Thursday - June 21, 2012

The seminar I found most interesting on Thursday was with BBDO about How Everything Counts: A dissection of What Makes Great Creative Great. David Lubars, Paul Brazier, Josy Paul, and Greg Hahn all spoke about different advertisements and what made them great. The first commercial they started with was for PS3. The characters of video games actually came alive and celebrated the player or user of the video game. I thought it was such an interesting commercial because it was from a completely different perspective rather than just from the players perspective. The pacing was really cool because it was slow and built up tension and was somewhat played out in a three act play. It was a simple idea that the characters in the game were thanking the player for helping them through their journey. I learned that the execution should have new things happen as it moves forward. The second commercial they went over was my favorite one because it was so meaningful. It was about helping Mumbai and showing their lifestyle experiences. At first it makes you very uneasy and disturbs you because it is so depressing. All the stories were real which makes it even more heart breaking and interesting. They explained that the cast did not know where the camera was so it made it more realistic and angstful. It was also very gritty because no permissions were taken and because the people were not actors, just real people with real stories. The director had a workshop with the cast to get out how they felt before they shot it each scene. This helped because they could talk about what was going on beforehand and have a sense of meaning when the commercial was actually being shot. He went through the entire commercial and broke it down and how each part has meaning. The Canal+ commercial with the bear rug was also really interesting. I thought it was very funny throughout the commercial but wanted to know what they were advertising for the entire time. It was not until the very end that I understood what was going on. I know it won many awards and it was a great commercial but I didn't like that I had to wait until the very end for a couple minute commercial to figure out what was going on. I also learned that sound in a commercial counts for fifty percent because it captures people and sets the mood. I really enjoyed this seminar because they broke down the commercials and explained the story line. 


My top priority for the festival this week was to see and hear Bill Clinton speak and he definitely did not disappoint. I waited in line for an hour and a half and met a few people, passed out a few business cards, and told some French girls they could not cut us! But I really enjoyed everything Bill Clinton had to say and could not believe how intelligent, insightful, funny, and entertaining he was. I loved that he spoke about global issues that he was working with and for to make the world a better place. But what I loved even more was how he applied those global issues to advertising and how we as creatives can capture peoples attention and do it for more than just convincing people to purchase products. It really changed my mind about the different type of work I might want to do with my life. One question that the mediator asked him was about how people are afraid to let foreigners come in to their company and place of living because they do not want their culture to change. Bill Clinton went on to explain that to be a global company and have a global perspective you need to open your doors to new people and new ideas.