MonKeyArtAwards

Cannot Wait To See The One Sheet For The Hangover Part VIII

Burbank, CA – May 16, 2013 – Legendary Entertainment has announced an agreement to purchase FIVE33, a global marketing company that specializes in developing innovative marketing programs to bring immersive awareness of tentpole movies and intellectual properties to audiences around the world. Through this deal, FIVE33 will now work exclusively with Legendary and its high-profile stable of filmmakers and storytellers to drive awareness of the studio’s brand and suite of properties via worldwide campaigns and multi-platform strategies. The announcement was made by Legendary President and Chief Creative Officer, Jon Jashni and FIVE33 CEO and Founder, Emily Castel.



“Legendary now has a world-class strategic marketing team and contributor who will be accretive to our ongoing effort of delivering high-quality content to audiences everywhere. FIVE33’s unique skill set and pedigree will be of enormous benefit to Legendary as we deliver the full potential of our brand experience and IP slate,” said Jashni. “Emily and her team have an innate understanding of Legendary’s brand, and as part of the executive marketing team, they will cultivate what the Legendary entertainment promise means to today’s consumer across multiple platforms and experiences.”

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to become part of Legendary’s team, and to extend its product into immersive multi-platform universes,” said Castel. “We look forward to extending the lifespan in the market for Legendary properties, and maintaining the integrity, creative vision and consistency of all satellite products.”

With offices in Los Angeles and London, FIVE33 will offer a turn-key strategic marketing and development department that develops programs and experiences for Legendary’s IP. The company will join forces immediately with Legendary showcasing its work at the upcoming Comic-Con International in San Diego.

FIVE33 was founded in 2007 and has designed highly successful multi-platform campaigns for global entertainment Studios including Disney, Universal and Paramount. Their most recent projects include OBLIVION and STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS. The team is currently at work with Legendary for the studio’s upcoming PACIFIC RIM and GODZILLA properties. Through the deal with Legendary, FIVE33 will become fully integrated into the studio and focus solely on Legendary properties.

@rupertmurdoch

Maybe those senators would be more cooperative if Herr Rupert hacked their cell phones. 

Happy Thanksgiving To All Of You Who Worked Passionately, Tirelessly And Above All, Uncomplainingly Over The Holiday Weekend.

If you’re like us, you take pride in knowing that the work we are in engaged in is critically important, just like that of nurses, doctors and firemen.

When we are called up for active duty over a holiday or a weekend we think not of ourselves or our loved ones, but of all “those wonderful people out there in the dark,” as Norma Desmond said; blindly fumbling around wondering which movie to go to, which TV show to watch, which game to buy, which DVD to rent. And here we are, like a beacon in the night, guiding the way with our subway 2-sheets and our super bus kings.

So keep up the good work, comrades. And rest assured that the project that kept you away from your family was of vital consequence and the deadline you had was in no way an arbitrary one.

Bob & Barbara & Mike & Albert

LOS ANGELES (June 21, 2011) – Four of Hollywood’s most successful entertainment marketing entrepreneurs today announced the launch of AngelVision Investors, a Los Angeles-based investment group. Led by Ant Farm Co-Founders Barbara Glazer and Mike Greenfeld, Aspect Ratio Co-Founder Bob Israel, and Creative Domain Founder Albert Litewka, AngelVision Investors is looking to invest in startup and emerging growth-oriented companies that can achieve a well-defined market position, sustainable competitive advantage, profitability and scalability.

AngelVision seeks to invest capital in a broad range of businesses within the entertainment, marketing, advertising and technology communities. The principal members of AngelVision, as well as mergers and acquisitions specialist Lars Ekstrom, will decide which companies they choose to back. AngelVision’s target investment can range from $100K to $2.5 million. The group’s first investment is in SoliDDD Corp., a company that is pioneering the delivery of “truly lifelike 3D TM” without the need for special glasses. Other investments will be announced shortly.

Each of the principals of AngelVision, who successfully built and sold their respective agencies, shares a vision to guide and mentor other companies to develop breakthrough ideas and achieve the highest degree of success.

“We are excited to announce the launch of our new company, which was designed to not only provide capital but also make available our collective years of experience and expertise,” the principals said. “We’re looking for people who are passionate about their work and seeking to take their businesses to the next level.”

AngelVision will work hand-in-hand with the companies in which it invests. It will add value including strategic thinking, in-depth operating experience, a comprehensive knowledge of entertainment and marketing, and a network of valuable industry relationships.

Click on image to enter the magical world of AngelVision!

