Saucony Asks You To Find Your Strong In A New TV Spot And Ad Campaign.

The visually driven "Find Your Strong" campaign conceived by Mechanica founding partner and creative director Libby DeLana and her colleagues features print and online executions, retail and event-marketing components, and the brand's first-ever television spot, which was directed by Andre Stringer from U.S. creative production company Shilo.






"This new campaign continues to amplify our brand mission to inspire runners every day," said Chris Lindner, chief marketing officer for Saucony. "As we confidently emerge as a global athletic brand, we too are finding our 'strong.' Our first national television spot marks a pivotal point for Saucony, signaling a continued expansion of our marketing efforts to further drive brand awareness. Together with our partners at Mechanica, we had extremely high ambitions for every aspect of this significant spot, and the passion and craftsmanship of Andre Stringer and everyone at Shilo has truly exceeded our expectations."


The spot appears as a :60, a :30, and two different :15 versions (complete credits and behind the scenes stills for the spot can be found later of the post).


above: Director Andre Stringer
Along with the other elements appearing through targeted media placements, the :60 TV spot debuted two nights ago tonight on ESPN, and it will continue airing on CBS College, ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports, NBC Sports and Versus over the next five weeks.

The following print ads for the campaign were shot by the very talented photographer John Huet:







LEXINGTON, MA (April 25, 2011) – Signaling a continued expansion of its marketing efforts, Saucony, Inc., a leading global supplier of performance athletic footwear and apparel, today announced its new multi-media global brand campaign entitled Find Your Strong. The campaign, the brand’s largest marketing effort to date, inspires consumers to find their personal "strong" through running. The new platform encompasses multiple touch points, including an immersive digital and social media experience and the brand's first-ever national television commercial. The TV spot breaks nationally on Wednesday night, April 27th on ESPN.


above: a still from the spot

"As runners, we know that people run for intensely personal reasons," said Chris Lindner, chief marketing officer for Saucony. “Whether in honor of a relative, for a charity or medal, or for ourselves, running inspires the human spirit, making us stronger. At the core, this campaign is about just that; it's where and how we train and the people and moments that strengthen us. Ultimately, we're tapping into this emotional connection to create a dialog that we hope will inspire even more people to run."


above: a still from the spot

"The new campaign continues to amplify our brand mission to inspire runners every day. As we confidently emerge as a global athletic brand, we too are finding our 'strong'. Our first national television spot marks a pivotal point for Saucony, signaling a continued expansion of our marketing efforts to further drive brand awareness. The timing couldn't be better as the Kinvara 2, the campaign's featured product, was recently named Best Buy by Runner's World in their annual Summer Shoe Guide," added Lindner.


above: a still from the spot

The new campaign, developed by Mechanica of Newburyport, Massachusetts, includes the following elements:

Television
The campaign's new TV spot entitled "What is Strong?" was produced by the Emmy Award-winning creative production company Shilo, and directed by Andre Stringer. Filmed at various locations in California's Marin Headlands, the spot depicts a composition of runners finding their "strong" as they run on roads, trails, tracks and playing fields. The diversity of runners featured conveys the premise that finding one's "strong" is an intensely personal experience.


above: a still from the spot

Stringer once again teamed up with director of photography Max Goldman for this project. On various locations in California's Marin Headlands, the Saucony, Mechanica and Shilo executives and production crew filmed many of the same premier athletes who appear in the agency's campaign print ads.



above: shooting the commercial

Footage was captured on Kodak 35mm and 16mm color negative films using two ARRI 235 and one Aaton A Minima camera packages, the Revolution Steadicam and a custom camera car. Footage was transferred and color-graded by Tom Poole of Company 3 in New York. Editorial credit goes to Cassidy Gearhart, and the spot was finished in HD at Shilo's New York studio.

The 30 second spot breaks nationally on April 27th with an ad flight of 5 weeks, and will be seen nationwide on ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports, CBS College, Versus and NBC Sports.


Digital
Because runners are both personally motivated and passionately united, "What Is Strong?" the campaign's online destination, allows runners to honor the people and moments that inspire them while drawing inspiration from the "strong" of others.



