We shot these videos all over the world and there will be many more. But for starters, take a trip to Mumbai, Chicago and London.
The Taj Mumbai. Opening its doors to guests in 1903, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai is an iconic 107-year old hotel & heritage building that retains its stature today. Watch how they use TRAVELCLICK data to capture strategic opportunities that stand the test of time.
Hoxton Hotel London. The £1 promo for London Hotel rooms is notorious in the travel industry, having grabbed the attention of millions. This was made possible by TRAVELCLICK. The Hoxton Hotel needed a promotional launch platform and decided to try something radical. TRAVELCLICK supports their distribution and is behind the scenes making it happen.
The Raffaello Hotel Chicago. After purchasing the property, Raffaello Hotel in Chicago partnered with TRAVELCLICK for their total turnkey solution, including distribution and demand, booking engine, intelligence, and all the bells and whistles that go along with it.
We just went live with a new batch of KmartDesign Designer Profiles.
These profiles are being used to supplement the BEHIND THE DESIGN behind the scenes webisodes. They allow people to drill down further into the individual personalities they are watching in the webisodes.
They are particularly useful in micro-targeting audiences… Home? Apparel? Children? Single parents? Each profile targets a different affinity group, telling them an authentic story that they can relate to.
The first batch of designer profiles for our KmartDesign content initiative is live. You can see them at KmartDesign and throughout the web on video sharing and other social media sites.
The profiles are supplemental to the Kmart BEHIND THE DESIGN webisodes, giving more in depth profiles of the people who populate the series.
Here are the first batch. There will be many more to come.
KIMBERLY. See where Kim’s passion as a Kmart Children’s Clothing Designer stems from as her own daughter interacts with embroidered girl’s clothing she designed.
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FABIAN. Whether designing women’s dresses or graphic tees, Fabian’s passion for beauty — passion to make people look beautiful and feel good — comes to life.
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CEASAR. Kmart Stores’ Graphic Tees are inspired by New York’s energy and art. Watch great design come to life as Cesar redraws graphic images.
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MILLER. Kmart’s Home Décor speciality products, like Christmas decorations, are influenced by Design Director Miller’s life and Martha Stewart Collection experience.
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JENNIFER. Watch Jennifer’s daughter, Sophia, delight in wearing the kid’s skirts and girl’s gloves her mother designed. Kid’s clothing. Great value from Kmart.
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THERESA. Theresa is inspired by Kmart stores’ customers, the pattern and color trends she sees, and her family. Design science influences her home products and her design team.
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GLENN. From comic book artist to menswear design, Glenn’s gift is graphic images. “I’m a very lucky man,” Glenn says, and he chose Kmart.
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ESTHER. Great design doesn’t have to be complicated. See where Esther gets her home products inspiration and how fashion style relates to her overall life as she prepares for a dinner party
I’d like to show you this pilot mini-series — a “behind the scenes” journey following the Chicago (Hoffman Estates) Home design team, shot in August of 2008. Here we follow the team as they travel throughout the US and Europe, seeking trend inspiration for the 2010 product line.
In Ep. 1 we visit Theresa, Chief Design Officer for Kmart. She introduces us to her team, made up of designers from company’s like Pottery Barn, Martha Stewart and Macy’s. Review design boards, hear the strategy and learn how KmartDesign is radically transforming the image of this “American icon”.
In the second episode we follow as Kmart’s top Home designers unearth spring fashion as they research fashion style, home trends and color trends in Paris.
This episode two was directed Frank Anderson at Hoffman Estates and by Dan Ollman in Paris:
“I can’t believe this is Kmart.”
I’ll blog later about the goals of the project, bur for now suffice to say that the project is a video document of the story of Kmart’s journey to change the perception of the brand.
In episode 3, from London, KMart’s Chief Design Officer Theresa says, “There’s a lot of science behind design, it’s not just creative”. During their trip abroad, Trend Director Rick notes the KMart Design team checklist – color, shape, fabric, finish, pattern, and texture.
We see how the team takes that information and translates it into product that’s adaptable for the KMart customer.
This episode was directed by Dan Ollman:
In this final episdoe TREND TRIP, the KMart Design team looks closely at both apparel and home design in the shops of New York City as the two “are closer together these days.”
“Just because we’re Kmart doesn’t mean that we can’t offer great design at great value.”
In the final episode we meet the New York Apparel design team (who will be featured in upcoming episodes of “Behind the Design”).
Trend Director Rick says of their design products, “You want to make it the best that you can and still make it affordable for the customer”.
Scouring the streets of style mecca New York is part of that process.