72 And Sunshine Up Your Pants

A Los Angeles agency called 72 and Sunny plans to start an advertising school, 72U, which would offer 10 months of projects, coursework and hands-on learning for tuition of around $10,000.

Right now you're probably saying, "Brilliant - have your interns pay YOU! Why didn't I think of that?"

The following is from 72U’s indemnification agreement:

SECTION 2: DEFINITION OF PARTICIPATION

(A)  I recognize that participation in 72U is for, but not limited to: writers, designers, strategists, developers, brand managers, community managers, producers, artists, scientists, optimists and rebels with or without a cause.

(B)  If selected, I understand that this program is designed to be a demanding, holistic approach to expanding both the creative and strategic sides of all participants, and that if I don’t grow in these areas, I should file a complaint with god.

(C)  I hereby give my full and complete permission to the 72U directors to decide whether I have any idea what I’m talking about at any given time, and I accept all methods of dismantling my ego by any means necessary.

(D)  I acknowledge that doing real work on real clients, in a frenetic environment, comes with real pressure and real consequences. Further, I give my complete permission to 72andSunny to decide what those consequences will be because, as of this moment, they are too severe to list in this waiver.

(E)   I fully understand that this ten-month program is designed to cultivate brave and generous people, and should I not emerge from the program with these attributes much-improved, it’s my own damn fault.

Joining The Ivey League

Realizing that we had initially left DZN's tombstone off of our revised vendors' map, we are attempting to make amends with this copy & pasted press release regarding some of their former staffers: 

Ivey Performance Marketing announces the expansion of its Los Angeles operation with the formation of Ivey Creative.

The creative services unit will be led by Lisa Dattilo who previously was co-managing director of DZN The Design Group. Dattilo has deep entertainment sector experience, including supporting Sony Pictures Television, Paramount Pictures, Warner Home Entertainment and The Academy of Motion Pictures. 

Dattilo will be joined by Dave Lauruhn, who brings 15 years of art direction experience and by Dawn Tewksbury as production artist.

What To Name The Baby

If you’re like us, you know the hardest part of starting a new business is coming up with a name for it. Unless the name comes to you first and the business follows in due course. (Which is how we ended up running a funeral parlor in the Sierras called Mammoth Undertaking.)

Nonetheless, if you’ve got your mind set on opening up your very own entertainment advertising agency and you’re stumped as to what to call your workers’ paradise, we offer these suggestions from the following three categories:

1. Fanciful, Pickwickian names that speak to a muted ecstasy deep within your soul:

  Graphic Infection

  Afflatus

  Dr. Lovefont's Feel Good Designatorium

  Breakfast At Epiphany's

  Pixelophilia

  Unbridled Enthusiasm, Inc.

2. Manly names intended to obscure what is really a silly, fussy occupation:

  The Tool Shed

  The Steal Mill

  Creative Sweat Shop

  Art Butcher

  The Idea Dairy

3. Solipsistic names that slyly reference esoteric aspects of this industry:

  The Whinery

  L'egoland

  White Slavers of The Westside

  Creative Panderers

  One Sheet To The Wind

Edwina Trout’s Guide To Fine Quality Entertainment Advertising In The Greater Los Angeles Area

Did we leave someone out? Did we get a location wrong? Email us and see if we care. Seriously. Let us know and we will include it in our next round of revisions.

Resistance To The Borg Is Futile

Trailer Park has gobbled up goodness Mfg., a self-described creative strategy boutique in Venice. 

Typical of this sort of horizontal integration, the announcement washed ashore covered in a thick coat of marketing-speak sludge:

"Traditionally, thinking and doing have been very separate entities in advertising.  It's that separation that creates wasted time and missed opportunities," said goodness Mfg. executive creative director, Tom Adams. "With goodness Mfg. joining Trailer Park, it enables collaboration much earlier in the process.  As a result, we get creative alignment sooner--ensuring the work goes to market faster.  This is especially critical as communications evolve into hundreds of micro-interactions, not just one big campaign."

 Trailer Park CEO Rick Eiserman added, "As marketers look to new partners to ensure their brand communications are keeping pace with increasingly demanding consumers and an evolving media landscape, Trailer Park and goodness Mfg. are really well situated.  Our ability to provide unparalleled creative and production capabilities, without all the inefficiencies of an old world model, is a game-changer."

