deux grand prix

Ad Track: Cadbury, 'Halo' ads are Cannes champs; see video

By Theresa Howard, USA TODAY

CANNES, France — The rivalry of Web vs. TV commercials ended in a tie for the top prize at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

A British TV ad with a drumming gorilla for Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate and a series of three-minute Internet videos for Microsoft's Halo 3 sci-fi video game both won Grand Prix as the world's best ads this year among 4,500 entries in the coveted "Film" ad category at the week-long competition.

It was the first time at the ad industry's top annual event that Web-only video was eligible to compete with commercials for TV and cinema use. It had been seen as something of a showdown between traditional and digital media.

The Grand Prix were awarded at Saturday night's closing ceremonies for the festival, at which agencies and marketers had entered nearly 30,000 ads from 85 countries for prizes in 10 categories.

The gorilla ad was a 90-second commercial airing on prime-time TV. The Halo videos were an element of a complex multimedia campaign.

"They are two very different pieces of film," says Craig Davis, global chief creative officer for JWT London. He headed the Film jury that also gave out 21 Gold, 33 Silver and 52 Bronze awards (nearly a third for U.S. ads). "It was fantastic work in both spaces, and it seemed a little unfair to push one through the gate at the expense of the other."

The advertising for the Microsoft Xbox game, which has sold nearly 10 million copies since its debut last fall, also on Saturday won the Integrated Grand Prix for multimedia campaigns and a Gold Lion in Film for the TV commercial. The complex promotion spanned Web, TV and cinema advertising, including a real-world Museum of Humanity, with a diorama of an epic humans vs. aliens battle.

"This is a tribute to imagination," says Marcio Moreira, a vice chairman with McCann World Group, which created the Halo effort with sister agency T.A.G. "This is a huge communication idea that crosses every discipline."

parental advisory, explicit content

The everyone nose website. Not for viewers under the age of 18. And even some adults.

"t.a.g. is it"

T.A.G. Is 'It' for Halo 3 Team
When real-life soldiers approved, creatives knew the campaign stood a fighting chance

May 22, 2008
-By Gregory Solman
LOS ANGELES The T.A.G. creative team behind the Clio Award-dominating campaign for Microsoft Xbox's Halo 3 were prepared for skeptical reactions to the spots' solemn accolades for animated in-game soldiers, especially as support for flesh-and-blood warriors fighting in Iraq began to wane.
All that changed when agency cd Scott Duchon started hearing from American soldiers posted abroad who praised the TV and online effort (which features fictitious "veterans" telling elaborate battle tales) as "emotionally real" and genuinely moving."It's the best work we've done," says cd Geoff Edwards, who crafted the ads with Duchon.
"We did everything but get [Halo war hero] Master Chief his own Time magazine cover and national holiday."
That's high praise from an oft-awarded industry star who picked up four Cannes Lions in 2005 alone for Adidas work he oversaw while at TBWA\Chiat\Day in San Francisco.
At the Clios, Halo 3 won eight statues and Microsoft Xbox was crowned Advertiser of the Year.
T.A.G. was launched a year ago, spun out of McCann Erickson's San Francisco office as a way of keeping key Microsoft creatives Duchon and Edwards -- not to mention the client -- happy and micro-focused on the all-important Xbox and Zune assignments.
Even though T.A.G. has since grown to 22 and now commands its own space (it originally occupied a sparely populated but raucous corner of McCann), Duchon and Edwards are fiercely protective of preserving the culture they've carved out for their own enjoyment and productivity.
"We don't want to be one of those agencies that tries to do too much too quick," says Edwards. "We're saying let's keep things at home and do killer work on Xbox and Zune, as well as Microsoft's brand and global business."
"I don't know a lot of other agency cultures," says Duchon, who moved through Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Miami, JWT in New York and TBWA\C\D, San Francisco. "But T.A.G. is all based on being open to a lot of people and having strategy and creative as the driving forces. There's so much work to go around, there's no animosity or grabbing on to things. A lot of people have contributed to the work."
For Halo 3, Edwards credits a small core team at T.A.G. and MJZ -- especially senior planner Mike Harris, who he called "another creative" on the lauded campaign.
"We all have interests beyond traditional marketing," adds Duchon. "And we want people [at T.A.G.] to be able to exercise a different creative muscle, a different side of the brain."
They'll get that chance as work on Microsoft progresses, and they begin branching out on projects for other clients. Such an effort is already under way for an undisclosed video player.
"We like being nimble, quick, and super-personal here," says Edwards. "It's one of those amazing times where I look around and like everyone here. That translates into an amazing culture."
Adweek and the Clio Awards are units of the Nielsen Co.

grand prize

T.A.G. took home the Grand Clio (and some measly golds and silvers) at the Clio Awards in South Beach this weekend. The Grand was for these three "interview" spots that were part of the Halo 3 Believe campaign. Remember them?