Raj Shukla is the Youth Coordinator for the Climate Project, an organization founded by Al Gore and has 3,000 young presenters around the world. His job is to educate the public on the importance of Climate Change:
In February, we were privileged to spend time with both Raj and NBA superstar Steve Nash at the NBA All Star Game in Phoenix.
When not playing point guard for the Phoenix Suns, Steve is a spokesperson for The Climate Project, and was using NBA All Star Weekend as a forum to speak to High School students in North America on the importance of climate change and what every individual can do to impact the future of the planet.
The series is a great launch pad to the Inconvenient Youth initiative and speaks to many different audiences from students, to educators, and influencers on the issue and extends the message of what we can all do to affect our environment positively.
The series is designed as a recruiting initiative. The first episode is appealing to potential volunteers at the ClimateProject.org.
The second episode appeals to students who might wish to volunteer to become presenters to help spread the message.
Episode three was used to get other celebrities (especially in the sports world) to volunteer to help out.
And the final episode was aimed at High School teachers and staff, encouraging them to show the Inconvenient Youth presentation in their class rooms.
Here, in episode 3, Conti and his dad meet Steve Nash just before the live Inconvenient Youth telecast:
By the final episode it’s showtime as Conti and Steve Nash as they deliver their live telecast to schools all over North America.
Note that we had two directors – Jack Davidson in Phoenix and Dan Ollman in Nashville — shooting the event simultaneously from two different perspectives:
The endless potential of the series could extend these messages in story through multiple video sharing sites, blogs, influencers like Nash and the NBA, and targeted online communities related to climate change.
It’s a great idea and project we look forward to contributing to in the future.
Those merry political pranksters The Yes Men are at it again with a sequel to the documentary “The Yes Men.” Titled “The Yes Men Fix the World,” the film is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
The original “Yes Men” movie, released by United Artist in 2004, was co-directed by our own Dan Ollman and Sarah Price (along with Chris Smith).
After it’s premiere at the 28th Toronto International Film Festival in 2003 it was picked up for theatrical distribution by United Artists.
Pictured here are Chris, Dan and Sarah from the US premiere at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.
A bunch of us at AboutFace have been hard at work over the last couple of months doing a series of videos for the Sears HEROES AT HOME program.
Sears has been a sponsor of Rebuilding Together, an organization that helps veterans and their families fix up their homes when they are facing hardship.
Here are a few of our favorites of the more than twenty webisodes that we did.
They are equal parts heartbreaking and moving. Thanks to Sears for the opportunity for all of us to meet these amazing people.
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83-year old Kenneth ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins takes American flags down every Friday to place in the center square in Lynchburg VA, to honor of the eight area soldiers who died in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Hoppy is a veteran of WWII. In fact he was at D-Day on Omaha beach with the US Navy. The Sears’ Heroes at Home program helped Hoppy renovate, restore, and update the home he and his wife have lived in since 1948. “This is a great thing that they’ve done for me.”
Note that we did a brief profile of the shooting of the ‘Hoppy Hopkins’ piece in a previous post>>
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“God sent these people.” Howard Burke fought in WWII with Company A. He now lives with his wife in a small home in Lacey’s Spring AL. “We were in a predicament” his wife explains. Howard has trouble walking… he is paralyzed on one side. So Heroes at Home remodeled portions of his their home to make it handicap accessible. As Mrs. Burkes says… “These are our heroes.”
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“I don’t know how I got that name ‘hero’.” Wayne Johnson lives with his wife of Houston Texas in the house they had built in October of ’52. A half of a decade later the house was falling apart. They still didn’t even have a shower… just a tub. But then Sears and Heroes at Home helped by renovating, restoring, and repairing his home.
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Harold Hatton, a Navy veteran who lives in Tampa Bay Florida, plays cards with his fellow veterans at his local VFW Post. He comes from a military family — he is the oldest member of his local Post and his grandson is the youngest. But as we meet his wife Isabella we find out that she is partially handicapped. She has rheumatoid arthritis. Heroes at Home helps them both by making their house handicap accessible.
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Ruth Perry is a Gold Star mother for Chapter Four of “Rolling Thunder” in Lynchburg, VA. Her son Stanley was killed in Vietnam in 1969… she got word on Christmas Eve. The Sears’ Heroes at Home program helped with remolding her Lynchburg home.
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“They gave me a very good Christmas present that I will never forget” says Veora Collins. Sears and Heroes at Home traveled to the south side of Chicago to help renovate and make handicap accessible Veora’s home. She lives there with her son… US Army veteran Roosevelt Collins, who is partially paralyzed from a stroke. “When this came along it was god sent”.
