Filmmaker Spends ‘Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ Promotional Budget on Philippines Relief

Casey Leistat uses "Life of Walter Mitty" Promo Budget for Philippines relief

Casey Neistat is an American filmmaker who gained some notoriety in 2012 when he and his editor Max Joseph went “off-script” while producing an ad for Nike Fuel Band. Instead they travelled around the world for 11 days shooting footage based on the theme of “Make it Count”. The resulting video instantly became a viral hit with over 10 million views.

This time with a budget of $25,000, Casey was asked to produce a film promoting the release of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by 20th Century Fox and Ogilvy & Mather, Buenos Aires. Casey responded with a concept where he would travel to the Philippines and spend all the money helping the victims of the recent devastating typhoon. The agency and studio agreed and soon Casey was off to Manila with his friend Oscar.

They began their adventure with a tweet; “anyone know anyone in Manila who knows how to make shit happen?” An email and phone call followed and soon they were headed south to the town of Cebu where they purchased relief supplies and rented two passenger buses to transport them.

[via Variety]

Argentina

London Creative Shop Designs Wrapping Paper Inspired by Cold & Flu Viruses

WCRS Wrap-up Project

With cases of homelessness in the UK increasing by 31% in the last two years, London creative agency WCRS looks to raise awareness of the issue with The Wrap-Up Project.

With the onset of winter, people living on the street become even more vulnerable to sickness. With that in mind, the agency has created a series of colourful Christmas wrapping papers which feature graphical representations of the viruses for the common cold, influenza and pneumonia as snowflakes.

The papers are available on ebay in packs of 3 (£8), 5 (£12.50) or 10 (£24), with all proceeds supporting the work of London charity St Mungo’s, which helps people transition to a new life off the streets.

[via Design Taxi]

UK

Volkswagen Surprises Pedestrians with a Beat Boxing Electric Vehicle

Volkswagen E-Up Beatbox

Over the years we’ve become accustomed to sound of traditional gas-powered vehicles, but electric vehicles run relatively silent at low speeds making them a potential danger to blind or the disabled. Earlier this year the US government required that all EVs produce some kind of sound until they reach 17 mph. Exactly what those sounds will end up being has been open to debate and creative thinking.

Interactive agency DDB Tribal used the silent-running Volkswagen E-Up to demonstrate one creative solution involving vocalist and beatbox artist Fatih Sahin.

[via Car Scoops]

Sweden

Illustrator Uses Washing Machine as Canvas in Samsung Austria Ad

Samsung Vibration-Free Washing Machine

Back in art school the washing machine in our building was far from vibration-free. To avoid having it run wild during it’s wash cycle we ended up tethering it to the wall with a couple of strong bungee cords. We had enough trouble remembering to separate our darks from lights, let alone considering the machine as an inspiration for art.

In a new campaign titled ‘Wash & Create’ for Samsung Austria, Vienna-based illustrator Boicut — who has done work for brands such as Nike, Vans, Converse and Hennessey — demonstrates his creativity and steady hand to create an elaborate sea monster-themed illustration using the Vibration-Free washing machine as his canvas.

The ad was created by TRAKTOR Wien.

[via Gute Werbung]

Austria

Kmart’s Revisits Popular ‘Ship my Pants’ Ad with a Holiday Twist

Kmart - Ship My Trousers

Back in April, DraftFCB brought new attention (and over 20 million YouTube views) to Kmart with the double-entendre filled ‘Ship my Pants‘ TV commercial. That was followed shortly by the similarly themed ‘Big Gas Savings’ ad and the more recent Joe Boxer tie-in ad ‘Show Your Joe’.

With the holidays in full swing, Draft FCB has brought back ‘Ship My Pants’, but with a Charles Dickens twist as ‘Ship My Trousers’. The same actors from the original commercial are now dressed in period costume as characters from Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

[via Agency Spy]

USA

Mother London Creates Nested Doll Set in Support of Russian LGBT Community

Mother London - Russian Dolls

As a sign of solidarity with Russia’s besieged LGBT community, ad agency Mother London has created a set of nested dolls featuring well-known gay icons Elton John, Stephen Fry, George Michael, Graham Norton and Tom Daley (seriously folks… no Freddie Mercury??).

