motion story of the unfolding romance of two snow folk for – of all things – detergent brand Magistral, is a gorgeous gem of a spot. Mixing genuinely touching and painstakingly-crafted detail with gentle clichés, the tragic ending of the snow maiden melted by washing up with hot water is really (no, really) quite heartrending. Imaginative, simple creative thinking brought brilliantly to life. Will bring an icy tear to the hardest of hearts.

Agency: Grey, Buenos Aires
General Creative Directors: Pablo Gil, Sebastian Garin
Creative Director: Daniel Fierro
Agency Producers: Topo Barrios, Negro Ibanez
Production Company: Rebolucion, Buenos Aires
Director: Andres Salmoyraghi
Executive Producer: Patricio Alvarez Casado
Producer: Marcelo Dovidio
Music: The Hill
Sound: Swing/No Problem

MUSIC VIDEO // DIANE BIRCH “VALENTINO” > “Co-ordinated chaos.” That’s how Dennis Liu describes “Valentino”. Indeed, Liu put Diane Birch up to the task of memorizing a three-minute choreographed sequence that finds the singer-songwriter interacting with pre-recorded footage of herself on a 70-inch projection screen. It’s a marvel of planning, timing and patience – it took 57 takes to capture the entire single-shot sequence. But it’s also a reflection of our increasingly online/offline world – Liu wanted to create a visual commentary on the rapid migration of our real-world interactions into the screen spaces of the digital world.

Label: S-Curve Records
Prodco: @radical.media, Los Angeles
Director: Dennis Liu
Producer: Steven Johnson
DP: Doug Emmett
Technical Directors: Matt Calabrese, Joe Walluck
Editors: Dennis Liu, Jon Truei

TV/FILM // NIKE “BRAZIL NATIONAL TEAM JERSEY 2010” > What immediately stands out about Universal Everything’s short film touting the release of Brazil’s newly-designed 2010 team jersey is everything it doesn’t say. Sports-related ads are usually heavy on the momentum-building dialogue, but UE let free-floating polygon shapes and generative design do the talking, accompanied by meditative, drone-like sound design by Freefarm’s Simon Pyke. Taken together the piece invites viewers to interpret the abstract narrative for themselves. It’s hypnotic and engaging work.

Agency: Sartoria Comunicazione, Modena
Production Company: Universal Everything, London
Director: Matt Pyke
Animation: Chris Perry, Tommi Eberwein
Sound: Simon Pyke, Freefarm

EXPERIENTIAL // BAR AURORA/BOTECO FERRAZ THE 73K TAB > Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t that easy to rally a bunch of drunks. For a bar fight, yes. But for a cause, you need to be a bit cleverer. Enter Ogilvy, Brazil’s guerrilla marketing campaign for Brazilian pubs, Bar Aurora and Boteco Ferraz. To call patrons’ attention to the dangers of drunk driving, Ogilvy added the real costs of a DUI to their bar tabs, everything from the ambulance to the ICU fees. Hungry Man, Rio’s Paulo Gandra captured the patron’s surprised and then enlightened responses. It’s a highly effective tactic of reaching the audience where they congregate.

Agency: Ogilvy, Brazil
Creative Director: Rubens Filho
Copywriter: Megan Farquhar
Art Director: Bruno Ribeiro
Producers: Cecilia Taioli, Mauricio Granado
Prodco: Hungry Man, Rio
Director: Paulo Gandra

DIGITAL // THE JOHNNY CASH PROJECT > Posthumously-released music often takes on a morbidly ironic meaning. Substitute irony with defiance and you have Johnny Cash’s final recording, “Ain’t No Grave”. Rather than commission an animated or stock footage mash-up for its video, the Man in Black’s label turned to technologist Aaron Koblin and director Chris Milk to create a video that imaginatively combines both. Using a lo-fi drawing tool, fans can hand-draw over frames of old footage to form a communal, ever-changing portrait. The crude, rough-hewn beauty of the effect is a fitting tribute to the deceased icon and his music. Read an interview with Chris Milk about making The Johnny Cash Project here.

URL: www.thejohnnycashproject.com
Record Label: American Recordings/Lost Highway
Production Company: @radical.media, New York/Los Angeles
Director: Chris Milk
Creative Directors: Aaron Koblin, Chris Milk
Executive Producers: Rick Rubin, Jon Kamen, Jennifer Heath
Producers: Jennifer Heath, Chris Milk, Aaron Koblin

TV/FILM // DORITOS “KING OF ADS” > Commercial director David Shane spills a few trade secrets in this delightfully deadpan instructional video aimed at hopefuls in Doritos’ UGC contest for the UK market. Mixing sensible (“production value adds value to your production”) and dubious directorial advice (“always roll your Rs”), Shane and co-director/writer Michael Clancy pit an unwitting pair of actors against a mysterious box that may or may not contain a bag of chips. The result is a hilariously self-effacing missive from one of Adland’s top comedic minds.

Agency: AMV BBDO, London
Creative Directors: Tim Vance, Paul Knott
Production Companies: MJZ, London; O Positive Films, New York/Los Angeles
Directors: David Shane, Michael Clancy
Writers: David Shane, Michael Clancy
Executive Producer: Ralph Laucella
Line Producer: Sean Scanlin
Editor: Marrian Cho, NumberSix, New York
Executive Producer: Toni Lipari