You stole my heart in 1, 2, 3

Wow, it's been awhile. February ate me and spit me back out, but I'm still kicking.

So for spring break I went home and got to watch TV for the first time in ages. I forgot how much I missed just lounging on the couch and watching mindless TV show...and even commercials.

My new favorite set of ads are the ones for Amazon's Kindle. I recently saw the 2nd one and as a result got hooked on the first.

The best part? These ads are NOT professionally produced. These ads are a result of a contest that Amazon hosted where people could submit homemade commercials. The top five were really good, but the winning commercial stood out. The ad uses stop motion, a favorite technique of mine.

The creator, Angela Kohler, described her creative process:

"My boyfriend, Ithyle Griffiths, and I had just purchased Kindles and were doing a lot of traveling when we got the e-mail about the contest. We were constantly approached in airports with questions about them. The best thing about the Kindle was that we no longer had to each pack five books in our luggage, and could pick and choose what book to open every time we boarded a flight. We wanted our commercial to reflect all the different books you can carry around in one device. On a plane from Japan to Thailand, we brainstormed ideas and sketched out little stories that our character could fall into following different literary genres. We scribbled out pictures on napkins and made a flip-book, putting the little scenes in different orders. The day of the shoot, we gutted a pillow to make clouds and smoke (a last-minute addition) and did the commercial in one seven-hour take. Our friend Annie Little starred in the spot, Sharon Williams was in charge of the wardrobe, Rachel DeSimone did the hair and makeup and we all worked together moving the scene inch by inch between shots. After we assembled the 300 or so frames, Ithyle wrote some music to accompany the clip, and that same day Annie sent over some lyrics that just happened to fit perfectly. They recorded it together the next day. We are so thrilled to have won both prizes because it means our film resonates with both Amazon corporate and their customers. We are really looking forward to attending the Gen Art Film Festival, and having our video recognized at the event is definitely icing on the cake." From Two If By See

One of the collaborators, Annie Little, wrote and performed "Fly Me Away" for the original commercial. The second commercial in the series features the same stop motion style with a new song, "Stole Your Heart", from Annie Little and Marcus Ashley.

I find that much of user generated content is more interesting than industry created content, whether it's an ad, a program, or something else.

x,
Chace
The Faux-hattanite

Love Rocks!!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

Finally, we come to the final, and best, commercial about love. Yep, it's a diamond commercial. I first saw this commercial at a movie theater; it was one of the preview before some chick flick. Everyone "awwww"ed at the end, that's how cute this commercial is. Zales just got it right when they made "Love Rocks: The String."

I hope you all have a wonderful, happy, love-filled Valentine's Day!

x,
Chace
The Faux-hattanite

Time is running out

So yesterday was crazy. After practice I had to make a ton of chocolate covered strawberries and then go to a Valentine's Day party.

So here's the day #13 post:

This next commercial is one of my all time favorites. AT&T just did a really great job portraying the storyline, with the filming, and relating it to their slogan ("more bars in more areas"). It's a very successful commercial and absolutely adorable. So without further ado AT&T's "Backpacker."

Someecards

x,

Chace

The Faux-hattanite

I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you

It's day #12. With two days left to Valentine's Day I finally know what I'm doing. I am going to make my special apricot and walnut stuffed pork chop with spicy chocolate sauce for dinner, and for dessert I will make cream cheese filled chocolate covered strawberries. Mmm. I'd link to the recopies, but they are my little secrets. ;)

So with only two days left it is no wonder that I picked another diamond commercial. DeBeer's "Journey #3" exudes love and commercialism. After this commercial was aired, tons of people scoured the web for the song that is used, Landon Pigg's "(Falling in Love at a) Coffee Shop." The commercial is simple with no dialog, which I think is a strong point. The gently falling snow makes you think of that dreamy fairy tale winter wonderland where couples bundle up by the fire. I love how they stay stopped even as the light turns green. All the world moves around them, but they are in their own little bubble. Who hasn't been like that at the beginning of a high school relationship and who doesn't want that feel that type of young love again.

I personally have a soft spot for this commercial because this was kind of how my dad gave my mum her engagement ring. The first part of the proposal was all very nice; he made my mum carry around this package all day and when she finally got to open it she found out it was this music box with two lovers in a hot air balloon. My dad drover her out to a field where a hot air balloon was waiting. He took her up and then got down on one knee. The ring was a completely different circumstance. It was midnight mass for Christmas up at Columbia. During the sign of peace where you shake hands with other people in the congregation, my father shook my mother's hand and when she pulled it away there was a box in it. I just alway thought that was sweet because it was the perfect way to propose to someone like my mum.

Now for your listening pleasure I have some love related songs that I've been listening to lately.

Lykke Li's "A Little Bit" is not for everyone, but I like the lyrics.
Little Annie's "Strange Love" is one of my favorite songs from a commercial I will be posting later this month.
Fascinoma's "Don't Go" is pretty sad for the Valentine's Day season, but it's still a good song over all. It became really popular (well to a percentage of the population) when it was featured on American Dad.

x,
Chace
The Faux-hattanite

You (auto)complete me

Day # 11
Only a few more days until Valentine's Day! Check out Vodafone's "Elevator" ad. Although I kind of hate astrology updates and the horoscopes that are in the newspapers/magazines, this ad is adorable. This all-day elevator ride seems like an allegory for the trials that we go through to find that ideal love. I think this is the first good ad for this kind of texting service.

There was one commercial that really surprised during the Super Bowl; EA's commercial for Dante's Inferno featuring "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. While it was not one of my favorite commercials and the game doesn't really interest me, the song that was paired with the visuals has kept the commercial replaying in my head. I think juxtapositions in commercials work really well because they cause your mind to really think about the commercial instead of just watching it with your eye glazed over. It reminds me of Starburst's "Contradictions: Scotch Korean" commercial, which if you think about it doesn't make any sense (not that there shouldn't be Scotch Koreans, but the fact that being Scotch Korean is not really a contradiction). However, this tactic still keeps your mind on the commercial.

x,

Chace

The Faux-hattanite

Survival of the Fittest

It's day #10!!! With only 4 more days to go I finally have plans for V-day. Nothing fancy or over the top; perhaps just a movie and a homemade meal. Ooo, and chocolate from Max Brenner's!

Today's commercial is Publix' "Class Project". Every proposal is a little different, and when the plan is homemade it's always a great surprise. The shots in this video are great, especially of the interaction between the kids. I was surprised that it turned out to be a commercial for a supermarket. Regardless, I love this commercial.

Now to figure out what to do on Sunday...

x,

Chace

The Faux-hattanite

Let's make a mess!

Ah, running behind because of much need sleep and glorious snow.

Day # 9 post:

So we are getting close to the end, only 5 more love-related posts to go. Today's post is brought to you by a "girl's best friend." Yes, I had to include some diamond commercials in here because they are quintessential examples of romantic advertising.

Our first commercial is "Declaration" by DeBeers. I love the concept, the setting, and how they shot the commercial, but I can't stand the acting. I also think there should be some music or better background noise because the silence seems so empty.

The next commercial, "Hands", is also by DeBeers. I think this one is much better, although I don't know if I would have picked this exact music. I love the concept of wanting to grow old together and I think that the copy they had the narrator read really complemented the scene.

x,

Chace

The Faux-hattanite