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.

More Beyoncé, Mirrors and Pepsi

Talking about Beyoncé and her hot 2013, we can not skip also her performance for Pepsi that was released earlier this month. Here it is, with never-before-seen routine, as the video description claims:



I find even better the video behind the scenes:



Great Mrs. Carter. #BeyHereNow.

Beyoncé standing and dancing in the sun for H&M

Hot season for Beyoncé, metaphorically and literally speaking.
While she is doing her Mrs. Carter World Tour 2013, here a video uploaded on the 24th of April, new song and new sexy moves from Mrs. Carter, this time for H&M:



Hot summer stuff by Beyoncé and smart summer move by H&M, is what I think.

Dancing babies for Kit Kat in India. Viral.

When speaking of 'viral' in advertising, there are some themes that are automatically considered potential success, such as babies and dancing. So here an example from India, a local interpretation on the 'Take a break' Kit Kat campaign:



The ad is perceived as funny, cute and viral. Well, to me doesn't look like so, but hey, if Indian audience likes it, than it's good. Although, these babies scare me a bit, they are moving in a weird way.

A recap on what 'Better world in motion' is all about

Here is the first "Better world in motion" post for 2013. It comes just as a quick reminder to its, I have to admit, limited audience and those little few that share positive feedback about the concept of this blog. In brief, it is my personal study on 'dance and body motion in advertising', so there is no daily feed, or any scheduled feed at all, until I discover something I find relevant to share.

And now comes what I call the useful part, a brief recap and some conclusions on the usage of dance in advertising (or what I noticed since I started this blog in 2009):

First, the kind of content: tv spots, short movies, videos (this one is a no-brainer: moving and dancing people and things are shown best in, well, moving pictures).

Than the industries using dance more than others in their brand communication:
1. Fashion (as an example see my post on Louis Vuitton YouTube channel, another ones by Tod's, Pacco Rabane and the Canvas Experiment by Converse);
2. Automotive (see the dancing hamsters of Kia, the 'dancing in the rain' VW version, Citroen, and an example by Pirelli);
3. Telecommunication (the famous T-mobile case, Google Chrome, Samsung);
4. Food & beverage (cereals brand Weetabix, Baileys, of course Red Bull);
5. People/artists (Daniel Cloud Campos, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, to name few from the international dance scene).
I can't ommit also specialised sports, and point out the Nike example, also Nike Women campaign starring Sofia Boutella).

As a conclusion, I would like to share my belief that having dancers instead of models and actors in advertising, and having choreographers as a part of the creative team behind a commercial could make a difference in a positive way. Because dance is a story told with no words. And good advertising is about great sorytelling, isn't it?

To close this post I would like to thank all my friends who are dancers, choreographers and advertising people. My 'Better world in motion' is dedicated to you.

More less profound and more of a case-study posts to come. ;)

The dream of Matthew Williamson for his 15th birthday

The British designer celebrates fifteen years in fashion with a short movie that tells the dream of 15-year-old Matthew, a magic story that ends suddenly when he wakes up.
But to me it looks like in real world the dream of Matthew Williamson actually came true, and celebrating 15 years from the start of his career with a short like this one prooves that.



The video itself is a result of the work of a dream team too:
Starring: Siena Miller, Poppy Delevingne and Andrea Riseborough and eight ballerinas from the Royal Ballet
Choreography: Wayne McGregor
Directed by: Tell No One

Thanks to my friend Zlatina for sharing this piece of content with me.

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.

A glass of liqueur with dancing ballerinas inside, that's Baileys

The new ad for Baileys Irish cream really makes me feel like staring at my glass, looking for the cabaret show I saw in 'Pour Spectacular', the Irish liqueur new spot.
'Spectacular' is actually a good word to describe the video, and I definetelly like it.



For more detailed info, credits and for another opinion, check out what AdWeek says about it.

Real people in luxury fashion, really? Lanvin winter campaign 2012

In July I read several blog posts and articles showcasing Lanvin's 'real people' ad campaign fall/winter 2012. I didn't post about it immediately because I decided to wait for the propised 'behind the scenes' video which is now available at the Lanvin YouTube channel.



So, are the 'real people' of Lanvin actually... real? As much as I like the idea of finding a place for luxury fashion on the street, well, it still doesn't look realistic to me. However, since the first shots from the campaign were released in July, I really liked the cast, especially the 82-year old dancer Jacquie "Tajah" Murdock (in the end I have a soft spot for almost anything related to dance). Absolutely stunning lady, indeed. A real jem in the surreal 'real people' Lanvin world.

Old techniques and new usages. Shwood eyewear Lookbook 2012.

It's been awhile, but I finally found something I consider worth posting.

That's a video presenting the premium line of Shwood wooden sunglasses (I'm also in love with their business idea - wooden sunglasses, handmade).

Here's Shwood eyewear lookbook 2012. For this video the creators used a technique called stereoscopy, invented back in 1838. And I find the result of its usage in 2012 just beautiful:

Shwood Select 2012 Lookbook from Shwood Eyewear on Vimeo.

Thumb up for the Oregon based company and for creativity in all its manifestations.

Thanks to my friend Bas for showing me his new pair of Shwood, which made me take a look at the brand.