A "Victory" in advertising!

I have seen this commercial several times before, but it wasn't until last night that I saw it with my 6 1/2 year old son (trust me the 1/2 is VERY important!). There are so many messages intertwined in this ad and honestly what American child doesn't revere McDonalds as somewhat of a mysterious god. But that aside, I was amazed by his comprehension of the tale. Not only did he love the story but the moment the music started he was dancing a jig on the couch. It's true the story is great, but clearly it was the music, by Os Mutantes, that brought us in. The filmmakers obviously were so inspired by it, as the film was meticulously edited to the song.

Music and filmmaking are a lethal combination. Without them working together, the piece becomes flat and uninteresting. Music can bring you in, make you cry, make you laugh and scare the pants off you.

It takes a huge talent to be able to pick just the right song or score that will evoke any of these emotions and enhance the film. Every time I hear the score from Jaws, composed by John Williams, I want to quickly lift my feet out of the water. The minute I hear "Heading Home", composed by Theodore Shapiro, from Marley & Me, I start to well up. Lastly, when I hear "Pennies from Heaven" by Louis Prima, I can't help but giggle as I think of Will Ferrill roaming NYC in Elf.

The super duper talented lot over at DDB agency are in my opinion some of the best advertising people around. Check out their new work and you too will be amazed. Why do I think they are so great? Well, it's because they know how to combine writing, filmmaking and music. This in turn, really separates the good from the bad. Another such group, is the team over at HBO Series. I am always in awe by their music choices after the end of each episode in every series they produce.

Most recently, I got to work on a little project with the talented Mike Cyr of Buzz Media. Mike started in music editing and then added filmmaking and video to his repertoire. He is exactly the type of artist/videographer/filmmaker that stands above the rest due to his music background. This is why wedding videographers get such a bad name, it is clearly due to the lack of their musical knowledge. Bad music= bad video, it's that simple.

So the next time you watch an ad for television, movie, and even Mike & Renee's wedding video, listen and appreciate these creative geniuses that allow us to become part of the story..

Check out Mike Cyr's Film on Style Me Pretty.

LSW

Green Advertising

Ok, I know its Mcdonalds, but that's exactly the point. Genius rebranding and being green in the process. Created by the very out-of-the box advertising firm of Leo Burnett, Chicago.  The billboard is located in Wrigley Field and actually grows 16 types of lettuce.  Trying to make the country's largest fast food chain "fresh" is a huge advertising undertaking to say the least. We all may not agree with the words "fresh" and "Mcdonalds" in the same sentence but I think we can all agree on their choice of advertising firms. Enjoy the creative process in the short film below!