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A great song from The Maccabees to whisk away the blues and get dreamy. Interestingly, there’s another video for this song that was shot, in one long take, by a relative of the band in a London pub. I wanted to post that originally but seems like embeds are disabled by Polydor and Universal Music Group. This song was also featured in a recent Samsung mobile phone advertisement.

This is the first post in my JUKEBOX series. Tune in on weekends :)

While reading Nina Yiamsamatha’s Don’t Hate on Twitter post recently, I struck upon an analogy that explains why I think Twitter is awesome. Remember the Verizon ads that have a bunch of people following you around to show the ubiquity of their network signal? Now imagine a similar multitude of creative folks with diverse backgrounds and interests always there to instantly give you feedback on thoughts, develop ideas, collaborate on projects, and share interesting content. That’s twitter! Seriously, don’t hate on it.

Carlos Lascano is a multifaceted artist who has successfully made incursions into painting, illustration, comics, photography, animation and special effects. He finally decided that filmmaking was his medium of choice because it represented the coming together of the different forms of expression of his artistic universe.

Carlos blends a variety of animation techniques to create a unique style for his films. Check out his portfolio on Vimeo.

1) American Express: The Adventures of Seinfeld & Superman

http://www.wddg.com/projects/superman_seinfeld/

This series depicts Seinfeld and Superman hanging out like ordinary folks, at the local diner, setting up a home theater system, or taking a road trip together. It usually ends up with Superman getting them in a fix and embarrassingly for him, Seinfeld needs to call for help for which American Express is usually the answer. It’s not too obtrusive since the dialog is witty and references are made to previously established character traits and events, keeping you interested in the storyline.

2) Audi: Meet The Beckers

http://www.meetthebeckers.com/

The website greets us with the line “Dysfunctional isn’t a word. It’s a last name,” and that’s exactly what you experience through the perspective of Jason Becker as the Becker family prepares for Thanksgiving. All his relatives with their awkward kinks own either a Mercedes, BMW, or Lexus while Jason, the “Family Holiday Survivor”, drives an Audi. Luckily those distinctions are subtle and the series is character driven, making it a fun watch.

3) I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter: Vote For Spraychel Campaign

http://www.votespraychel.com/

Tapping into the Presidential race buzz, Unilever has created its own animated campaign series that pits the 0g fat and 0 calorie per serving Spraychel (nominee of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter’s Spray Party) against the rich in saturated fat and cholesterol Maxell Butterman of the Butter Party.

In fact Spraychel was integrated into a recent episode of MSN’s Republicrats, an online parody on the current Presidential race. The show features comedy writer Sean Masterson—a hapless third party candidate running for president against Sen. John McCain and Sen Barack Obama—dreaming of Spraychel running for president of his refrigerator.

4) Schweppes: Short Film Festival

http://www.schhh.eu/shortfilms/

Partnering with Publicis Mojo of New Zealand, Coca-Cola aimed to revitalize its Schweppes drink in the EU by positioning it as an “adult” product. Publicis enlisted 5 directors to create short films; each one targeted at a mature audience, containing smartly devised product placement and a mandatory “Schhh moment” around which the campaign is based.

Schweppes aired intriguing snippets of these films on air that encouraged watchers to see the full versions online. Make sure to watch “SIGNS”, an incredibly quirky, uplifting, and serendipitous take on making connections with people around us.

Do these campaigns work for you? Can you think of other compelling forms of branded content? I need your help to grow this list so please feel free to share links of other examples you come across.

Noticed these awesome Dentyne (chewing gum) advertisements on the NYC subways recently, which challenge technology’s ability to create a “real” connection between people. Check out this NYTimes article to read more about the campaign or the makefacetime.com website, but beware, it shuts down in 3 minutes.