Virginia Pumpkin Festival

With the launch of Dublin's Oktoberfest tomorrow, I got thinking about what other fairs and festivals there were coming up in the next month or two, and which of them have decided to utilise digital or Social Media elements to help promote themselves. Without too much difficulty I found the perfect example - the Virginia Pumpkin Festival.



Now in it's third year, the festival will be held on the October 23rd to 26th bank holiday weekend in Virginia, County Cavan. The highlight of this years festival, aside from the pumkins ;) is the chance to catch one Bell X1’s last autumn performances. But be warned, the festival is expected to attract up to 20,000 people!

As I mentioned, the festival has taken the move this year to adding a Social Media element to their promotional suite. Their Facebook page can be found here, and has already attracted over 110 fans.

The festival is a great excuse to enjoy a beautiful part of the countryside, and an opportunity to see the town lit completely with candles, filled with fire throwers and acrobats and home to a host of other family orientated activities.

Activites taking place over the weekend:
Teddy Bear’s Picnic - Saturday, October 24 at 12 noon
Bell X1 - Saturday, October 24 at 9pm
Pumpkin Soap Box Derby - Sunday, October 25 at 3pm
Pumpkin weigh in and prize giving - Sunday, October 25 at 5pm
Street Carnival Parade - Sunday, October 25 at 6pm
Fantastic Fireworks Display - Sunday, October 25 at 7pm
Giant Fancy Dress - Saturday, October 24 at 9pm

Aleksandr Orlov Goes To Facebook First

It's been a while since Compare the Meerkat's Aleksandr Orlov has released a new tv ad, and this may just be about the best one yet. What makes this ad unique, however, is that it was released exclusively through Facebook for the campaign's 600,000 friends. The ad won't air on TV until today.

This is the latest example of how the Compare the Meerkat campaign has been able to fully tap into the potential of Social Media. Aside from the 600,000 fans on Facebook, the campaign has also been able to grow 27,000 followers on Twitter. Last month it was also revealed that Aleksandr will be getting his own web show to interview celebrities. First up is Piers Morgan.

According to VCCP, the agency behind Compare The Meerkat, in the first 9 weeks of the campaign, quotes on Comparethemarket.com leapt by 80%, while awareness of the brand tripled from 20% to 59%.

Sony: Soundville

In March 2009, Sony and Fallon used sound as the centerpiece to turn a small town in Iceland "into an extraordinary sound-system for a week." Juan Cabral, the man behind the Cadbury's Gorilla, created Soundville, a short film that documents three days in the life of the Icelandic town of Seydisfjordur, following the installation of several giant sound systems. Through the system the village was filled with an eclectic array of sounds by Richard Fearless (Death in Vegas), Mum, Bob Dylan, Toumani Diabaté, Roberto Goyeneche, Murcof, Federico Cabral, gUiLLeMoTS, and others.



Following the release of the documentary, Juan Cabral gave the following interview to Creativity Online:
So what was the assignment from Sony for this particular job?
The starting point was to show passion for sound above all—to create a pure sound experience. We also shot five product films to back that up, but it was mainly about Sony's love for sound.

How did you come up with this particular idea? What inspired it?
I was buying milk while listening to Stockhausen on my headphones. I felt everyone should be listening too.

How is this film being shown? Are there any special media strategies, as with "Balls"?
This was made for cinema and internet mainly. There are some television cut-downs and teasers too but the longer piece is the one that allows people to let themselves inside the journey and experience all the textures.

Obviously, turning a whole town into a sound system posed some huge production hurdles. Can you tell us about the process? How did you get permits to use a whole town?
The local production company in Iceland promised they could get a permit. And they did. They spoke with the mayor of Seydisfjordur and everyone in the village accepted. It's an 800-person town, but in the winter there's only around 400. We shot in the winter.

Were all the townspeople made aware of what was happening?
From the moment you place a camera people are aware. But I have to say, people got used to us very quickly, which was good because then it was about the sound. Also, because there were no actors we ended up with normal people being themselves when exposed to sounds. That's why most reactions are subtle and I think that's the most interesting part of the project, the little nuances, the melancholy, etc.

How did you set up and find the speaker systems? Did you recruit any special technicians to help you out? Was the town equipped to actually power everything?
The guys that make the Sigur Ros concerts in Iceland powered everything. We could play the music remotely and wirelessly. We built this 20 foott tower full of speakers and placed it in the middle of the town. Because it's a very quiet place—there's almost no traffic—you don't need a lot to make it sound good actually. And we certainly didn't want the sound to be bouncing everywhere.

How did you go about shooting? Can you tell us about your camera setups?
We only had two cameras actually. We didn't want a lot of crew running around or big cranes and all that. It was a gentle and quiet shoot. The idea was not to interfere with the daily routine. We were just observing in a way.

The sound is obviously a driving component of this piece. How did you go about selecting the music?
A lot of music was composed specifically for the project. Richard Fearless from Death in Vegas collaborated a lot. He recorded more than half an hour of original material: sounds, beats, atmospheric sequences, etc. Mum composed some beautiful tracks as well. I also asked my brother to record something and three days before the shoot he sent this wonderful little song, which we played to the sheep.

A company called A-bomb helped curate many hours of music too, so we had different playlists set to go from one mood to another.

For you, as a director what were you hoping to achieve with this spot?
Personally, I wanted to make something that I can be proud to show my little girl in ten years time. So I have to wait ten years to see what she makes of it.

What was the best part of this experience?
Every morning I had to choose a track to wake people up. . .not just people but a whole village.


Credits
Copywriter: Juan Cabral
Director: Juan Cabral
Production Company: MJZ
Producer: Nellie Jordan
Agency Producer: Gemma Knight
Director of Photography: Alwin Kuchler
Editor: Neil Smith
Sound: Parv at Wave
Post: MPC

Guinness Tornado

Just a week after Arthur's Day, Guinness is still celebrating their 250th anniversary with the launch of the newest Guinness TV ad, ‘Tornado’. The new ad drives awareness of the relaunch of 'Guinness Draught In A Can', with its brand new packaging.

The ad, filmed entirely in Spain, uses classic Guinness 'big brand' creativity to capture the quality and distinctiveness of the redesigned can. The ad focuses on a tornado that is used as an analogy for the magic and mystery of Guinness. The ad brings viewers through the entire life of Guinness from the initial ingredients being blended through to that magic spark, showing that Guinness is alive inside.

Grainne Wafer, Head of Marketing, Guinness said, “This is one of the biggest campaigns to date for the Guinness can. It communicates in a really creative way that Guinness is made from natural ingredients and truly is ‘Alive Inside’. In addition to the television ad, this autumn campaign includes radio and outdoor as well as in-store activity”.



The ad launched across Ireland on Thursday 1st October, with the new look cans hitting shops on the same day. Saatchi & Saatchi developed the ad, and it was directed by Martin Krejci.

Beamvertising Guerrilla Projections

A big cheers to Irish Street Art for the heads up on this one. This is from the always awesome PopWhore website, and their post Beamvertising Guerrilla Projections. Check it out...