A-Z to Dance with Diesel JoggJeans

A-Z to Dance is a short film that goes through the alphabet by means of dance moves - a dance style or a dance move stands for every single letter. Diesel had chosen to collaborate with i-D to promote their new Jogg Jeans. A combination of Denim and Jersey, this "hybrid denim" as called by the brand, seems versatile enough to be comfortable for every dance move, from A to Z. The message looks pretty believable throughout this movie with awesome cast:



It obviously had earned the "viral video" status, with more than 2 million views in less than 6 months.

In addition, on the dedicated site here you can find a compilation of videos uploaded by users.

Very pleasant campaign overall, in my opinion. Besides the fact that it slightly reminds me of Puma's Dance Dictionary previously mentioned in this blog post.

Classical vs. Pop. B-Classic presents The Classical Comeback #CallForEntries

B-Classic, an innovative Belgium classic music festival, has a new project with the ambition to give classical music the same popularity as pop and rock music have nowadays. For that purpose a video was created: classic music by Dvorak with his Symphony No. 9 and a performance by Korean dance group called Waveya:



Ain't it foolish? Or simply brilliant?

The ones who like the concept of classic music piece presented with pop music means, don't waste time but check out how to participate and present your entries for the Classical Comeback project.

Virgin America Safety Dance

Do you ever watch the safety instructions while the plane is preparing for take off? Come on, be honest, it's no. Well, this one will make you do so.
The Virgin produced Virgin America Safety Video is a bit long but if these 5 minutes were what happens every time before Virgin America flight, I would want a seat in the first rows.



Special thanks to my dancing friend Victoria for showing me this.

The Saint Laurent Ballerina shoe collection Dance Video

YSL didn't take my breath away with stunning video content. Till now. Their official YouTube channel, started about an year ago, made out of the Saint Laurent brand a late follower rather than an active figure compared to the efforts of other big names in fashion in that field of communication. But with the latest piece of content Saint Laurent, with Hedi Slimane at the head, is on the right track.



Slimane's first film for Saint Laurent presents the designer's new Ballerina shoe collection in the most appropriate way - with ballet-like dance. Good concept with lots of contextual messages - the timeless black-and-white, the leather and flannel shirt reminiscent the YSL fall-winter 2013 collection, the soundtrack. It would be close to perfect if it wasn't for the doubtful ballet dance skills of starring Lida Fox. Although her performance may make her look a good dancer amongst models, I wish I saw a real ballerina at her place, one who would make this performance less... dull.

Strenght in motion: ballerina Tamara Rojo for Lexus

It's been a while since an automotive brand has done a good piece of content using dance as a language of expression. And now here is one, which impressed me. The new Lexus IS commercial is featuring Tamara Rojo:



She is not just great ballerina but she has that distinctive spirit of both intelligence and strenght which transforms a dancer into an amazing dancer. Plus, she uses the perfect words to explain her philosophy of dance as a communication system:



Very sophisticated choice for Lexus IS 2013, I would say.

Dance Dictionary by Puma

Dance is a language. Sometimes better than words. I keep saying it. And now this message comes to life in very creative way by Puma Fragrances. To celebrate their new product line, they created the Dance Dictionary:



Great interactive campaign inviting you to translate your messages into dance moves by using the Dance Dictionary. Of course, than you can transmit your message to the world via social media.

Ok, enough said, time to get lost in translation...
Try it out on www.pumadancedictionary.com.

One tango on wheels, by Louis Vuitton

To celebrate Zephyr, the new 4-wheel suitcase in their product line, at Louis Vuitton have chosen to present the art de voyager this time through a dance performance at the airport.



While watching those beautifully dynamic moves, the key features of the suitcase are almost imperceptibly introduced to the viewer. That's smart.

But what is more important goes beyond the product in question. Once I saw it, it immediately stuck on my mind as a captivating tango dance metaphor of the modern hustle of travelling, yet in the most sophisticated and passionate way possible. That is the continuous Louis Vuitton tale, or in this case better call it dance, for the art de voyager. This is why I like it.

OPI Instinct of Color. And of dance.

Here is something that really surprised me, in a good way. Two main things in the new OPI commercial: amazingly creative idea for nail polish ad and great execution.
Here nail polish colors definitely got meaning. And expression.
Pink stands for classical femininity, expressed with classical ballet.
Red is passion and tap dance.
Than come the blue and the yellow.
But it would be so good without the Lady in Black performances!



Special thanks to Zlatina Zareva for sharing.

