Bing Brings Back Rankin/ Bass Stop-Motion Rudolph For A Holiday Ad Campaign

above: Microsoft executives Aaron Lilly, left, and Sean Carver, pose with figures from the animated show 'Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.'

On November 23rd, Microsoft's Search Engine, Bing, kicked off the holidays with a new twist on some of the most beloved characters of all-time. Building on the iconic Rankin-Bass production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the stop-motion animated classic that first premiered in 1964, they are introducing a series of new stop-motion animation shorts (all shown in this post) featuring the original characters.


above: a still from one of the four stop-motion animated Bing commercials for Christmas 2011

Produced by Bent Image Labs, the new shorts will appear in select holiday TV programs including holiday specials like “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, “Frosty the Snowman”, and “South Park Christmas”, and in movie trailers for hotly anticipated winter movies, “Arthur Christmas”, “The Muppets”, and “Happy Feet Two.”

Bing Bumble-Less:

“Bumble”, the more beloved name for the Abominable Snow Monster, features the lovable Bumble, who has lost his scary roar. He uses Bing to search for “scary monster” and once inspired by a few Bing Videos, perfects his roar to be appropriately scary again.


Bing Hot Yoga:

Yukon Cornelius becomes exhausted from pulling Hermey and Rudolph on his sled and collapses in the snow. Luckily, Bing helps him find the closest hot yoga studio using Bing Local.


Bing Social Search:

Hermey, Yukon and Bumble are tired of the winter weather and are in dire need of a vacation. Bing Travel saves the day via a “fabulous island resort” search, highlighting Hermey’s friends who have “liked” specific resorts, leading to Bing Travel and the perfect destination.


Bing You Won't Believe This:

Santa and Mrs. Claus get a little crazy in the workshop with bubble wrap, search on Bing Video for bubble wrap how-to’s, and hilarious antics ensue.


Microsoft Corp. licensed the rights to the characters from Rudolph's 47-year-old holiday special after convincing their owners that the Bing commercials would add an endearing chapter to the reindeer's story. The rights to Rudolph and the rest of the cast are owned by the children of Robert L. May, who wrote the story in 1939 while working as a copywriter at the Montgomery Ward department store (May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, later wrote the famous song).

Aaron Lilly, a Microsoft executive who helps conceive Bing's promotions, came up with the idea to build holiday ads around the Rudolph story two years ago. It didn't happen then because the Aflac insurance company had already bought licensing rights to the characters for that holiday season.

Microsoft declined to say how much it's spending on the Rudolph campaign.

Thanks to Sean Carver and Aaron Lilly of the Bing Team for information

eBay & Toys for Tots use QR Codes to Window Shop for "Good" this Holiday.

Created by eBay's ad agency, Venables Bell & Partners, eBay and Toys for Tots have launched the GIVE-A-TOY STORE.



An interactive window display in New York (at 35th and Broadway) and San Francisco (at 117 Post St.) lets you donate a toy by scanning its tag (a QR code) with the eBay mobile app.





Once scanned, the animated toys come to life, encouraging passers-by to get into the holiday giving spirit.



It's a clever, engaging and cute way to be charitable this holiday season and to make many a child happy.

And, for those of you who can’t stop by in-person, you can donate some joy at ebay.com/giveatoystore.com

There is also a Facebook application called "Build a Toy."



Users donate by customizing one of the classic, virtual toys at Facebook.com/eBay. eBay will donate $1 for every toy customized, up to $50,000.

Toys for Tots
Ebay Give A Toy Store
Facebook.com/Ebay Build A Toy

CREDITS:
Client Name: eBay
Name of Ad: eBay Give-A-Toy Store
Agency: Venables Bell & Partners
Live Date: 11.11.11
Executive Creative Director: Paul Venables and Will McGinness
Creative Directors: Lee Einhorn, Tyler Hampton
Art Director: Brad Kayal
Copywriter: Kelly Diaz
Director of Interactive Production: Heather Wischmann
Interactive Producer: Elissa Polls
Print Producer: Jacqueline Fodor
Account Director: Anne Cummings
Account Supervisor: Lindsay Cole
Account Manager: Kim Claytor

