Hasta La Ideas

YouTube Rewind compiles the most viewed, shared and talked about videos of the year. 2013’s global top ten includes three ads amongst a collection of content whose popularity may be mystifying to anyone other than teenage boys…

Trending videos are those that have been embedded in popular sites on the web and viewed by a significant number of people on both YouTube and external sites. Here’s a run-down, in reverse order, of the top ten trending worldwide plus a look at the top UK videos and the most popular music promos.

10, Mozart vs Skrillex. Epic Rap Battles of History Season 2 by ERB

Most of this two-minute video revolves around poo jokes and quips about Mozart’s dad issues – yet it’s had more than 42 million views since April. This will no doubt baffle adult audiences and anyone who has no idea who Skrillex is but the Epic Rap Battle series has enjoyed staggering success this year. The list of world leaders, celebrities and musicians that can be pitted against each other in spoof vocal battles is endless, big names rank highly in search results and, as viewers are encouraged to vote for a winner, there’s a high level of engagement – some videos in the series, such as Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney, have received more than half a million comments.

9, THE NFL : A Bad Lip Reading by BadLipReading

As 80 percent of YouTube’s audience is based outside the US, it seems surprising that a National Football League video is the ninth top trending worldwide – but this is one of a hugely popular series from BadLipReading that dubs ridiculous comments over films, TV shows and sporting clips. In the NFL video, athletes, coaches and managers appear to throw hissy fits demanding cake, spit in each others’ drinks and reveal details of one night stands.

8, Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise by CarrieNYC/ThinkModo

The first of three ads that have made the top ten this year, this video promoting a remake of horror film Carrie received more than 50 million views and global media attention. An elaborately staged prank featuring remote-controlled furniture, a fake wall and a stuntman, it shows customers in a New York coffee shop aghast as one customer (an actress) appears to throw another against a wall using telekinetic powers.

The video’s success is proof of the viral power of ‘prankvertising’, a tactic that has proved hugely successful for ThinkModo this year (the New York agency has also staged zombie invasions and a fake murder in the city). It’s a format, however, that should still be treated with caution to avoid a PR disaster.

7, YOLO (feat. Adam Levine & Kendrick Lamar) by thelonelyisland

Comedy group The Lonely Island has been making spoof pop videos since 2005. They’ve recruited an impressive line-up of stars from Justin Timberlake to Lady Gaga, and while the format is starting to feel a little tired, it’s still pleasing YouTube audiences – YOLO had more than 53 million views.

6, Volvo Trucks – The Epic Split feat. Van Damme by VolvoTrucks/Forsman Bodenfors

Jean-Claude Van Damme doing the splits. Between a pair of moving trucks. This video for Volvo Trucks, one of a series of stunt-based ads for the brand, needs little explanation and has been watched more than 59 million times in less than a month. Proof that sometimes, the simplest ideas are the best. (Read our blog post on the ad here).

5, Baby&Me by EvianBabies/BETC

In 2008, Evian’s first roller babies ad was crowned the most viewed online video of all time. Five years later, audiences are still enjoying watching babies jump and spin like adults thanks to CGI trickery. The latest instalment has had over 67 million views, and apps allowing users to view their dancing baby self have also proved successful.

4, Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball (Chatroulette Version) by SteveKardynal

Miley Cyrus’ controversial and wildly popular Wrecking Ball video has elicited all kinds of parodies this year – a quick Google search reveals covers from Radio 1 DJs and even hedgehogs. This video made by a user on chat site Chat Roulette was the most successful. The split screen device offers added humour, allowing viewers to watch other Chat Roulette users bemused and horrified reactions.

3, How Animals Eat Their Food by MisterEpicMann

Perhaps the most ridiculous video we’ve seen all year, this features two grown men eating at a table: one who sits quietly munching his dinner while the other re-enacts the eating habits of hogs, kangaroos, flamingos and elephants. It’s slapstick humour at its silliest but has been watched more than 88 million times and was the most trending overall in the UK.

2, Harlem Shake (original army edition) by kennethaakonsen

In 2012, it was Gangnam Style. In 2013, the most widely parodied dance online was the Harlem Shake. Office workers, chat show hosts, teens in their bedrooms and politicians have all had a go but the most watched spoof was made by a group of Norwegian soldiers. Presumably, this one topped the list for being the most bizarre: two men wriggle in sleeping bags, two more dance while buttoned inside the same shirt and another shuffles in skis.