To people who love dance... the world's first dance lifestyle channel on YouTube

That's the promo video of DS2DIO, the world's first dance lifestyle channel, as claimed.




Yes, indeed, YouTube is the ultimate medium for dance related content. The proof: more than 45 000 views for less than 24 hours.

Happy Dance Day, happy Jazz Day!

Yesterday was the International Dance Day. 
On the occasion, check out the message of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, one of the most important contemporary choreographers:



And today is the International Jazz Day, so it's a perfect moment to enjoy some good music and try some dance moves.

Thought of You. Danced. Animated.

This is a bit dated already but I found it just today and can't stop myself sharing it. A beatiful short animation movie, by Motion Graphics showing the possibilities for collaboration between artists:



And behind the scenes:


Thought of You - Behind the Scenes Preview - ROUGH CUT from Cambell Christensen on Vimeo.

Video Dance Messenger! That's how Google finally made me install Chrome

Google's browser is out there for a lot of time already but I never got a reason to install it, plus I always found their campaigns a bit agressive, forcing you to install the browser "for better experince". So, I decided 'I'm not installing another browser unless you give me a damn good reason!'

Well, the one I saw today made me finally go for Chrome just to try the Video Dance Messenger, especially when it turns out to be a collaboration of Google and Ok Go with Pilobolus (I have a soft spot for this dance company and I'm following their projects for years).

As a result, here's my personal Video Dance Message: http://www.allisnotlo.st/videoend_en.html?mid=mxSpEfhwHUz

The music box, by Daniel Cloud Campos

It's time to go back to the genius art called dance in its pure manifestation - no commercial purpose, no brand or advertising campaign behind it.

Here is a short movie by one of the best dancers worldwide nowadays - Daniel Cloud Campos. But be careful, "only those who listen can hear"... Check it out by yourself:

T-mobile, Welcome back

T-mobile are probably the best example of a flash mob with commercial purpose, and one of the first ones with the T-mobile dance one year ago.

This one is still on the same track but refreshed in a very nice way and going one step further switching from dancing to singing:



Conclusion: once you get a strong communication tool it's not necessary to change it but just give it some freshness and make it work for you more than once. People like to follow good stories and it's engaging. What's more they will share the story with others. ("Life's for sharing", indeed!)

Dance transmits a brand philosophy for Tod's

Sometimes brands try to tell their stories using different art forms. Is it a good way? Yes!

Art form such as dance could transmit a strong idea or create a metaphor of a brand personality using emotional message and at the same time be based on rational strategic concept.
Results can be surprisingly good.

A cooperation between Tod's shoe brand and theater La Scala - Milan is an intersting exaple on how it works.

ABCDance cards - communication campaign made in Shanghai

There's an interesting entree in the short list of London International Awards 2010, a festival celebrating ideas in the communications world 25 years already.

It's a campaign promoting infant milk formula in both educational and entertaining way. It tells mothers that they can easily develop the brain activity of their children in harmony using the letters from the English alphabet and making children dance it!

Take a look at the official video of this entree directly on the London International Awards web-site by clicking here.

The phylosophy of Dance in Quotes

Thanks to Eddie Uehara for this great video!

Re-writing the classics: dancing in the rain/VW Golf

What do you visualize in your mind if I tell you: Gene Kelly, Singing in the rain!
Answer: Well, Gene Kelly singing and dancing in the rain of course!

What about this?



Surprised, ain't you? Good, so you will remember it when you see a Golf GTI passing next to you.

Make it Viral - by Samsung

Did you watched a video called "Cute girl has a catchy dance" on YouTube? Or maybe a friend sent you the link, or it was shared on Facebook?

It's uploaded on 7th of September and circulates the Net really fast - for 2 weeks it was seen almost 4 million times!

Interested about seeing the cute girl dancing? Watch the video till the end and you realize that it's an ad for the new Galaxy phone by Samsung.

Smart, ain't it?

Stop motion - the art of expressing actions with no moves

Freeze!
Catching actions and moving objects in photography is provocative objective and always interesting task. Stop motion, though, can be used in many ways. Sometimes even you can tell more with no motion than with a hundred movements.

This tool is used in art, especially in dance, to point out something, to create opposites, to impress in a different way. Dancers who are able to express a message with no motion, creating tension just standing still are appreciated as the best performers on stage.

Why not using this tool in advertising? Someone do. A good example is the Campari Orange Passion Spot - watch it and think about the exact action which is shown with this stop motion. An original strong atmosphere created using a different way to express an action leads to good results for Campari perception.