(OUT-SOURCED BELOW)
Interactive Production: Brand New School East
Executive Creative Director: Jonathan Notaro
Interactive Director: Justin Bakse
Developer: Brian Tobin
Producer: Jeanette Etchebehere
Associate Producer: Joe Balint
Post Production: Brand New School West
Executive Creative Director: Jonathan Notaro
Director: Robert Bisi

Designers: Andy Bernet, Sakona Kong, Ed Laag, Angela Li, Waka Ichinose
CG Lead/VFX Supervisor: Marco Maldonado
3D Modeling: Andy Kim, Derrick Sesson
3D Animation: Hao Cui, Max Keane, Alfredo Ramirez, Derrick Sesson
2D Animation: Maithy Tran
3D Artists: Martin Furness, Andy Kim, Ryan Kirkwood
Storyboard Artist: Max Forward
Compositor: Ryan Kirkwood, Maithy Tran
Executive Producer: Jason Cohon
Producer: Jeanette Etchebehere

Media Company: Monster Media
Creative Producer: Radhames Almanzar
VP of Marketing & Client Services: Natalie Brokaw
Client Services Coordinator: Lindsey Fuller
Project Manager: Sloan Jenkins
SVP of Sales & Marketing: Tim O’Brien
Original Music: Jingle Punks
Sound Design: Brad Kayal, Chris Konovaliv

The 2012 Lavazza Calendar Reunites 12 Masters of Photography.

above: cover for 2012 Lavazza Calendar by Ellen von Unwerth

The 2012 Lavazza Calendar


The Lavazzers is the name of the twentieth edition of the Lavazza Calendar, which in celebration of such an important event reunites 12 of the masters of photography that helped to make the Lavazza Calendar such a success over the years: Erwin Olaf, Thierry Le Gouès, Miles Aldridge, Marino Parisotto, Eugenio Recuenco, Elliott Erwitt, Finlay MacKay, Mark Seliger, Annie Leibovitz, Albert Watson, David LaChapelle, Ellen von Unwerth.



They put themselves enthusiastically into play, celebrating their most intimate relationships with the Lavazza coffee through self-portraits. The 12 photographers, just like any closely knit team, were led by the Armando Testa agency, which was in charge of producing also this edition of the Lavazza Calendar and was art-directed by Fabio Novembre. The photographers interpreted themselves in innovative, unusual and imaginative shots.

January:

ERWIN OLAF
LOCATION: Studio Erwin Olaf, Amsterdam
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANTS: Wouter van Gens, Alessandro Pisano
STYLISTS: Monica Petit & Maartje Wevers
MAKE-UP ARRIST: Annemiek Bohnenn
SET DESIGN: Floris Vos
MODELS: Tabarra Diop, Irene Hoek, Jason King, Sefton Clarke, Chantal Hanse, Lotte Valk
POST PRODUCTION: Wieger Poutsma, Fisk-Imaging

February:

THIERRY LE GOUÈS
LOCATION: Upper East Studio, Paris
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANT: Benoit Palluel
MAKE-UP ARTIST: Audrey Gautier
MODEL: Sahara Koné
POST PRODUCTION: Bepong

March:

MILES ALDRIDGE (see Miles Aldridge's 2010 Lavazza calendar)
LOCATION: Big Sky Studios, London
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANTS: Benjamin Madgwick, Tom Moran, Daniel Smith
STYLIST: Cathy Kasterine
MODEL: Ruby Aldridge
HAIR STYLIST: Kerry Warn
MAKE-UP ARTIST: Alice Ghendrih
SET DESIGN: Andy Hillman
POST PRODUCTION: Tapestry

April:

MARINO PARISOTTO
LOCATION: Alassio
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANT: Silvio Repetto
STYLIST: Maky Hanykova
HAIR STYLIST & MAKE-UP ARTIST: Gianni Di Muro
MODELS: Katerina, Kristina H, Olena, Tereza
COSTUMES: La Perla, Verde Veronica, Verdissima, Via Uno, Mario Valentino, Sartoria De Valle

May:

EUGENIO RECUENCO
LOCATION: Eric Dover Studio, Madrid
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANTS: Pedro Galan, Dani Torres, Camilo Germain
STYLIST: Eugenio Recuenco
HAIR STYLIST & MAKE-UP ARTIST: Lewis Amarante
SET DESIGN: Eric Dover
POST PRODUCTION: Paz Otero, Focal Imagen

June:

ELLIOTT ERWITT
LOCATION: Central Park, New York City
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANT: Mio Nakamura

July:

FINLAY MACKAY (see Finlay Mackay's 2008 Lavazza calendar)
LOCATION: Film Plus Studios, London
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANT: Jake Green
MAKE-UP ARTIST: Bill Turpin
SET DESIGN: Matt Duddleston
POST PRODUCTION: Box New York

August:

MARK SELIGER (see Mark Seliger's 2011 Lavazza calendar)
LOCATION: Mark Seliger Studio, New York City
HAIR STYLIST: Zaiya Latt
MAKE-UP ARTIST: Regine Thorre
MODEL: Misty Copeland
POST PRODUCTION: Printed at Norkin Digital Art, Ltd

September:

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ (see Annie Leibovitz' 2009 Lavazza calendar)
LOCATION: Plano, Illinois

October:

ALBERT WATSON
LOCATION: 69 Gansevoort Street, New York City
HAIR STYLIST & MAKE-UP ARTIST: Trevor Bowden
MODEL: Breaunna

November:

DAVID LACHAPELLE
LOCATION: Hana, Hawaii
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANTS: Drew Dawson, Tyson Lee Smyer, Jacob Schmidt
HAIR STYLIST: Larry McDaniel
MAKE-UP ARTIST: Sharon Gault
SET DESIGN: Henric Nieminen

December:

Inside back cover:

ELLEN VON UNWERTH
LOCATION: Chez Regine, Paris
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANTS: Joris Rossi, Yvan Gherman, Jerome Vivet
STYLIST: Joanna Schlenzka
HAIR STYLIST: Ed Moeland
MAKE-UP ARTIST: Cathyanne McAllister
MODEL (COVER): Valerie van der Graaf

CALENDAR CREDITS
SUPERVISION & COORDINATION
Lavazza Corporate Image - Advertising Department
CREATIVE PROJECT: Armando Testa
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Michele Mariani
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Andrea Lantelme
COPYWRITER: Federico Bonenti

CON TE PARTIRO’ CREDITS
ART DIRECTION: Fabio Novembre
CATALOGUE: Onlab
PROJECT MAPPING: Apparati Effimeri
DIGITAL PROJECT: Neotokio!
POST PRODUCTION: Garret Suhrie
PHOTOGRAPHER ASSISTANTS: Nick Rogers, Matthias Gaggl

The Exhibit
The 2012 Lavazza Calendar is accompanied by an exhibition at the Triennale di Milano – Teatro dell’Arte which takes a look at all the Lavazza calendars for the past 20 years:

The exhibit and installation, LAVAZZA CON TE PARTIRO’, was also art directed by Fabio Novembre and includes the following:

all information and images courtesy of Lavazza and Fabio Novembre

View an interactive look at 20 years of Lavazza calendars here

The Sexiest Blackgama Ads Over the Past 43 Years and Interesting Trivia about the Campaign.

One of the most beautiful and enduring ad campaigns of all time doesn't get a lot of press because of its controversial product - real fur. But Blackglama has kept their same ad campaign and headline for over 40 years and it still works. Photographs of the world's most beautiful women - and in a few cases, men - wrapped in the world's finest black ranch mink.

In this post I will share with you what I feel are the sexiest ads from the campaign, the ones that truly warrant a "legend" status, the only males in the campaign, other work inspired by the ads and some juicy trivia. But first, a little background on how the ad campaign began.

In 1968, New York ad executive Jane Trahey conceived of the campaign and invented the name "Blackglama." She felt that fur wouldn't show up well in the photography so she devised a 'gimmick' - this being the association with someone very famous. The campaign was executed by her associate, Peter Rogers, who later, in 1974, bought out the firm and continued with the campaign. He also wrote the 1979 book "What Becomes A Legend Most?" about the campaign. More trivia about the campaign after the images.