1, Ylvis – The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?) by tvnorge

Norwegian DJ duo Ylvis’ What Does the Fox Say? is a spoof video made to promote the pair’s TV talk show. Much like last year’s top trending video, Gangnam Style, it features all the key ingredients of a viral song and music vid: limited (and therefore memorable) lyrics, an infuriatingly catchy tune and easy to copy dance routines. It also features grown men dressed up as foxes making animal noises, so should please toddlers and younger audiences as well as teens. As well as enjoying staggering success on YouTube – it’s had more than 279 million views – the song is now the highest-ranking chart entry by a Norwegian artist since a-ha released Take on Me in 1985.

Top trending videos in the UK

Only two videos from the global top ten appeared in the UK’s top trending – how animals eat their food was number one, followed by the harlem shake army video at number six.

Other videos featured include Tom Fletcher from pop band McFly’s Wedding Speech, which he composed out of lyrics from the band’s songs (a subtle plug for their re-union tour, perhaps?), two acts from Britain’s Got Talent, Will Smith and his son Jaden re-enacting a dance from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air on Graham Norton and a black and white cartoon sketch show by British comedy producer Thomas Ridgewell.

People are Awesome, which features a series of people doing jumps, dives and outrageous sporting stunts also made the UK top ten, as did Tom Daley’s video confession that he is in a same sex relationship, released last week. The tenth most popular was a Learn the Alphabet video featuring children’s cartoon character Peppa Pig, proof of the growing number of toddlers watching YouTube and its potential as an educational tool. You can see the full list and a video about it here.

Top trending music videos

Unsurprisingly, US acts featured heavily in the list of top trending music videos this year, but Swedish DJ Avicii and British producer Naughty Boy also featured, ranking eighth and tenth respectively. Korean rapper Psy topped the list for the second year running with his video Gentleman, which has had more than 599 million views, followed by Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball (viewed 379 million times).

Katy Perry, Robin Thicke, Rihana and Selena Gomez videos also made the list, proving that scantily clad and/or beautiful females are still almost guaranteed to achieve viral success. The list is no surprise given the chart success of top ranking artists, but a real shame considering the wealth of great, original videos we’ve seen this year, particularly at the UK Music Video Awards.

So what can we learn from the top trending videos of this year? For brands, it demonstrates the power of the PR stunt (a subject we wrote about back in May). As audiences are swamped with channels, ads need to be ever more inventive to get our attention and prank or stunt-based spots are likely to be both widely shared on social media and widely written about by journalists. For relatively little expensive, advertisers can reach millions – particularly if the stunt or prank featured needs no translation.

Not one video on the list correlates to a major event in 2013 – last year, Felix Baumgartner’s freefall made number 10 and Obama and Romney’s rap battle ranked fith – and despite the success of animal memes and dog and cat gifs, no animal videos featured in the UK or global top ten. Dance crazes, pop music and silly spoofs, however, still dominate the internet.

On YouTube’s Rewind channel, you can watch a video summary and see lists from around the world, including the full music video and UK top ten lists. Google will also be posting a year in review video on Zeitgeist next week.

Official sponsor Adidas has today launched the first part of its World Cup advertising campaign: a film directed by Fernando Meirelles that sees Lionel Messi experience an edgy and exciting World Cup dream….

The ad will air on TV for the first time during the half-time break of this evening’s UEFA Champions League Final, but can be seen now in a YouTube version below:

The spot is directed by Meirelles, famed for directing City of God, alongside co-director Cassiano Prado. It was created by ad agency TBWA and is set to an exclusive track by Kanye West.

The launch of this film shows that Adidas has learnt from its experiences in the 2010 World Cup, where its visually compelling but complicated campaign was brutally trounced by Nike and its release of the epic Write The Future spot, which was simple and exciting compared to Adidas’s complex, integrated campaign.

Nike released its major World Cup spot a few weeks ago, but this ad gives it a run for its money. There are similarities between the two campaigns, particularly in the taglines – ‘Risk Everything’ for Nike and ‘All In Or Nothing’ for Adidas. Neither tag is particularly spellbinding and both are essentially saying the same thing: that to play in the World Cup will put you under huge pressure and requires great commitment. Well, yes.

The major difference between the two sport brand behemoths therefore comes in the tone of the two films. Nike has thrown everything at its spot. It has an all-star cast, with even The Incredible Hulk making an appearance, but its feel is light-hearted, with a number of jokey asides. Adidas’s film, by contrast, is tight and edgy, and at just one minute long, makes the four-minute Nike spot look a little bloated.

