The Hot Spots Showcase, led by Mark Valentine, creative director and co-owner of creative agency, Anatomy, and Dan Bragg, marketing, brand and creative consultant, is one of everybody’s favorite sessions each year at PromaxBDA: The Conference 2016. Below, Brief gives you a taste of each category on Valetine and Bragg’s annual list.

The pair kicked off this year’s session with a look at an up-and-coming category: branded integrations.

“Since we spend so much time watching shows and skipping commercials, integrations are a powerful way to blend show content with advertising message. These shows really broke through for us,” said Bragg.

That was followed by a quick turn into sports, which saw some great work this year from DIRECTV, CBS (image below) and FS1, among others.

“Sports is the one category that is almost always watched live. In fact, 99 percent of the 18-49 demo watches live or within the same day. This makes the impact of promo very important because [viewers] aren’t skipping through the breaks. These spots really caught our attention this year,” said Valentine.

Next up was editing. Said Bragg: “A great editor breaks ground, breaks the rules and breaks your face when it’s done right. These spots totally shattered us.”

“The design, animation and 3D world is constantly evolving and has helped take our creative to a whole new level. There were a ton of spots with great animation and design. Here are some, just some, we thought were amazing,” said Valentine.

“With well over 400 scripted shows being pumped out this year, brands really need to make sure their image is loud and clear,” said Bragg. Below, AMC and Viewpoint Creative turn fan-inspired art into this inspired brand-image promo.

“What do Jim Gaffigan, Dolph Lundgren, Nick Cage and John Oliver all have in common? I actually don’t know, but I’m sure we’ll find out,” said Valentine, introducing this year’s spate of funny spots.

“Sometimes scary and funny make for really great work and these next spots don’t mince words and remind us that there’s always something lurking in the shadows,” said Bragg.

Next up were spots that made great use of tools of the craft: “Now we can create practically anything we want with today’s incredible tools. The amazing artists behind these spots show effective ways to stand out and get your message across,” said Valentine.

Of course, no session is complete without mentioning millennials, so Bragg did: “Ah, millennials we love you. It has to be one of the most overused words, or at least one of the most overused words. It’s all about looking past the stereotypes and connecting with them on their terms and in an authentic way.”

And last but not least, cleverly written spots, including the one from FremantleMedia North America’s digi-net, Buzzr, below.

“There are more than a million words in the English language and they can be used in a great way to tell a story and to sell a show. These spots took the words right out of our mouths,” said Valentine.

Tags:


  Save as PDF