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Blake Vanderwert lives in New Prague Minnesota. Her husband, Jonathan, has spent fifteen years in the service, but they never thought he’d be called into active duty. The Sears Heroes at Home / Rebuilding Together program helped the Vanderwerts renovate their home while Blake’s husband was deployed. There was a lot to do… nothing had been done to the house since 1950. “They wanted the do it because they actually cared.”
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Army veteran Christopher Joseph and is wife Barbara are having a neighborhood cook out at their home in Central Islip NY. Christopher walks with a cane and still doesn’t talk much about what happened in Iraq. His wife tells us about the critical renovations to their home they got from Heroes at Home. She is grateful for the help that her husband has well earned. After all… he paid a heavy price in the military… “protecting home away from home.”
Photographers John Shimon & Julie Lindemann make use of antique cameras, modern lens technology, artificial light, and contemporary pop culture to create portraits of the people in their native state. This exhibition juxtaposes 43 of their original photographs and a multimedia installation with 54 portraits from the Museum’s Collection (including daguerreotype portraits, as well as photographs by Alfred Stieglitz, Diane Arbus, Sally Mann, and Larry Clark, among others) to present new perspectives on one of the oldest artistic genres—portraiture.
Ep. 1 of 3, “Snap Shots”. Photographers John Shimon & Julie Lindemann make use of antique cameras, modern lens technology, artificial light, and contemporary pop culture to create their portraits. In this episode, meet them and hear how adding narrative can make even a simple snapshot profound.
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Ep. 2 of 3. John and Julie make a trek through the rain to visit their next subject at his trailer. Speaking of the democratization of art, they explain how “it took us hundreds of years of visual culture to get to this point.” But for them, what makes a portrait art is the planning and mental focus that goes into capturing the moment.
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Ep. 3 of 3, “Two Dead Friends”. Suicide, Honduran pirates and dogs highlight this final episode from Unmasked and Anonymous. When you take a photo, are you really taking something away from a person? Are you stealing a soul every time the shutter goes off?
The Milwaukee Art Museum just posted the Gilbert and George videos that we created for them as part of our “Art Lives Here” series.
From the museum’s description:
“Gilbert & George have made art together since the 1970s. Almost all of the images they use are gathered within walking distance of their home in Londons East End. Yet, their pictures capture a broad human experience, encompassing an astonishing range of emotions and themes, from rural idylls to gritty images of a decaying city; from fantastical brightly colored panoramas to raw examinations of humanity stripped bare; from sex advertisements to religious fundamentalism.”
These profiles of the controversial artist trip to Milwaukee were directed by Dan Ollman:
Ep. 1 of 3, “Fan Letters”. In this first episode, Gilbert and George discuss their controversial art and the fan letters they receive from children. “Children are more open than adults anyway,” they conclude.
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Ep. 2 of 3, “Old Fashioned”. Enjoy a beer and a tour of 19th century art and architecture with Gilbert and George. “Everything should be allowed to co-exist,” the old and the new. They strive to provide an opportunity for each person to be more than they were before. As they conclude, “to make each picture speak to everybody, not just the inner circle of the art world.”
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Ep. 3 of 3, “Great Adventure”. Gilbert and George like to use things in their art that people are against… that are unloved. “Like chewing gum on the street.” In this episode they speak to ‘baby artists”, and tell them there is a gap inside of everybody that can only be filled by art. In the end, we are not just bones and skin.
Renowned artist Santiago Cucullu speaks of his inspirations and nerves days before an opening of his work at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
“On Site is an exhibition series, for which the Museum commissions an artist to create a site-specific work. For his On Site commission, titled MF Ziggurat, Santiago Cucullu, an internationally renowned Milwaukee-based artist, contrasts the high design of the Museum with a clash of the urban.”
In this video Santiago Cucullu shows us a bit of his upcoming exhibition and talks of the importance of being part of an arts and culture community.
Cucullu is a true artist on the eve of his latest exhibit’s opening - he’s nervous and tweaking to the last minute.
Challenge. Fundraising, selling tickets, bringing in new donors
Story. the people behind the symphony
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is one of the top twenty orchestras in the nation. In this case study, Marketing Director Sarah Maio discusess how AboutFace has used new media to help the MSO drive fund raising and increase ticket sales.
Challenge: to provide a convincing, behind the scenes case that this international art event had been reborn.
Story: Art Chicago is back, and it is better than ever.
This panel discussion features guest Renee Marriotti, the Marketing Director of Art Chicago. Renee describes how AboutFace helped to relaunch Art Chicago with ArtChicago.TV, this 2007 campaign.