Photos from the shoot for the Adidas film

The true test of who will come out top in the marketing World Cup this time will come during the tournament itself, however. This year’s event has been much touted as the first social media World Cup, and in anticipation of this, Adidas has shot over 100 films designed to be released via Twitter and email. These films have been created in response to imagined scenarios that may take place during the World Cup, so depending on what happens, some of them are destined to remain forever on the cutting room floor while others will shine.

At the end of the YouTube version of Adidas’s film, it asks viewers to click one of two buttons – ‘all in’ or ‘nothing’. Click ‘all in’ and you are taken to a further site where you can then sign up to follow Adidas during the World Cup and be party to all its social media activity. It is here that the marketing game gets most intriguing – these epic film ads remain hugely popular with viewers (Nike’s ad is on 66 million views and counting on YouTube alone), but the brand that can be nimble, and most importantly, interesting during the tournament itself seems likely to take the endgame.

The footie fever continues with ESPN’s launch of 33 posters for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, created by Brazilian artist and graphic designer Cristiano Siqueria.

The posters, which were created in collaboration with Wieden + Kennedy New York, feature star players from each of the teams pictured in goal celebration mode. ESPN will use the images throughout its coverage of the World Cup.

A selection of the posters are shown below, see the full set here.

Brazil

Uruguay

Switzerland

Argentina

Algeria

England

Germany

Honduras

Russia

The Netherlands

Ivory Coast

Iran

Japan

Italy

Portugal

Credits:
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy New York
ECD: Susan Hoffman
Creative directors: Brandon Henderson, Caleb Jensen
Art director: Mathieu Zarbatany
Design director: Serifcan Ozcan
Graphic designer: Ben Clark
Illustrator: Cristiano Siqueria

A record seven Black Pencils were awarded at D&AD this year, several of them for social or public awareness projects. Here’s our comprehensive round-up of the winners

EdenSpiekermann’s Improving Safety and Comfort on Train Platforms project for NS Dutch Railways won Black in Digital Design. It uses a colour-coded LED strip running above a station platform to help guide passengers to the right part of the train. The strip includes information on the different class carriages, as well as where there are free seats available

Also in Digital Design, Finch won Black for The Most Powerful Arm campaign for charity Save our Sons

No surprise that Volvo Trucks The Epic Split from Forsman & Bodenfors is among the major winners – this time in the Online Branded Films category. The entrie campaign also won a Yellow Pencil

Martin Riddiford and Jim Reeves’ GravityLight powers a light source or other electrical device using the power of gravity. A bag filled with rocks or sand generates power as it slowly falls. It was one of two Black Pencils from the White Pencil category (confused?)

The other White Pencil Black Pencil was for the Terre des Hommes Sweetie campaign by LEMZ. The project reportedly helped identify over 1,000 online sexual predators

In Crafts for Advertising, Dentsu Tokyo won Black for Sound of Honda/ Ayrton Senna 1989 in which the driver’s record-breaking lap at the Suzuka circuit was recreated as a sound and light experience

WAX Partnership’s Calgary Society for Persons with Disabilities 2012 Annual Report won Black in Graphic Design. It is bound with a single, central staple in an attempt to convey the difficulties of living with a disability. This is somewhat painfully explained on the D&AD site thus: “Using the insight that ‘being handicapped is hard’ we decided to make the annual hard to read”. Hmmm

This year’s Yellow Pencils are:

The Mac Pro for Product Design

In Writing for Design, McCann Erickson Melbourne won for Phubbing: A Word is Born, for the Macquarie Dictionary

Serial award winners Bloomberg Businessweek chalked up another gong in Magazine & Newspaper Design for a series of covers

Another much-garlanded project, OgilvyOne Worldwide London’s BA Magic of Flying won two Pencils  in Integrated & Earned Media

And it’s no surprise to see Dove Real Beauty Sketches, by Ogilvy & Mather Brazil, picking up a Yellow in the same category

Ogilvy & Mather’s New York office won Yellow for IBM Datagrams, in Crafts for Design. which visualised stats about tennis matches to be shared on social media

In the same category, Stinkdigital won for Luxottica (Ray Ban) Social Visionaries,

As did hat-trick design for glow in the dark story book, Hide & Eek!

