Portnoy Media Group

Unilever Mad Men Ads Bust the DVR

Dan Portnoy — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:27:49 +0000

Photography by Orin Yost

I was catching up on Mad Men tonight when I was hoodwinked into watching an ad. I was moving through commercials, as my demographic does oh so well, and stopped quick because I thought I was missing the show – only to feel tricked to be watching an ad (-10 points).

The recent creation of Smith Winter Mitchell’s (a fictional ad agency from the 60′s) grouping of Unilever products (Dove, Breyers, Hellman’s, Klondike, Suave and Vaseline) over the course of 4 weeks will be sharing 60 second commercials showing how these products would be viewed in the 60′s. More info here.

How this commercial is brilliant:

I purposely stopped my DVR because the cinematographer matched the lighting and the set designer matched the look and feel of Mad Men.
It interrupted my day/watching.
I watched the entire commercial.
I’m talking about it enough to write this post

Why it doesn’t matter:

The presentation is terrible (best explanation here) – The reason we watch Mad Men is because we watch in horror at the misogynistic, alcohol and cigarette laden past. It’s not to sell a real product. trying to capitalize on it seems like a misstep.
After the realization that I’ve just been duped, all of the negative feelings that are associated with it are now connected to this product. I don’t blame the agency, I blame the product. In essence, Unilever is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to destroy their own brand. They might want to adjust that strategy because there’s an Iceberg Ahead!!!!
Unilever isn’t just leaving it to one brand – they’re incorporating across platform so they’ll be able to attach negative feelings to all of their products.
The creation of a faux agency – In theory this could work and work well. There needs to be a full commitment to the idea, the YouTube channel isn’t cutting it.

How it could be better:

Adjust the content – The Mad Men theme/look isn’t a bad one but I’d dial it back to more of an Odd Couple/Sit Com feel than building on the-Don-Draper-has-no-soul/chauvinism/sexist plan.
Create a Website for the Smith Winter Mitchell agency – this would give the audience a more complete false reality, and in turn, encourages consumers to see what’s going on that reality. This curiosity is an easy place for acquisition of emails, referral to special content only available on the website and further connection to the brand.
Social Media presence – duplicate much of that content and have it run across a facebook fanpage, a twitter account from the agency/characters with updates. Tease out promotion materials, give away a vacation or prize pack of Mad Men merchandise. And of course there’s always coupons.

What’s next?

What would you do?
What would you tell Unilever to change?
Do ads that interrupt your day bother you?

We’re Hiring!

Dan Portnoy — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 08:02:51 +0000

Business has been booming lately and we couldn’t be more thrilled. We’re looking to add a crucial role to the team.

Here’s the lowdown.
Location: Pasadena, CA

Salary – $15/hr

Status: Part-time

Job Category: Administrative/Clerical

Job Description: As an administrative assistant for this advertising agency, you will be supporting 2 managers. Responsibilities will include calendar management, travel arrangements, assisting with reports, managing meeting materials, research, and assisting with projects and presentations.

Qualifications: We are looking for someone who is familiar with Microsoft Office, internet savvy, strong people skills, self-starter, analytical, critical thinker, painfully organized, and fearless.

Are you the right person for our team?

Please send resumes and references to jobs@portnoymediagroup.com No phone calls please.

The Score: The Character of Music

Dan Portnoy — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 07:31:21 +0000

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 10 days, you’ve heard about Inception. Last week I sat in the theater and was blown away by the film but what stuck me the most while watching gorgeous scene after scene was the score. It was alive, it was it’s own character. Track after track of emotions ranging from curiosity to true love – all with an intense undercurrent of maglev train going 90 mph across the Japanese countryside.

I had to talk to an expert about all that I was experiencing, so I looked up Josh Myers. Producer, composer and general brilliant music guy and asked him a little about the process of composing for films.

As a composer, are there any steps you take when you’re starting a project?

That depends entirely on the client and at what stage they bring me onto the project. It rarely happens, but I prefer to be brought on early enough to read the script a few times and take a few weeks to really absorb the story. That way I can create themes and sketches and try to set a musical landscape before seeing a single image. And all that work may very well be thrown out the window in post, but it’s a useful process for me.

What kind of research is involved?

Usually lots of music listening. If the story is set in Greece the director might want music which reflects that. It’s different every time, so I have to do my research. In that case reading about Greek music history and listening to loads of music. And then finding session players that can pull it off authentically.

