"D&AD winners never sell anything". That's the most common complaint about awards like these, and in some cases, it's fair comment. But on the other hand, these are the Design & Art Direction awards, and for those more interested in success, there's always the IPA Effectiveness Awards.
So, here are a couple of stunning pieces of craft. First of all, in the packaging category, the Shanghai 1910 special edition Johnnie Walker bottles by Love Creative. It's not rocket science why these won - yes, they're on brand, but any two-bit agency can make something look a bit Chinese. Not everyone can make it look as sumptuous and classy as this though - the perfect representation of a masterful, premium brand (click to enlarge).
Then, in the music videos, is "Simple Math" by Manchester Orchestra (who are American and not an orchestra) and directed by The Daniels. It won a yellow pencil for special effects, but for me the video was so full of depth and emotional weight that it deserved to take a bigger prize.
No embedding. Go here to watch it on Vimeo and get it fullscreen.
Other nominated videos, like this fun one for Is Tropical, may have a more memorable central concept. But as a marriage of music and images, it's just about unbeatable.
It's in the way you instantly know you're looking at the singer as a child and his Father. It's in the great acting job by all 4 main characters. It's in the way that you can watch the video 5 times and still see a new symbol tying together each strand of the plot. And it's in the way the editing is exactly in time with the music - not just in a simplistic "dramatic thing happens on big chord" way, but in subtle changes of pace and energy.
Great stuff - and it wasn't even the team's only nomination.
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