The innovative digital application creates a visual depiction of user-generated "strongs," highlighting those most shared by the community. Additionally, users can share their personal "strongs" through social media channels and personalized tee shirts. To coincide with the launch of the TV spot, saucony.com/strong will go live on Wednesday, April 27th. Boston-based Beam Interactive developed the campaign's digital platform.


above: the tv ads were shot in the Marin Headlands and San Mateo

Print
The national and regional print campaign, shot by famed sports photographer John Huet, was launched this month in vertical running and consumer fitness magazines, including Runner's World, Running Times, Men's Health, Women's Health, Fitness, ESPN Rise and the Running Network's regional publications.

In-Store
In-store elements at key national retailers include window displays, point-of-purchase, product displays and consumer brochures. A mobile video resource will reinforce the brand's new marketing platform and feature its product collection.

Event sponsorships, a national tour and a new expo booth will also support the brand's marketing platform.

The Find Your Strong campaign is planned to run throughout 2011, with several new executions for the fall. Saucony will continue to integrate the theme into upcoming marketing initiatives throughout the year.

Complete Project Credits: Saucony "What is Strong?" TV Spots

Project Title: Saucony "What is Strong?"
Project Lengths: :60, :30, 2 x :15s
Debut Date: 4/27/11
Film Location: Marin County & San Mateo, CA
Client: Saucony, Inc.
Chief Marketing Officer: Chris Lindner
Advertising Agency: Mechanica
Partner/Creative Director: Libby DeLana
Creative Director, Copywriter: Ted Jendrysik
Brand Director: Arabella Plum
Producer: Mary D. Hanifin
Director: Andre Stringer
Production Company: Shilo
Director of Photography: Max Goldman
Editor: Cassidy Gearhart
Assistant Editor: Hedia Maron
Rotoscopers: Paul Daniel, Djeison Canuto
Associate Producer: Sheina Dao
Line Producer: Jeremy Yaches
Head of Production: Julie Shevach
Executive Producer: Tracy Chandler
Telecine: Company 3
Colorist: Tom Poole
Music Composer: Darrin Weiner
Sound Design and Final Mix: Penny Lane
Sound Designer/Mixer: Joseph Miuccio

Pushing Peeps. A New Peeps Store, Easter Peeps Contests, & New Peeps Products.

More Peepular than ever.
Those colorful sugar-coated marshmallow Easter treats shaped like bunnies and chicks continue to expand their cult-like popularity. More colors, chocolate dipped, bite-sized and sugar-free versions are now available. In response to the public Peep demand, Just Born has opened their first Peeps & Company store and have launched a new dedicated e-commerce Peeps site.



About the store
PEEPS & COMPANY® is located at the very center of National Harbor's dynamic main plaza. Directly in front of the PEEPS & COMPANY® store is Seward Johnson's famous statue, The Awakening, along with sweeping views of the beautiful Potomac River. The store's location is at a converging point for residents and thousands of visitors arriving by metro bus, car, and ferries, which dock at the piers in front of the store.





In a joint statement, David Shaffer and Ross Born, Co-CEOs of Just Born, commented, "This is a momentous occasion for Just Born, our family of associates, and fans of our candy. For years, we have seen tremendous growth and excitement for our brands, and received many requests for a store in just the right location. PEEPS & COMPANY® is proud to join the community near our nation's capital."

Inside the store:

above: The Corcoran Ceramics faculty was picked by Chicago’s RTKL to create the signature tile wall for the Peeps® Company flagship retail store at the National Harbor

The stores and site are being promoted with a Peepmobile (actually called the Peepster Car for some odd reason).


Here's a little news story on the new store:


Annual Peeps contests in which people create scenes and dioramas using the Easter favorites keep on growing. Several major newspapers now sponsor Peeps contests. Instead of showing you images of multiple entries like I have in the past, there are just too many, so instead I will show you the winning entry from the Washington Posts's contest along with links to the other contests so you can view the entries and winners on your own.

The Washington Post's 2011 Peeps Contest Winner: ‘Chilean CoPeepapo mine rescue’

above: This year’s winning diorama is called "Chilean CoPeepapo Mine Rescue." It was created by Mary Jo Ondrejka, Margaret Hartka, and Bryn Metzdorf. (Narration by Holly E. Thomas) (/Video by Evelio Contreras and Akira Hakuta)

•The Washington Post's 2011 Peeps contest
•Denver Post's 2011 Peeps Contest
•Chicago Tribune 2011 Peeps Contest
•The Seattle Times' 2011 Peeps Contest
• Pioneer Press' Peeps Diorama Contest submissions
•"Valley of The Peeps" contest, Allentown, PA.

