"Sometimes I think you pay more attention to the commercials and advertisements than you do than what you're actually watching/reading." This observation was made by Annie recently as I wasn't fast-forwarding through commercial breaks. I've always loved seeing how brands weave their products into a 30 second spot and appreciate the challenge of that time constraint. But, since diving in head first to the world of the actual content creation in my role with Goodpenny, I've been boarder line obsessed. Not just with the commercial or content itself, but with the process and production that have led to some of my favorites. Recently I started seeing the Move To The Beat commercials for Coca-Cola. The packed stadium with the athletes decked out in uniforms of red and white and music being conducted by Mark Ronson, an all around great spot. But then when I dug into it a little bit further, I found out that this spot was the most highly distilled version of a much bigger story. The Beat 2012 Documentary is the bigger story that walks though the process and background of this Coca-Cola spot in much greater detail. I started watching it late one evening just to see what it was all about but then realized it was almost an hour long. And, for me, there is only thing that I spend an hour watching at an given time: Breaking Bad. But, each time I went to shut down my computer for the night, a new story line was introduced to Ronson's journey and the quest to incorporate the world's best athletes into his music.
Coke Olympics, 'Beat 2012 Documentary' from Somesuch & Co. on Vimeo.
By the time I finished the documentary, I was thinking about performance and art differently. I was thinking about how big a stage these athletes and musicians were playing on, both in the finale concert and for the much larger audience of the world via the interwebs. I was thinking that I was happy I'd stayed up to finish the whole thing.
And I was thinking I am really glad Coca-Cola has a vision to create art like this.
The lines have been blurring between marketer and content creator for years. But with the advent of smartTVs, online video channels, and audiences craving more access to the world's best and brightest stars, there has never been a better chance for brands to step into the role of artistic content creator than now. And, fortunately for me, Goodpenny is right in the middle of a lot of these conversations.