And Barcelona-based Mucho won for Nitsa 94/96: El Giro Electrónico. Here’s how they describe the project: “‘Nitsa 94/96: El giro electrónico’, is a documentary that chronicles the beginnings of Nitsa, an iconic nightclub in Barcelona. We were asked to design a limited edition poster to promote the film’s premiere. The visual idea is based on Nitsa’s famous revolving dance floor that the club once featured. In order to create 150 unique posters, we invented a wooden surface that allowed us to turn the paper in a silkscreen machine, printing on a different angle each time. The posters also have a fluorescent colour dot that refers to psychotropic drugs as well as to the proportions of vinyl records. “

A2/SW/HK won for the typefaces it created for The Independent Newspaper redesign (the newspaper itself did not pick up a pencil, however)

Outdor advertising/Ambient
A Yellow for La Voz del Interior, Life Signs by Ogilvy & Mather Buenos Aires in Outdoor Advertising.a road safety campaign from a Colombian newspaper using real crashed cars

Digital Design
Box, Bot & Dolly
“Box explores the synthesis of real and digital space through projection mapping on moving surfaces. The film documents a live performance, captured entirely on camera.”

Press Advertising
The Sunday Times – Rich List, Grey London

Book Design
Nineteen Eighty-Four, Type as Image

Film Advertising Crafts
Hennessy, The Man Who Couldn’t Slow Down, Droga5

Southern Comfort , Whatever’s Comfortable: Karate, Wieden+Kennedy New York

PETA “98% Human”, The Mill/BBDO

Daimler, Chicken, Jung von Matt

Mobile Marketing
Unicef, Food Photos Save Lives, Draftfcb New Zealand

Natalia Project, RBK Communication

Smart Communications, TXTBKS by DDB DM9JaymeSyfu

Direct

Colombian Ministry of Defence, You Are My Son by Lowe/SSP3

Amnesty International Trial by Timeline by Colenso BBDO

New Museum, Recalling 1993 by Droga5

Graphic Design
Royal Canadian Mint, Heart of the Arctic by Jam3

Amsterdam Sinfonietta posters by Studio Dumbar

Art On The Underground, Labyrinth by Mark Wallinger by Rose

Whitney Museum of American Art Identity by Experimental Jetset

Wayne McGregor | Random Dance, Mind and Movement by Magpie Studio

Digital Marketing
Delta Airlines, Delta Photon Shower by Wieden+Kennedy New York

Dove, Real Beauty Sketches by Ogilvy & Mather Brazil

Packaging Design
Nippon Design Center, Pierre Hermé Paris
“These three designs were created to package the Ispahan, a macaroon that is one of Pierre Hermé’s most well-known pastries. Using a study of hand-moulding, we designed the packages with smooth joint-free curves and a delicate white texture so that they wrap the Ispahan in a fluid, curvaceous body, as if it were made of dough pressed lightly by a single touch.”

Branding
Lidl, Dill – The Restaurant by INGO

“Lidl tried to convince Sweden about the quality in their products. Low price and quality just don’t go together. We built and opened a gourmet restaurant. The British two starred Guide Michelin Chef Michael Wignall was in charge of the cooking. What nobody knew was that ALL food that was used was bought at Lidl, down to the smallest grain of salt. The restaurant, named DILL was open during 3 weeks and fully booked from first day to last.”

Tama Art University, Tamabi by MR_DESIGN
“TAMABI is a nickname for the Tama Art University which is one of the top art schools in Japan. These official advertisements needed to incorporate the university’s slogan ‘MADE BY HANDS’ and principles : the avant-garde, the challenge, and creating something new. We focused on the hand-crafted. We produced many different visuals in a simple format and with a limited selection of motifs. This series consists of about 100 variations. A lot of variations represent the university’s slogan ‘MADE BY HANDS’ and principles. Also we tried to represent the spirit of art and design.”

Harvey Nichols, Sorry, I Spent It On Myself by adam&eveDDB

Writing for Advertising
350 Action, Climate Name Change, Barton F. Graf 9000

Art Direction
Mori Building , Tokyo City Symphony by SIX

Music Videos
Les Télécréateurs, Gesaffelstein Pursuit directed by Fleur & Manu (two Yellow Pencils)

Is Tropical, Dancing Anymore directed by Raphael Rodriguez (NSFW!)

Magazine & Newspaper Design
Series of Moscovskie Novosti newspapers

Crafts for Design
Yoshida Hideo Memorial Foundation, The Beautiful Black List by Dentsu Tokyo
“Celebrating its 50th anniversary, D&AD exhibited successive Black Pencil works together for the first time. We named these collectively as the ‘Black List’ and executed the exhibition’s total design. The main theme is that of the whale. We feel its ability to travel the world without boundaries is equal to D&AD’s unparalleled potential for new discovery.”

Further details (including two radio Yellow Pencils) and credits here

En plus de son design et de son esthétisme original, la moto Johammer J1, conçue et produite en Autriche, est la première moto électrique de série capable d’atteindre 200 km de distance grâce à son système d’alimentation en énergie innovante. Une création pour les amateurs de design et de technologie.