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra began it’s annual fund raising drive this year with a series of AboutFace webisodes featuring the MSO family.
The videos are being used on their website, on Youtube, and in an email campaign to sell tickets and raise money.
PRIVATE LESSONS. First up, meet Leah Rodriguez, – pianist, violinist, and aspiring teacher. She’s a recipient of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Private Lesson And Scholarship Program. “There’s no way we could have had violin lessons for Leah without some financial assistance,” her mother says. That’s where the MSO came in. It’s easy to hear the results.
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OLD THINGS. Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Chorus Member/League Member Nancy McKinley-Ehlinger impresses upon us the power of live music. “I took my students to the symphony,” she says, “And they loved it.” This video was made to help promote the MSO’s $1 million Challenge.
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YOUR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. ”Can you picture the world without the arts?” asks Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Co-Principal Trumpet Dennis Najoom. “Music is everywhere.” The importance of the MSO and music is center stage in this video produced to help promote the MSO’s $1 million Challenge.
AboutFace recently launched “ArtChicago.TV” — a series of short documentary videos for Art Chicago. The weekly series is a behind the scenes documentary of the making of the ‘reborn’ art fair (dubbed Artropolis) and feature the people putting together the show.
The videos are primarily being promoted via a microsite and a v-blast email campaign.
They were directed by Dan Ollman, who co-directed the acclaimed MGM released theatrical doc “The Yes Men”.
WHAT IS ART? In the first episode we meet the team behind the fair, especially Tony Karman and David Drury. Tony is the main liaison with the VIP’s and gallerists, may of whom we also meet in Episode 1: Mark Moore from LA’s Mark Moore Gallery, Wayne Blank Shoshana-Wayne Gallery in LA, Roy Boyd of the Roy Boyd Gallery, Rhona Hoffman of the Rhona Hoffman gallery and Host Committee member Helyn Goldengberg.
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UNIQUE EXPERIENCES. Chicago is home to personal collections of amazing art and imagery, and Art Chicago lets those collections be seen.
Take a private tour of the personal art collections of Jack Guthman and Lew Manilow, as they genrously open up their homes to our cameras.
The Art Chicago VIP program is “…a tremendous opportunity for our guests, our guest collectors, our guest VIPs, even the exhibitors to actually come into the home of some of their collectors and see the work showcased,” says Art Chicago’s Tony Karman.
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NEW INSIGHTS. It’s two weeks before the show. Art Chicago invites new artists to display their work for the first time in a prestigious context as part of the art fair. “It will really give a showcase to these young artists and an amazing opportunity for individuals to view their work.” Featuring Susanne Ghez from the Renaissance Society and Lois Weisberg from Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs.
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THE ARTIST PROJECT. ”The artist project is where we have artists who are not represented by a gallery.” Meet Jeff Zimmerman, artist, muralist, independent. “It’s really a privilege to bring independent artists to this huge Artropolis weekend.”
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MUSIC. Another aspect of Artropolis and Art Chicago is music. Meet Steven Burns, Artistic Director at Fulcrum Point New Music Project. ”New art music is at the cutting edge of what the contemporary art scene is doing.” Have a look and a listen.
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PERSPECTIVES ON ART. It’s two days before the show and excitement is building.
“When you deal with art in a professional way, when you see something you haven’t seen before, that’s the thrill.”
Featuring Richard Wright and Helyn Goldenberg of the Art Chicago Host Committee, Jim Yood of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chuck Thurow of the Hyde Park Arts Center, Joel Beck from Roebling Hall and James Goodman of the James Goodman Gallery.
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THANK YOU. Show time. Artropolis is back – and it’s better than ever. Painting, sculpture, new media, architecture, and music – “it’s just like, wow, an explosion of art work and culture.” Featuring Tony Karman,Robert Landau of the Landau Gallery, and many more artists and art lovers.
Our own Dan Ollman (the “Yes Men”) has been touring the world with his latest doc — “Suffering and Smiling” — about famed Nigerian musician Femi Kuti. It’s New York premiere is at Lincoln Center as part of the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival.
The film recently played the prestigious IDFA in Amsterdam and won at the HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH FILM FESTIVAL in Paris, all after it had it’s US premiere at SXSW Film Festival in March 2006.
Here is one of my favorites pieces Dan has done for AboutFace… a webisode profile of controversial artists Gilbert and George. This is sublime. It is from his “ART LIVES HERE” series done for the Milwaukee art Museum:
The first two videos in the “Hotel Conversation” series we are doing for TRAVELCLICK launched today.