Un Mission Muy Viejo

If you’re like us, your design philosophy is to capture an emotional response from the viewer through a dizzying array of design elements or through a single iconic image or through whatever piece of crap you can get your client to sign off on before the weekend. Which is why we saw ourselves mirrored so exactly in our latest Mystery Mission Statement Agency:

----- is a visual solutions provider to entertainment and corporate based markets. (sure, it sounds poncy, but it takes a real guts to call yourself a “visual solutions provider” with a straight face) We employ throughout our company a staff of highly talented, highly motivated individuals whose sole mission is to develop arresting and unique design options, through imagination, innovation and creativity. (anyone developing design options through any other means, such as scrolling through impawards, looking at photographer’s websites or flipping through fashion magazines will be swiftly terminated)

At -----, uniqueness is our specialty. (in fact, uniqueness is so pervasive it’s downright commonplace) We are always looking for new and innovative ways to push the design envelope, (we need to push the envelope in order to fit our big, fat invoices in it) bringing unexpected solutions to set each design apart. (if that doesn’t work, we mount them on foamcor with a 4” margin all around) Our design philosophy is to capture an emotional response from the viewer through a vast array of design elements or through a single iconic image.

Customer service is our top priority. (riiiiight. just ask any of our art directors) We strive to deliver the highest quality product in accordance with the needs of our clients by adapting to an ever-changing schedule. (our client needs it by Thursday so they can send it back for total revisions on Friday to be made by Monday when they get back from Palm Springs)

The team at ----- has provided visual design solutions (like we said: we’re a “visual design solutions provider”, you got a visual design problem with that, mister?) to many top domestic and international companies, who entrust us with taking their product to new heights in design making it different from anything else in the marketplace. (but not so different that it can’t be instantly identified as just one more entertainment product in the marketplace)

Our extensive portfolio illustrates our vast knowledge and experience and demonstrates why we are the premiere choice for creative design. (or, as we like to call it, graphic iconography conceptualization and development) 

Give up? Click here for video. 

Mission In Action

If you're like us, you judge an agency is not by the quality of their work, but by the quantity of words they use to describe their work. Which is why we take special delight in this novella-length Mystery Mission Statement: 

---- is fuel for marketing. What does that mean, exactly? (well, to be exactly exact it doesn't mean anything, but allow us, if you will, a little poetic license... not to be confused with Poetic Justice, that bygone ad boutique of the 90s) For the past 5 years through the use of print, television, online and viral initiatives, ---- has launched hundreds of mini-brands. (discreet enough to wear every day, mini-brands are ideal for those light flow days.) These mini-brands are movies, video games and consumer products targeted at the 18-35 year old consumer. (or any one else in a state of arrested adolescence with an extra $50 or $60 to spend)

Our philosophy and work ethic is based on a bare-knuckle, blue-collar, approach to an industry that is very guilty of taking itself way too seriously. (much the same way we poncy art majors take ourselves way too seriously by butching things up with phrases like “bare knuckles” and “blue collar” as part of our delusional fantasy that we actually have something in common with the working class) We do this because we love what we do and consider it a privilege to do it. (did we say privilege? we meant to say soul crushing burden) Having a studio trust us to create the print campaign to represent a $150 million movie, or having a video game publisher let us create an entire campaign for a $20 million game is a task that we take very seriously. (you’ll see just how seriously when you get our invoice)

---- was started by three partners who wanted to break away form the established way of “advertising” and all that comes along with it. (like deadlines and unnecessary quotation marks) Every assignment, every challenge, no matter what the size, is treated the same way: an opportunity to do things differently and really break away from the expected in order to reach the consumer. (except, of course, those impossible-to-reach consumers who expect us to break away from the expected and are already expecting the unexpected)

The following pages illustrate our work and include a few case studies to illustrate the effectiveness of the individual campaigns. (we’ve also included a few illustrations to illustrate our illustrative work) We also fully encourage both potential and current clients to visit our shop. The energy that comes from people who love what they do can’t be faked – it’s contagious. (hazmat suits are available in the lobby) We hope you enjoy the work.

Give up? Click here.

Another Mystery Mission Statement Accomplished

If you’re like us, you have nothing better to do all day than troll the Internets looking for agencies’ "About Us" pages to make sport of. 

But even we, who have dedicated our lives to this pursuit, cannot keep track of all the shops that come and go in this crazy biz called show. You can't swing a cat without hitting a designery boutique around here these days, although it remains to be seen how many will remain to be seen by the end of 2009.

So see if you can guess which one of the billions and billions of entertainment advertising agencies out there is home to our latest Mystery Mission Statement: 

----- is a team of seasoned professionals, including former studio executives (whoa! Where did you ever find any of them in this town?!!) and creative directors that are here and ready to meet your every need.

