Take a stroll along L.A. Live, the new entertainment district in downtown Los Angeles, and you'll likely see the new six spot image campaign for Wachovia, directed and designed by New York design/production house Loyalkaspar via ad agency Mullen, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
The campaign can currently be seen on kiosks, HD monitors, JumboTrons and various multimedia billboards throughout the new $2.5 billion project.
"Working with Loyalkaspar was a truly memorable creative experience," Mitchell Brown, Mullen's Associate Creative Director said. "They brought new ideas to the table to make the project better, as well as a team of artists that were as passionate about it as we were. I'm looking forward to working with them again."
David Herbruck, Director and Co-founder of Loyalkaspar, explained that the project was originally intended to be a single, long-form video, but early on that changed to six short spots.
"Creating six original spots to inextricably link Wachovia to L.A. Live was a formidable undertaking," Herbruck said. "We ultimately decided that the shorter spots could be more focused on the district's events. It made things more complex and challenging, but we kind of like it that way."
Though each is unique to itself in many ways, all six spots provide a variation on the Wachovia message and cleverly incorporate their green and blue logo into the concept. For example, in GUITAR, a spot highlighting the great musical acts sure to visit the Staples Center and the new Nokia Theater, the crisply styled, green and blue Wachovia logo sits against a plain white background. Abruptly, a long-haired rocker emerges from an invisible doorway. Grabbing a blue cord from the Wachovia logo, he plugs in his guitar. His opening chords bring the logo's green and blue lines to life, creating an intricate, swirling collage of headphones, amplifier jacks, speakers, and other animated members of the band.
As the spot draws to a close, the rocker unplugs his guitar and sends the cord back into the Wachovia logo, now accompanied by typography identifying the company as a "Financial Partner of L.A. Live."
"We shot GUITAR in a single day," Herbruck said. "We wanted to keep a predominantly white background, so that Wachovia's recognizable blue and green brand colors would always take center stage. The client wanted to convey the idea that Wachovia is the motivator behind all this great entertainment. The 3D animated 'pulse-lines' that emanate from the logo are the catalyst for all of the narratives and playful animation throughout the spots."
Other spots focus on different aspects of L.A. Live such as NBA and NHL sports teams, fine dining and the annual Cirque du Soleil residency.
Herbruck added, "In each of the spots, a hero character brings the logo and its creative energy to life. Though they are obviously similar in branding, we went to great lengths to give each spot its own unique personality by coming up with a new look and methodology for the animated 'pulse lines.' This was definitely a challenge, but working with the team at Mullen was an amazing experience. Right from the start we were all on the same page. There was a great deal of mutual trust on this project, which is a rare thing."
View GUITAR here: www.loyalkaspar.com/Wachovia/Finals/Wachovia_Guitar.mov.View BASKETBALL here: www.loyalkaspar.com/Wachovia/Finals/Wachovia_Basketball.mov.View CHEF here: www.loyalkaspar.com/Wachovia/Finals/Wachovia_Chef.mov.View DJ here: www.loyalkaspar.com/Wachovia/Finals/Wachovia_DJ.mov.View HOCKEY here: www.loyalkaspar.com/Wachovia/Finals/Wachovia_Hockey.mov.View CIRCUS here: www.loyalkaspar.com/Wachovia/0508/CIRCUS_EDIt.mov.
Credits:
Client: Wachovia BankProject: L.A. Live outdoor campaign
Agency: Mullen, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USAAssociate Creative Director: Mitchell BrownProducers: Mickey Strider, Greg MenyArt Director: Mitchell BrownCopy Writer: Ryan Falch
Production/Design/Post: Loyalkaspar, New York, USADirectors: Beat Baudenbacher, David HerbruckProducer: Jenn DeweyEditor: Scott LaksoAnimators: Chris Averbeck, Dennis Cheung, Scott Hubbard, Dorian West, Scott Hubbard, Mark Auleta, Adam Pearlman, Gabriel Pulecio, Josh Goodrich, Josh Graham
Music: Derby + Kotch, New York and Los Angeles, USAComposers: Dave Derby, Michael Kotch, Rainy Orteca (GUITAR), Paul Hogan (CIRCUS)Producers: Dave Derby, Michael Kotch
