When it comes to reaching out to “digital natives,” people born in the 1980s and beyond who are used to having technology at their fingertips, you have to look at different mediums. That’s why when Mazda Canada wanted to engage a university-aged audience, who is particularly critical and cynical, to promote its 2007 Graduate Program, the auto manufacturer decided to launch a live-action advergame at www.campusjoyride.ca with its agency, Doner Canada, and branded entertainment agency Fuel Industries, Ottawa.
“The world is at their fingertips. If you are really going to talk to people and get people interested, then you pretty much have to be on their wavelength,” explained Brady Gilchrist, executive VP of strategy at Fuel. “One of the problems with advertising these days is how much attention people actually give you. We wanted to create an experience that was going to be interesting and fun and worth people’s times and also engage someone long enough to make the point that Mazda is trying to so something a little different. And that goes a long way, especially with this target market.
Campus Joyride is a live-video driving experience that takes players across three fictional campuses, all based on Canadian Universities. Fuel Industries’ production arm, Karbon Arc, shot video footage of three tracks around three Canadian University campuses and then Fuel developed an engine that would allow players to virtually drive the track. Ballots can be earned for the number of Mazdas spotted on the track, and the name of one student will be drawn at the end of the campaign to win a Mazda 3 Sport.
Among the challenges Fuel encountered was experimenting with technologies to speed up and slow down video as players are driving around the track and making seamless transitions with the video based on user input. “Every second you have someone’s attention you have to think about the user experience and whether or not you are making a good impression and whether or not they think it’s cool,” Gilchrist said.” When you think of how many messages we are bombarded with a day, if you see something that feels like it’s same old, guess what?–it is. They’re not going to pay attention.”
What helped the target audience pay even closer attention to the campaign was the online battle of the bands called the Mazda Rockin’ Roll Call that the agency developed to generate interest in the site. Canadian University and college bands were asked to upload their tracks and have their fans vote for their top 25 choices. From there a panel of judges, including Spin Magazine executive editor Doug Brod, narrowed it down to five bands whose music is featured in the game.
Gilchrist said this campaign was pretty elaborate and only happened because the agency was very open and very collaborative as was the client.
“Anything that steps beyond the norm, people have to have the courage to take the chances. In this case we were really lucky to have both an agency that was really intrigued with thinking beyond what the norm is and a client that was willing to pay for it. That’s a big deal,” Gilchrist said.
Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt Find A Home In “Sentimental Value”
“Home is where the heart is.” The universality of that time-honored adage is in many respects at the core of Sentimental Value (Neon)--not just as it applies to the story but also as part of the process that went into telling that story. On the former score, director Joachim Trier’s film--which he wrote with long-time friend and colleague Eskil Vogt--is set in an old family home in Oslo that carries memories that help to define two sisters, now adults, and their strained relationship with a father who prioritized his filmmaking career over being a parent. The sisters are Nora (portrayed by Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas). Nora, the older sister, grew up to be an accomplished actor, following in the cinematic/stage career footsteps of her dad, Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård in a Golden Globe-winning performance). After years of absence from Nora and Agnes’ lives, Gustav unexpectedly appears at the time-worn family residence to attend the funeral wake of the daughters’ mother but his prime motive for turning up is a movie that he wants to make in order to fuel his career comeback. And he has Nora in mind to play the lead in the film. She immediately refuses the role, which ends up going to a movie starlet (Elle Fanning). As shooting begins, psychological scars revert to open wounds and the presence of the American celeb forces Gustav, Nora and Agnes to look at themselves and their family’s fragile emotional underpinnings more closely. The family home is a repository of past lives spanning love, loss, alienation, joy, resentment and estrangement--as such, it’s a centerpiece for the characters in Sentimental Value and lends great insight into them. For example, at one point around the middle of the film, we see... Read More