Seven sets of the limited edition dolls will be auctioned off at torussiawithlove.co.uk between December 13th and 22nd with proceeds supporting the work of The Kaleidoscope Trust with the Russian gay community.

In the spirit of giving, Mother London plans to deliver a set of the dolls to the Kremlin as well as the Russian Embassy in London this holidays.

[via Design Taxi]

UK

Honda Promotes N-ONE with a Smartphone Case Featuring Airbags

Honda Smartphone Case N

I’ve owned some form of mobile phone for almost 12 years now, and despite that length of experience I still drop the damn thing at least once a day. Thankfully I’ve avoided any serious damage to the phone thanks to a $20 plastic case.

To promote the Honda N-WGN — a light automobile produced specifically for the Japanese market — engineers at the car maker (apparently with lots of free time on their hands) have created the ultimate safe smartphone case. The (apparently) working, yet bulky prototype deploys a series of airbags when dropped.

According to the video, an accelerator detects when the smartphone is falling, and within 0.2 seconds gas is released from a C02 cartridge inflating the 6 airbags contained within the case.

Last year, Honda created a 1:1 cardboard model of the N-ONE that dedicated fans could download, print and assemble.

[via Gizmag]

Japan

Porsche Reveals Secret Prototypes to Celebrate 50th Anniversary of the 911

Porsche Secrets

If you’re a fan of high-performance cars and the Porsche in particular, then you already know that 2013 is the 50th anniversary of the iconic 911 model.

In order to remain a leader in innovation, Porsche has produced numerous prototypes and race-specific models over those 50 years for research and development. The Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen features a collection of Porsche’s from throughout the car-maker’s history, but the six featured in the #911secrets campaign (according to the video) are being revealed to the public for the first time.

Viewers will be asked to answer three questions based on facts covered in the video clip that feature each car. It appears there is no actual prizes to win, just the satisfaction that you are a Porsche expert, or you were sneaky enough to login to the competition twice.

The cars include; the 911 Aerodynamic Concept, the 911 SC E. Africa Rally Car, the 911 Mid-Engine, the 911 V8, the first 911 Turbo, and the 911 San Remo Rally Car.

If you don’t do very well in the trivia competition (I only managed 72.767 seconds) you can always visit the Porsche China site and make beautiful music with Porsche 911 engines.

[via Porsche Facebook]

Germany

Gingerbread Man Meets a Grisly End in Holiday Promotion for Fangoria

fangoria_gingerbread_01

fangoria_gingerbread_02

fangoria_gingerbread_03

The Gingerbread Man (also known as the Gingerbread Boy) first appeared in print in the May 1875 of St. Nicolas Magazine, a popular American children’s magazine. Unlike Gingy from the Shrek movie series, the Gingerbread Man from the original story was kind of a jerk, taunting several humans and animals before he’s finally outsmarted by a hungry fox.

In a series of posters created by to promote holiday gift subscriptions to horror magazine Fangoria, the Gingerbread Man meets a trio of grisly ends. On one execution he’s stretched across a cookie rack, while in another he’s dipped into a toaster and shredded on a cheese grater (the red sprinkles are everywhere) by a dead-eyed fellow gingerbread man.

The campaign was created by Toronto agency Zulu Alpha Kilo, with models created by Oxenham Design.

[via Gute Werbung]

Canada

Budweiser UK Launches Knitbot, a Twitter-Powered Sweater Knitting Machine

Budweiser Knitbot

It looks like this year big brands have discovered the lowly holiday sweater, and have made it a part of their marketing campaigns leading up to Christmas. First out was Coke Zero’s Sweater Generator contest, where fans could create a mockup of a holiday sweater using the online tool. The 100 sweaters with the most votes will be produced and awarded to their creators just in time for the holidays.

Budweiser UK has launched a seasonal sweater-themed promotion in support of designated drivers. The brand is using Knitbot, a Twitter-powered knitting machine that responds to tweets that include the hashtag #jumpers4des.

The Knitbot will work around-the-clock for 10 days (November 26 to December 10) creating the red sweaters that include images of the Budweiser’s iconic Clydesdale horses. On December 11, designated drivers in the UK can apply on the Budweiser UK Facebook page for a chance to win one of the creations.

[via PopSop]

UK