Not only are the contests gaining more popularity but more and more non-edible Peeps products are being marketed. More peeps stickers, mugs, mouse pads, plushies, apparel and even golf accessories join brands like Lenox to create more branded items available from the Peeps online store.

Peeps golf balls, head covers and golf towel:

Lenox Peep tea light holders:

Peeps Silly Bands!

Mousepads:

Peeps Stainless Steel water bottles:

Peeps Jewelry:


Peeps apparel:






Visit Peeps and Company's new dedicated website which offers the above items and many more.

The Gooey origins of Peeps (courtesy of CNN):


Don't forget to see my many past Peeps Posts:

• Peeps As Pop Culture: The Peep Show II Winners & More

• PEEPS Peer Pressure! You Want Peeps Art? Here's Some Of The Best

• Washington Posts' Annual 2010 Peeps Show IV Winner, Finalists & Semifinalists

• Non Perishable Peeps Products. Everything Peeps But The Edible Ones.

A Viagra-Laced Beer Is Launched To Toast The Upcoming Nuptials Of William & Kate

Bottled virility for the Monarchy. Raise a glass, and a body part, to the soon to be wed Royal Couple with this Viagra-laced beer from Brew Dog. The Royal Virility Performance is a limited edition artisanal brew made with various well-known aphrodisiacs in honor of Prince William's upcoming nuptials to Kate Middleton.




According to the specially commissioned label, the Royal Virility Performance contains Pfizer's magic blue pill (aka Viagra), chocolate, Horny Goat Weed and ‘a healthy dose of sarcasm’. The beer is a 7.5% ABV India Pale Ale and has been brewed at BrewDog’s brewery in Fraserburgh.



With this beer, the folks at Brew Dog wanted to take the wheels off the royal wedding bandwagon being jumped on by dozens of breweries; The Royal Virility Performance is said to be the perfect antidote to all the hype. Brew Dog claims "A beer should be brewed with a purpose, not just because some toffs are getting married, so we created something at our brewery that will undermine those special edition beers and other assorted seaside tat, whilst at the same time actually give the happy couple something extra on their big day."



James Watt, Head of Stuff at BrewDog commented:
“We put a bottle in a jiffy bag marked ‘Prince Willy, Buckingham Palace’. We sent it by Royal Mail as we presume they are most likely to know where he lives. As the bottle says, this is about consummation, not commemoration, so we hope he gets it.”




*The beer will be shipped on the 28th of April* Better snap some up, they only have 1,000 bottles available! Buy it here.

Modernista & Shilo Ask You To Answer An SOS With A Touching & Clever Short Film

The filmmakers from U.S. creative production company Shilo are very proud to detail their latest project. Working in association with advertising agency Modernista, Shilo engaged Cassidy Gearhart to direct "SOS: Save Our Supplies," a visually poetic, live-action, 1:52 short film that is a central piece in the agency's cross-media campaign for the Brooklyn-based non-profit Doc to Dock, Inc. The film recently went live earlier on the new website created by Modernista at www.doc2dock.org.



"Doc to Dock was started in 2005 by Dr. Bruce Charash as a commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative," said Gary Koepke, Modernista's co-founder and executive creative director. "Essentially, the organization collects unused medical supplies through its network of medical professionals and volunteers, then they sort, ship and redistribute the supplies and equipment -- enough to fill over 25 40-foot shipping containers so far -- to meet the specific needs of hospitals in the developing world. So far, this organization has brought hope and care to more than two million people while simultaneously reducing waste in the U.S., and we have crafted our new campaign to raise awareness and advance their cause. For this important short film, we turned to Shilo, which is well known for producing deep and incredibly thoughtful visual messages that leverage and unite all cinematic crafts. To say the least, we are all incredibly proud of the finished film."