Our hand picked, highly talented team (unlike machine picked teams you find at other agencies) specializes in the creation of print campaigns for Feature Films, Network Television, Cable, Home Entertainment as well as the Independent Market. While working with ----- you can always count on a fresh approach to each project. We work timelessly (note to self: we’ve got to get a system in place for tracking hours spent on jobs) to ensure that your project is done to the highest standard each time it leaves our studio (and comes back again and again and again for revisions). ----- will get to know your target market and learn to speak their language (unless, of course, they speak Portuguese, which would be a total waste of our time). Our team works hard to make your life easier by becoming your partner in every way (except, of course, sexually, which would be a total waste of your time).

----- demands excellence in everything that we do and will do whatever it takes to keep our promises to the client. We possess an uncanny ability to track the smallest details while keeping an eye on the big picture, you, which makes us invaluable, strategically and tactically (especially if you’re the type of self-absorbed jackass client who actually thinks that you're the big picture).

We look forward to being a part of your team.

Give up? Click here.

Mission In Action

If you’re like us, your head is such a big, old bag of puffed up affectations and self-importance that you can barely lift it off your pillow each morning. Which is why we were so thrilled when we went looking for this month’s Mystery Mission Statement and came upon this agency's superbly pretentious website. 

So moved were we by the genuine artificiality of their site that we found ourselves weeping openly and unashamedly. Instead of some coarse About Us manifesto, instead of some boastful Client List, instead of some vulgar showcasing of their Portfolio, the site is simply, honestly, nakedly their logo and a line from The Karate Kid. 

So transported were we by the feng shuiness of it all we could have sworn we were seated at Benihana’s about to order the Hibachi Chicken.

Warren Commission Position

If you’re like us, you subscribe to the Lone Penman Theory. That’s the name given to the conclusion reached by many of us that there is a lone copywriter responsible for the  “About Us” page on each of the various agencies’ websites. 

How else can you explain that each of the award-winning full service design agency manifestos are virtually indistinguishable from all of the other award-winning full service design agency manifestos? 

Case in point is this week’s Mystery Mission Statement: 

Founded in 1999, --- ---- is an award-winning full service design agency recognized as an innovative leader in the areas of print, online and audio/visual. With outstanding creative talent, strategic vision and industry knowledge,  ---- delivers effective communications through a unified approach to integrated marketing.

Give up? Click here.

Mission Unpossible

If you’re like us, the only thing standing between you and a life of total self-absorption is the constant, whining demands of your clients. So imagine if you will, the intoxicating spirit of fellowship we felt upon seeing the phrase “client-centric” jump out at us in this week’s Mystery Mission Statement:

Entertainment design is a fickle, unforgiving business – what is considered a miracle of marketing one day is passé the next. (and then, later in the week, it reemerges as retro-cool.) In movies, games and home entertainment, trends shift rapidly and are constantly evolving. (strictly speaking, intelligent designers don't believe in evolving.) So it is all the more remarkable that for two decades ------- has been applying its awesome design talent and marketing innovation on campaigns that have stood the test of time. (if this had been an actual time emergency, you would have been instructed where to tune in your area for news and official information. This concludes this test of time.) 

Using inspired, client-centric idea-based methods, (not to be confused with the largely discredited idea-centric client-based methods) ------- creates posters, outdoor and consumer ads, wildpost campaigns, on-line banners and web designs, and now viral strategies for motion picture, gaming, television and home entertainment clients. 

Always pushing entertainment design beyond the mundane (into the super mundane) ------- has garnered entertainment advertising’s highest honors, including multiple Key Art Awards. (we take "multiple" to mean more than two pointy thingies.)

Give up? Click here.

Code Red: Severe Risk Of Mission Statement Malfunction

If you’re like us, you judge your rivals’ creativity not by their portfolio, but by their use of a second color on the “ABOUT US” page on their web site.

See if you can guess the identity (and the favorite PMS color) of this week’s Mystery Mission Statement: 

Our creative speaks well for us… because we listen to the client. We listen to the market. We listen to the consumer. At ------- Creative, we take our name seriously, because we know that the basis of advertising is communicating. (which is why we left the words “advertising” and “communicating” out of our name) We are uniquely aware of the concerns and priorities of our clients, and are able to convey what we are selling with style… and substance. Our creative team brings both experience and excitement to our work. (unfortunately, on alternating days) We are proud of our work, we are proud of our awards, but we are most proud of the tangibles that are reflected in your balance sheet. (we think that might be a typo, it should read “we are most proud of the tangibles that are reflected in our balance sheet.)  We know our campaigns sell us… but we don’t forget who we work for… and why! (but we can’t seem to remember the proper usage of… an ellipsis.)

Give… up? Click… here.