Is there any advertising more rote and shopworn than winter ski advertising? There’s the requisite photo of some dude who skies better than you ever will leaping from a cornice that’s probably not even in bounds to a slope with more fresh powder than you’ll ever see. Attach bad-ass headline. Ship.
In its new winter out-of-home campaign, Tahoe South says enough already and foregoes photography altogether in favor of a psychedelic illustration from Finland’s acclaimed Kustaa Saksi. Said illustration makes abundantly clear that when it comes to choosing sides at Lake Tahoe, the south side, with its 24-hour gambling and cocktail-fueled nightlife, is definitely the wild side.
In case you missed it: D/C makes a splash with Tahoe rebrand.
There are actually two Lake Tahoes, north and south. With a half-dozen isolated resorts and few winter activities beyond skiing, it has been easy for consumers to grok an image of the north as the lake’s quiet side. On the other hand, with tons to do at every hour and for every budget, including great skiing at every skill level and conveniently located bars, restaurants, shopping and 24/7 gaming, it has been tough for consumers to envision a singular image of the south — or for marketers to project one cohesive brand.
No longer. The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, which is tasked with promoting the south side, hired D/C for a complete rebrand. Eight months later, client and agency unveiled the new brand and an entirely new name for the destination — Tahoe South. The strategy embraces the truth of the destination, that it’s the place for the up-all-day-and-night visitor, and the brand identity celebrates this spirit. The website is curated by local experts and serves as a digital concierge to the region, connecting visitors and would-be visitors to the best web content about Tahoe South, as well as relevant real-time feeds from YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and Twitter.
More images after the jump. Continue reading
After selling a majestic 2.4 million copies (and counting) on the Wii, Sonic and Mario at the London 2012 Olympic Games is set to drop on the Nintendo 3DS. And D/C is dropping a new TV spot to commemorate the auspicious return of gaming royalty. Running throughout North America, Brazil and online in the EU, the spots, filled with inside jokes and sight gags, are sure to bring home more gold for two of the industry’s all-time winners.
Check out the alternate Mario ending as well as the original Wii spots after the jump.
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The creative brief was to highlight the fresh, local, made-from-scratch food that has transformed the Hard Rock menu over the last few years — and to do so without surrendering any of the brand’s rock edge. The result: “Meet Our Other Rock Stars,” new 60 and 30-second spots, written and created by Duncan/Channon, directed by Henry Hobson and produced by Alive and Well. The media brief was to reach 33 million people in 53 countries — and to do so without surrendering much of the brand’s marketing budget. The result: Hard Rock crafted a partnership with Facebook to hit users while they’re trash-talking with friends before, during and after the first streaming Super Bowl. Betting line: Hard Rock overwhelmingly favored to win.
As anyone who has stayed up ’til 3 AM exploring it can attest (I’m looking at you, Bob Duncan), Ancestry.com is a fascinating and, yes, somewhat addictive experience. But while folks who’d gotten a taste were hooked, it seemed that the uninitiated didn’t know quite what was in store for them at the world’s largest online family history resource.
Enter a simple and compelling idea. Find people who are interested in their family history, but have never tried Ancestry.com, put them on camera and see what they discover. To bring their experiences to life, D/C enlisted the help of award-winning documentary filmmaker Sean Dunne. The result is sometimes poignant, sometimes funny and always totally real.
Look for D/C’s latest spots to roll out over the holiday break, complementing Ancestry’s existing work.
View the second spot after the jump. Continue reading
Posted in VICE Russia | 26 September 2011 | by D/C
This past May the Brooklyn-based, world-dominating hipster brand VICE finally expanded into Russia. It turned out the Russian franchisee was an American expat with, let’s just say, Duncan/Channon connections. Here are a couple of the teaser videos D/C developed, one for the arrival of the brand, one for the brand’s big Moscow launch party (below), sponsored by Puma, styled as a Puma Social Club event (for “after-hours athletes”) and featuring bar sports. Like darts.
Posted in News, GREE | 26 September 2011 | by D/C
Founded in 2004, GREE is the fastest growing tech company in Japan, according to Deloitte, as well as Japan’s leading mobile social gaming platform, with 26 million unique users, over a billion daily page-views and $168 million in revenues in the second quarter of this year alone. It’s listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and was founded by Asia’s youngest self-made billionaire, Yoshikazu Tanaka. Now this digital leader is expanding globally, acquiring OpenFeint, the largest mobile social gaming network, in April and now launching in the US with D/C as its marketing agency. Based in San Francisco, the mission of GREE International is to bring mobile social gaming to the next level, literally and figuratively. And D/C is literally, figuratively and totally psyched to help.
Are you ready for some football (commercials)? Tune in to ESPN and elsewhere on your cable dial tonight to see the first post-NFL-lockout spot from the world’s largest ticket marketplace — and cherished Duncan/Channon client — StubHub. Print and out-of-home to come soon. Go, D/C Deamons!*
(*Inside joke. Refers to soccer team agency once sponsored that proceeded to misspell “Demons” on their jerseys.)
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