The following images are my personal picks for the sexiest photos since the campaign began, shown from most recent to the earliest. I have chosen portraits that exude sexiness in different ways. Some show a lot of skin, others possess a come hither look in the subject's eyes that are just as sensual. You may be thinking it's odd that I chose to include Angela Lansbury and Julie Andrews in a man's suit (a nod to her role in Victor, Victoria) or a bundled up Lauren Bacall, but one look at their expressions and you'll see that many women certainly feel sexy when wrapped in the word's finest fur.

Janet Jackson, 2011:


Janet Jackson, 2010:

Elizabeth Hurley, 2008:

Naomi Cambell, 2007:

Elle Macpherson, 2005:

Cindy Crawford, 2004:

Gisele Bundchen, 2002:

Linda Evangelista, 2001:

Catherine Deneuve, 1989:

Cher, 1986:

Ann Margaret, 1985:

Sophia Loren, 1982:

Julie Andrews, 1982:

Natalie Wood, 1981:

Lana Turner, 1980:

Angela Lansbury, 1979:

Faye Dunaway, 1978:

Shirley Maclaine, 1977:

Liv Ullman, 1977:

Raquel Welch, 1975:

Bridget Bardot, 1970:

Maria callas, 1970:

Marlene Deitrich, 1969:

Lauren Bacall, 1968:

Barbra Streisand, 1968:


I can't just show you the sexiest without sharing with you some portraits of those who truly warrant the "legend" status.

Ten who truly warrant Legend status:
Lillian Gish, Gloria Swanson, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Helen Hayes, Lucille Ball, Diana Ross, Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor






Trivia and tidbits about the Blackglama ad campaign:

• Photographer Richard Avedon shot the campaign for the first five years. Underrated American photographer Bill King, who died of AIDS in 1987, followed Avedon. Rocco Laspata of Laspata/Decaro has been shooting the campaign since then.

• With the exception of color photos in the 2004 and 2005 campaigns featuring Cindy Crawford and Elle Macpherson respectively, the portraits were always shot in black and white.

•Although the typeface has changed twice since the campaign's inception (first Cooper Black condensed, then Bodoni Condensed, and finally Optima) the ads have always had the same headline "What becomes a Legend most?*"

• *Originally, the line was typeset with an initial cap on the words "what" and "legend" only, when the typeface was changed from the original, the headline was set with all initial caps.

• From 2001 through 2009, the campaign featured supermodels (Linda Evangelista, Gisele Bündchen, Cindy Crawford, Elle Macpherson, Naomi Campbell and Elizabeth Hurley) as opposed to screen and entertainment legends. This is also the year that more than one ad was shot for the campaign so as to show more available products from the brand.

• As of 1980, the models were never paid nor did their names appear on the ads, but they each received a coat of their choice. I do not know if this is still the case.

• Actress Claudette Colbert appeared in the campaign twice, once in 1971 and again in 1989:


•Liza Minelli, Lillian Hellman and Bette Davis all posed with lit cigarettes:


• Janet Jackson is the only model to be featured in the campaign for two consecutive years in a row (2010 and 2011).

• Andy Warhol was so fond of the Judy Garland ad in the campaign that he turned it into one of famous colored silkscreens:


• Carol Burnett was the only one to turn down a coat and instead asked for the money to be donated to charity:


• The only men to ever pose for the campaign were Ray Charles, Tommy Tune, Luciano Pavorotti and Rudolf Nureyev. Frank Sinatra bowed out at the last minute.



• Dolly Parton, Katharine Hepburn and Jackie Onassis turned down repeated offers to star in the campaign.

• In 1984 Joan Rivers released a comedy album on whose cover she posed as a Blackglama ad with the line altered to read "What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most?:


• PETA created their own mock version (below) of the ad campaign with Amy Sedaris in protest:


• Artist Mark Verabioff's “The Blackglama Insurgents” 2005, included 18 page tears from the campaign marked with masculine gestures in spray paint referencing male sexual pleasure and violence:



"All legends share a timelessness, a glamour, an endurance that goes beyond what’s currently or merely in vogue." -- Peter Rogers

You can see a gallery of all 108 legends here at Blackglama.

information sources: Blackglama.com, People Magazine article from 1979 and the 1979 book Blackglama: What Becomes A Legend Most (now out of print)