Ammo
Enemy Weapon
Hunted

A complete list of all the Clio awards is available on the Clio Awards website.

I know, I know...enough already!

page 8

Click on the page below to enlarge...
then you might actually be able to read it.

just in

The official N.E.R.D. video 'Everyone Nose' directed by T.A.G.

royalty at the one show

Chief, King stand out at One Show

Two icons win big.

Published: May 8, 2008

The King made a special appearance at the One Show last night in New York, but even BK brand royalty couldn't stand up to Master Chief as McCann Worldgroup & T.A.G.'s "Believe" campaign for Halo 3, continued its dominance of the festival circuit, snagging four Gold Pencils and a Best in Show nod.

The King, One Club CEO Mary Warlick and former McKinney ECD David Baldwin

His Whopperness accepted an award for Client of the Year, with the BK brand scooping two Golds and a Silver for "Whopper Freakout" work on Wednesday; that the brand should be honored so highly would suggest it'll rake in more trophies at Friday's Interactive installment.

View a PDF of all the winners at the One Club's site.

best of show

Halo 3 Tops One Show

"'Believe' catapulted Halo 3 from an ordinary video game into a worldwide phenomenon"

May 8, 2008

-By Eleftheria Parpis

Halo 3 continues its winning ways.

NEW YORK McCann Worldgroup and T.A.G. in San Francisco continued their winning streak last night, snagging best of show honors at The One Show for the "Believe" campaign on behalf of Microsoft's Halo 3. That prize follows the effort winning top honors at both the International Andy Awards and the Art Director Club Show last week.

"The 'Believe' campaign catapulted Halo 3 from an ordinary video game into a worldwide phenomenon due to its ability to build an emotional rapport with the audience," said Mary Warlick, CEO of The One Club. "The innovative stream of interactive TV, Web and cinema advertisements was an inspired approach that successfully attracted an audience beyond the typical gamer."

Burger King was named Client of the Year, in part for two campaigns by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, "WhopperFreakout," which featured the candid reactions of consumers when they learn that the chain has discontinued its signature sandwich, and a cross-promotion with The Simpsons Movie, which included TV spots and a Web site that allowed fans to turn their own photos into Simpsons characters.

The top winners at this year's show included TBWA Worldwide (2 Gold, 6 Silver, 4 Bronze), BBDO New York, (5 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze), Saatchi & Saatchi, (4 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze), Ogilvy & Mather (1 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze), Leo Burnett (4 Silver, 1 Bronze), McCann Worldwide (4 Gold, 1 Bronze), Crispin Porter + Bogusky (2 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze), Jung Von Matt (1 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze) and Wieden + Kennedy (3 Silver, 1 Bronze).

A complete list of winners can be found at www.oneclub.org.

"wow I wish I'd done that!"

New York, NY – May 1, 2008 – The Art Directors Club today announces the top winners in the categories of Advertising and Design - including Interactive Media - for its 87th Annual Awards. The Art Directors Club is the first creative collective of its kind. Global membership spans the disciplines of design, advertising and visual communications.

Big Winner

Microsoft’s XBOX Halo 3 swept the Advertising channel with work from McCann Worldgroup San Francisco, T.A.G., AKQA and Stimmung with a total of 5 Gold Cubes, 1 Silver Cube and 2 Distinctive Merit certificates.