To respond to the ideas presented by Koepke, Modernista's creative directors Will Uronis and Davi Liu, copywriter Lorelei Bandrovschi, and director of production Liz Shook, Shilo called upon Gearhart, whose first collaboration with Shilo's co-founder, creative director and director Andre Stringer was the hip hop documentary "Open Transport" released in 2000. The two worked very closely together at B.E.T., and over the years, Gearhart has contributed his talents to many major Shilo projects as a director, editor and artist.






"The Doc to Dock project's script called for very graphic live-action shots, and great art direction," said Shilo's executive producer Tracy Chandler. "We knew that Cass was the right director for this job because of his strong graphic, live-action sensibility, and also because he really knows type design well."

In the agency's original "SOS" script, powerful words are written on supply boxes, where those boxes fill up a shipping container using stop-motion animation, and in the process, tell Doc to Dock's story and convey its call-to-action. "After reading that great script," Gearhart explained, "I fell in love with the idea of interpreting the film as a visual voice-over, where we could use live-action cinematography of the boxes to present a unique type-treatment and storytelling approach."

To heighten viewers' emotional connections to the story, Gearhart proposed showing some human hands at work moving the boxes, and also, visually setting apart the script's two separate sections. "As our ideas for the production took form, those changes allowed us to set all the action for 'the problem' section in a warehouse, then set 'the solution' section inside the actual shipping container."

Throughout the development phase, the designs on the boxes became another key focus. Together, everyone decided those designs should be consistent with real-world shipping graphics. "The style of packing labels, stickers, marker writing, and the type of printing you normally see on boxes made us immediately think of the work of Mike Cina, an accomplished typeface designer well-versed in grid-based graphic design," said Gearhart. To the group's delight, Cina signed on to provide art direction for all the shipping box graphics.

The project's detailed prep-work also involved a full two weeks of pre-production, where Gearhart first produced a "word-o-matic" (an edit of the script's messaging timed to music), and from there, storyboards and a detailed previs. To dial-in the timing and message composition for the time-lapse sequences showing the walls of boxes being built, Gearhart, Julian King, and Shilo producer Jeremy Yaches rehearsed and captured numerous takes in Shilo's studio.

When production day finally arrived, the crew assembled on a set built inside a Brooklyn warehouse. Gathered together along with 120 custom-made boxes, another 100 "extra" boxes, a 40-foot Doc to Dock shipping container sent in from New Jersey, and their on-camera talent while an intense blizzard raged outside, Shilo's crew captured their principal photography using the RED MX camera system. Time-lapse footage was shot using a Canon 5D.

"One of the shots that came out of all our pre-production testing was the container door closing shot," Gearhart added. "We came up with the idea of rigging the camera to the door so that the camera tracks with the door as it slams shut. In the end, we felt it was perfect for bringing our message home with a bang."



Credits:
Client: Doc to Dock, Inc.
Advertising Agency: Modernista
Executive Creative Director: Gary Koepke
Creative Director: Will Uronis
Creative Director: Davi Liu
Copywriter: Lorelei Bandrovschi
Director of Production: Liz Shook

Production Company: Shilo
Director: Cassidy Gearhart
Co-Director: Julian King
Director of Photography: Tristan Sheridan
Production Designer: Jeff Everett
Box Art Direction and Design: Mike Cina
Editor: Julian King & Cassidy Gearhart
Color Correction: Julian King
Executive Producer: Tracy Chandler
Producer: Jeremy Yaches
Music: Zoe Keating "Optimist"
Sound Design/Mix: Mike Secher, Soundtrack


About Shilo
Shilo is an Emmy Award-winning creative production company representing a group of filmmakers led by directors Jose Gomez and Andre Stringer. Internationally known for creating original and commissioned work that is powerful, provocative and visually extraordinary, Shilo's deeply held passions for design-infused storytelling and their innovative applications of live-action, design, and animation techniques deliver breakthrough experiences for screens large and small. From its studios in New York and California, where recent projects have spanned short films, commercials and music videos, Shilo has the capacity and experience to originate ideas and handle all aspects of production. Shilo published its first book, We Make It Good, in 2007, and also also curates and produces content for the blog www.WeMakeItGood.com. Their sibling company WMIG is a creative think tank offering services in ideation, writing, and art direction. For more information, or to request a reel, please contact Tracy Chandler at +1.212.219.4700, or visit Shilo online at www.shilo.tv.