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.

Heat, Sweat, Dance, Agent Provocateur.

Lost explorer craving for water in the desert and having a mirage. A mirage written and directed by Penelope Cruz in this provocative video for L'Agent by Agent Provocateur campaing Autumn/Winter 2014:



That's the second video by the passionate Penelope Cruz for the brand, after the impressive debut video of 2013, and it seems a consistent director's style is pursued. Hot enough to be called Agent Provocateur.

Free People presents: Worst Dance Ad of the Year

Free People presents: an ad which really upsets dancers by using a very non-professional dancer to promote a dancewear collection. The atrociously poor dance skills combined with almost 2-minute testimonial talk which was supposed to be of a professional ballerina triggered tons of critical comments under the original video on YouTube:



The good news for Free People is that the dance advertising disaster is on its way to become notoriously viral. It was even covered by AdWeek with this article. Great lesson on how Not to make dance ads.

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.

Interractive, shoppable, danced - Mine

"Mine" is a short movie by Nowness presenting  a spring/summer fashion selection in a beautiful interrractive way. The filmmakers from Tell No One worked together with the dancers from London's Sadler's Wells Theater to create this short meeting between moviemaking, fashion and dance. Nice tech-perks are included, such as motion touch and shopping options.



The full interractive version is on nowness.com.

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.

Chloé Roses or if fragrance was a dance

Rose, delicate, beautiful. This video celebrates the rose as seen by Chloé in the brand's new fragrance Roses de Chloé. While the main characters in the perfume bottle are thousands of petals of the Rose Damascena essence, the blooming roses in the video are realized by the French choreography company 'I could never be a dancer'.



As for my taste, that's all my favorite things in one: roses, dance, art, brands. A piece of work I like so much that I secretly wish I did first (or not so secretly anymore). Thanks to my friend Catalina 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.

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.