Welcome Mat Laid Out For GOP
With the national election looming and the fervour of party conventions behind us, here’s a nod to an inventive and kind-spirited “Make an Effort” campaign from Minneapolis, MN, ad agency Campbell Mithun. The agency came up with television and print ads for The UnConvention in the lead up to the Republican National Convention, which ironically was held in the predominantly Democratic Twin Cities. The ads tout “The Republicans are Coming. Make an Effort” and follows up with “Every Party Needs a Gracious Host.” The campaign was designed to welcome Republicans in unconventional ways, by making light of stereotypes that have dogged Conservatives for years.
Contact:
www.unconvention.com www.cmithun.com
Thymes Launches New Scents
Thymes, a Minneapolis-based maker of beauty care products, introduces a swag of new products, complete with artful packaging designed by longtime collaborator Duffy & Partners. Duffy worked with Thymes to design all its new collections since 2004, when Thymes revamped its brand. The newest range is Thymes Essentials, wrapped in soothing greens and blues. Handpainted cherry blossoms brought the concept for the Red Cherie collection to life, while the Coco Monoi range looks to gardenia for its heady scent and striking packaging. Contact:
www.thymes.com
Good Design For Social Good
Get Out the Vote, an AIGA Design for Democracy initiative since the 2000 election, invited designers to contribute non-partisan posters and YouTube submissions to a coordinated voter mobilization campaign. The posters have appeared at the two national party conventions and are now being displayed in public places across the nation. Two dozen, shown here, were singled out for special recognition. Says Ric Grefé, AIGA executive director: “The idea behind Design for Democracy is simple: good design is a valuable tool for social good.” Contact:
www.aiga.org
Serial Killer to Magazine Cover
To woo viewers to the third season of drama series Dexter, Showtime is running ads in a dozen magazines that look almost identical to the covers of those publications. The coverlike ads depict actor Michael C. Hall in character as Dexter Morgan, a serial killer who kills other killers. The name of the series replaces the name of each magazine and is printed in the style of the magazine - GQ for instance becomes DQ for Dexter Quarterly. Red Group, an internal creative unit at Showtime, and the Initiative unit of the Interpublic Group of Companies, the Showtime media agency, led the campaign, with an estimated $4.6 million budget. Ads will appear in Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and Wired magazines, among others. Contact:
www.sho.com/site/dexter