When do you typically get involved when writing a piece? At picture lock or before?

Totally varies from project to project. I prefer to start scoring after picture lock.

How do you go about crafting a musical pallet to coincide with a visual piece?

It’s just a gut feeling really, and it depends so much on budget. I love using live instruments, but I rarely have the funds to hire an orchestra. So most of the time I’m limited to solo instruments, midi instruments and the instruments I can play myself.

In the recent film, Inception, I found the music just striking in scene after scene – what’s your take?

I loved it. Hans Zimmer is a genius, continually reinventing himself. That last cue of the film is simply mind-blowing. I love it when the guitar comes in. The perfect sound for a perfect ending.

Who are some of your favorite composers and why?

I love Debussy for his textures, Stravinsky for his rhythms, John Williams for his melodies, Danny Elfman, Michael Giacchino, and anyone who can introduce something new to these ears.

Josh Myers is currently working on projects for Discovery Channel, Deidox, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ireland-based radio station, and a feature documentary entitled A Highway Called 301.

Here’s a live performance of Hans Zimmer’s Inception (on Guitar is Johnny Marr of The Smiths)

Launching 5 Weeks for Freedom

Dan Portnoy — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:09:33 +0000

Today marks the beginning of International Justice Mission’s summer campaign – 5 Weeks for Freedom.

I was thrilled to be asked to be a part of helping getting the word out and stoked to be the first stop on their blog tour, click for the link. That post was the intensely personal side of the issue of human trafficking and how the awareness to such an issue eventually sidetracked my life in a very good way. It’s important to note that I wasn’t paid in any way for my blog services for this cause.

But over here at the Lab, I thought we’d talk about the communication, the website and some of the technology behind www.5weeksforfreedom.org. This site and campaign of IJM will be tracking the movements of a group traveling from Mobile, AL to Buffalo, NY in the next several weeks.

Highlights:

Multiple Touch Points – IJM has done a great job with social media integration and they’re building on their brand by starting another account on Twitter @5WFF There’s also going to be regular updates via their blog on what’s happening on the road and report backs on successes.

Access – The site allows for the viewer to check in with the riders via GPS. And also they’ll being doing uStream video live when they make certain stops.

Options – There are a lot of ways to get involved with what IJM is doing.

Humanity – I love the option to meet the individual riders (Personally my money is on Deborah Go, gotta represent SoCal!) A quick minute on why each rider is there, with so many stories it’ll be a lot easier to catalyze others in involvement and think about what their doing in their communities.

Time Limit – theres an end. So many times NGO’s aren’t thinking about a natural arc. How are your campaigns flowing? They should be like a good story – a beginning, a middle and an end. IJM’s campaign is a quick one and they’ve already set their day of completion of July 30. Having that end date helps communicate a lot to their audience – to the longtime connections, there’s an understanding that their will be a lot of talk about this campaign over the next 5-8 weeks. To the new connections, a time limit allows for a great introduction to what IJM is all about and as they continue to educate these new supporters who are passionate about making modern day slavery a thing of the past.

Over all marks – there’s no guarantee on any campaign but this looks like a fun time. I’m still waiting for some smart app developing company to make the IJM iPhone app.

IJM worked with Grafik for the creative and Capital Idea Ventures for the development of the site.

The Latest from Deidox – Alyssa

Dan Portnoy — Thu, 27 May 2010 04:07:45 +0000

Today launched the 6th film from the creative team of Brent Gudgel and Dave Mahanes. The latest film, Deidox | Alyssa, gives us the glimpse of a girl in Simi Valley, CA walking us through part of her life. The idea of faith takes on a very real component in this short film and is anything but cheesy. The short clocks in at 4:37 was shot on Canon 5D and 7D.

This is another triumph for the creative team at Chronicle Project. What struck me the most throughout the film is the sound. Josh Myers (Cinecue, Burn the Stereo) has done an incredible job to capture the tone and further story tempo throughout this short.

A portion of the proceeds benefits the Extreme Mobility Camps www.xmocamps.org

Portnoy Media, along with the brilliance from The Out:Think Group, had the fortunate pleasure of working with this team to create a new film page. In the coming weeks we’ll be launching a few other changes on the site as well, for now Check out Deidox | Alyssa.