DIY store chain Hornbach has launched Safety Jackets Zipped the Other Way, an integrated project by world famous Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. The piece consists of high-visibility safety jackets joined together by means of their zips. Removed from their original function, they merge into a shapeless soft sculpture. The assembled readymade Safety Jackets Zipped the Other Way comes with instructions and materials from Hornbach. The project is accompanied by a comprehensive publication, which includes not only the building instructions, but also a classification of how Safety Jackets Zipped the Other Way fits into the artistic practice of Ai Weiwei. It also includes a certificate of authenticity and an interview the art critic and curator Hans Ulrich Obrist conducted with Ai Weiwei about the project. The campaign is being promoted with a 21 second commercial and a 3 minute documentary.
Porsche Heist in Germany
Porsche’s 2020 Super Bowl advertising campaign, “The Heist”, portrays a collection of joy rides featuring cars normally stored in the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen, Stuttgart, Germany. The the newly introduced fully electric Porsche Taycan is taken for a spin by a mystery ninja thief. Staff from the museum take up the chase in the Porsche 917 K, the 918 Spyder hybrid supercar, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS, the Carrera GT, 718 Cayman GT4, 2020 911 Carrera 4S, Porsche 930 Turbo, and 1960 Porsche Junior 108 tractor. After the opening scenes inside the Porsche Museum, viewers see a team of precision drivers steer the cars safely around the famous Porsche roundabout in Zuffenhausen and along the inner city streets of Stuttgart, Heidelberg, Heppenheim and over the Schwarzenbachtalsperre dam in the northern Black Forest. Finally, the Taycan is cornered, and the Porsche Heist thief revealed.
Hair Love – an animated short film
Hair Love, a short film directed by Everett Downing Jr, Matthew Cherry and Bruce W. Smith, has won the Oscar for Best Short Film (Animation) at the 2020 Academy Awards. The film tells the heartfelt story of an African American father learning to do his daughter’s hair for the first time. Young Zuri wakes up remembering that today is a special day on the calendar, marked with a heart. But before she and her dad can head out, she needs to pull her hair into a style she’s comfortable with, inspired by the work of her mother, a natural hair style vlogger. Dad tries his hand as a hair stylist but is beaten by the vibrancy of his daughter’s hair. It’s Zuri’s mother that provides the needed guidance and encouragement, via her online films. Eventually Zuri and her dad meet up with mom at the hospital, where she’s been receiving treatment for cancer.
Adobe Creativity for All
Adobe has launched “Creativity for All”, an advertising campaign designed to connect with viewers of the 2020 Academy Awards. The television and online commmercial at the heart of the campaign edits together a wide range of creative media, including illustrations, animations and photographs. Beginning with Vanessa Rivera’s Adobe Photoshop splash image, Vienna Mermaid, the Adobe Creativity for All commercial whizzes through the work of many designers, with icons from the digital era such as Malala Yousafzai and Shepard Fairey’s posters, all set to the song “Pure Imagination” sung by Gene Wilder. Adobe is also running “Creativity for all – Credits”, a “thank you” trailer made for the creative community, recognizing every artist who had a hand in creating the beautiful imagery featured in the spot with over 1,000 names and 459 lines of credits.
Planters Death and Rebirth of Mr Peanut
Planters mascot Mr. Peanut is back as Baby Peanut in the land of the living after his death during the Super Bowl advertising campaign, Death and Rebirth. The mascot’s end occurred in a pre-game commercial, “Road Trip”. American actors Matt Walsh and Wesley Snipes are in the Nutmobile with Mr Peanut. When an armadillo crosses their path, Mr Peanut swerves. They’re thrown clear as the Nutmobile falls over the cliff edge. Hanging from a branch they know that one of them will have to let go if anyone is going to make it out alive. Mr Peanut makes the ultimate sacrifice. Fast forward to the Super Bowl commercial, and we’re at Mr Peanut’s graveside funeral. A teardrop from Kool-Aid Man falls on the grave along with a ray of sunshine and out comes a plant that produces BabyNut, the new incarnation of Mr Peanut. At first we’re given a few dolphin squeaks, before the voice of the new Baby Peanut comes through.
Dr Martens Stand for Something
South African advertising agency Promise has produced this outdoor advertising campaign for Dr Martens, connecting the boot’s prints with significant social change movements of the 20th century. The removal of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Martin Luther King and civil rights marches, and Woodstock Festival, each had their impact because of feet on the ground. The agency’s thinking behind the campaign: “The latter half of the 20th century was a time of immense change, with millions across the globe making a stand against inequality, war and apathy. We may never know their names, but they were the ones doing the hard work of mass resistance to the status quo – many of them doing it in their Docs. Leveraging the Dr Martens legacy and iconic design we recreated some of these historical turning points with a boots-on-the-ground focus, producing a fitting tribute to the countless Doc wearers who stood up for what they believed in and cementing the brand’s role in shaping modern history.”