‘Trivia,’ :15

For the debut of feature film Rocketman, starring Taron Egerton as rock star Sir Elton John, MTV Entertainment Group pulled out all the stops, backing the above clips-based promos with graphics flashy enough to support their subject as it got ready to premiere on the Paramount Network in the U.S.

“When we first learned that Rocketman would make its big debut on Paramount Network, our creative juices started flowing,” said Brandon Lori, senior design director, brand design, MTV Entertainment Group.

“As always, time was of the essence and we only had two short weeks to make a campaign from scratch. Luckily, we love a good challenge. We wanted to create a design direction that captured the spirit of Elton John. The graphic packaging should feel elevated, cinematic, and like always, premium. Because the film will be airing during the holiday season, it should also strike a celebratory tone.

“While most of our network content shares the same network branding, we wanted Rocketman to stand out. Our [point of view] is that big, exclusive movie acquisitions should receive more bespoke packaging and that’s what we did in this case. The graphic system we created is made up of fonts from ’70s-era typography, with a shimmering color palette of golds, blacks, and whites, plus no shortage of sequins, textures and graphical elements that evoke Elton’s signature style of glamor and panache.

“The spot begins with a bang. We see Elton introducing himself by saying his name. In between those beats, we flash to graphic moments on black to create some initial drama. From there, the spot ramps up and our graphics transition to more golden hues. Through a number of keyable and full-screen graphics, we dressed up the following performance vignettes to give the spot some verve.

“To top it off, we created an Easter egg on our end-page with custom logotype using a condensed cut of ITC Benguiat for the movie title. The leg of the ‘R’ represents the tonearm of a turntable, which drops on the ‘O”’ like it’s playing a record.”

Rocketman, which tells the story of Elton John’s life in musical form, premiered on Paramount Network on December 4 and is playing all month on the ViacomCBS-owned cable network.

CREDITS

Client: Paramount Network

Design

SVP, Brand Creative: Thomas Berger

VP, Motion Design: Kazuomi Iwai

Senior Design Director: Brandon Lori

Motion Designer: Candice Aquino

VP, Creative Strategy & Planning: Mike Jacobson

Editorial and Production

SVP, Brand Creative: Justin Russell

VP, Creative Director: Michael Davidowitz

Editorial Director: Brian Trichon

Creative Director: Rachel Salazar

Sr. Producer: JC Alvarez

Producer: Eric Brewer

Editors: Brett Glass

Project Coordinator: Alex Jacoby

Tags: hot spots mtv entertainment network paramount network rocketman viacomcbs


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