They earned Gold Cubes for:
- Broadcast/Product Service Promotion/Art Direction:
Microsoft XBOX Halo3, Diorama, McCann Worldgroup San Francisco & T.A.G
- Broadcast/Online Commercial Webisode:
Microsoft XBOX, The Making of John 117, McCann Worldgroup San Francisco & T.A.G
- Broadcast/Online Commercial Webisode:
Microsoft XBOX, Ammo, Enemy Weapon and Hunted; McCann Worldgroup San Francisco & T.A.G.
- Integrated Advertising:
Microsoft XBOX Halo 3, Believe, McCann Worldgroup San Francisco, T.A.G. & AKQA
- Broadcast/Craft/Art Direction:
Microsoft XBOX Halo 3, Diorama, McCann Worldgroup San Francisco & T.A.G

Silver for:
- Broadcast/Craft/Direction:
Microsoft XBOX Halo 3, Diorama, McCann Worldgroup San Francisco & T.A.G

Distinctive Merits for:
- Broadcast/Music/Sound Design:
Microsoft XBOX Halo 3, Believe, McCann Worldgroup San Francisco, T.A.G. & AKQA
- Interactive/Microsite:
Microsoft XBOX Halo 3, Believe, McCann Worldgroup San Francisco, T.A.G. & AKQA

“I haven’t seen many shows where one campaign galvanized the jury like Halo 3 did for this one. From concept to multi-layered execution, it was in a class of its own. The painstaking attention to detail, the incredible imagination at play and innovative channels used to bring it to life were fully appreciated. The biggest question for the jury was how to properly recognize its excellence. As the ADC did not have a “Best of Show”; the next best thing seemed to be multiple cubes and this acknowledgement that one of the toughest, most accomplished juries anywhere said collectively, ‘Wow I wish I’d done that!’.” said Nancy Vonk.

Believe

McCann, T.A.G. Win Grandy Award
BBDO, Burnett, Saatchi, TBWA are top agency winners
-By Adweek Staff



Halo 3 won big at the Andy Awards.

NEW YORK The Advertising Club's 2008 International Andy Awards today presented its best-in-show Grandy Award to McCann Worldgroup and T.A.G., both San Francisco, for the integrated Halo 3 "Believe" campaign in the toys, games and sports category.

The creative team winning the Grandy consists of creative directors Scott Duchon, Geoff Edwards and John Patroulis; strategy director Mike Harris; art directors Nate Able, Tim Stier, Ben Wolan and Nathalie Turton; and copywriters Mat Bunnell, Rick Herrera and Danielle Emery.

McCann San Francisco also received the Yahoo! Big Idea Chair, in its fifth year at the Andy Awards, for its Halo 3 creative work.

According to Mark Waites, honorary chairman of the International Andy Awards and founding partner and creative director of Mother, London, "We're seeing an intensifying global influence in the Andys this year with a strong showing of winners throughout international agency networks. In addition, conducting final judging in Sydney created a terrific bond for those of us in U.S. and U.K. agency worlds, underscoring the enormous talent and resources available to everyone in the global creative community."

He noted that the work continues to reflect a departure from traditional approaches and media, showing greater emphasis on integrated programs with a prominent digital component. "It's getting increasingly difficult to believe that a standalone TV spot is going to have any real impact these days," he said. "There has to be other elements to a successful campaign."

The 44th annual show was held tonight at Skylight Studios in New York.

cheap child labor

The kids were so excited to see daddy's new office today. They actually got to hang out in the "game room" and play guitar hero. Dad played the drums, Gage was on bass and Zuzu covered the vocals. Here they are rocking out to Boston. (pictures are pretty crummy due to the fact that I left the camera at home and was forced to capture an awesome day on my phone...never again.)



What the kids didn't know was that daddy had some other things in mind for them. After a quick trip to the roof to unwind from the video games the kids were put to work. The two lefties quickly got started jotting down their ideas. Brown nosers.

T.G.I.F & N.E.R.D

It's been a busy week of school, play dates, a haircut, a movie, music, gymnastics, karate, soccer and everything in between. Did I forget to mention that Scott has been out of town so these busy days all started at 5:30 am with one parent? Did I also forget to mention that Scott has been in NYC shooting a music video?

Yup, you read right, a music video. For Pharrell Williams and his group N.E.R.D. The song is called "Everybody Nose". And no, I didn't confuse "knows" with "nose". You can find out why the odd title if you listen to a few sound bites here on youtube. Oh, and if shooting a music video with hot chicks and talented musicians wasn't exciting enough...they were surprised with visits by Lindsay Lohan AND Kanye West both of which ended up with cameos in the video.

Impressed? Not done yet. Apparently there was a huge fight on set the last night of shooting and the crew walked off. They managed to finish the video but the incident garnered press by the likes of MTV. Unreal.

Don't get me wrong. I'm still super excited to be here with my two adorable kids changing diapers, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry...