Lifetime Premiers Project Runway Junior

Levi’s goes Viral with new Video Series

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For several generations, the Levi’s brand has used television commercials as a major vehicle to promote their popular jeans. Now they have turned to the Internet and Social Media to expand their reach, as well as to try a few new concepts, some with viral potential.

A popular new spot, often called ‘The Boyfriend,’ ‘Coffee,’ and the ‘The Morning After,’ is actually called “Beautiful Morning.”Set to Adrian Torres Pacheco’s song You Rascal You, it has a :30 second and 1 minute version, as well as other derivatives.

The spot is conceived and produced like short film with a dating-oriented storyline that some viewers may find familiar, it is charming, witty, and with a surprise ending that leaves the audience smiling.

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The TASTE AWARDS took a moment to chat with Jen Sey, CMO at Levi‘s, about the inspiration and strategy for this piece.

 

Jen_Sey_option11TA: What was the creative inspiration for this video?

Jen Sey / Levi’s: We were inspired by the Levi’s advertising in our archives – the narrative structure of past 501 films in particular, where there was always a fun and sexy twist at the end. Films like “Laundrette” featuring Nick Kamen, which introduced the 501 shrink to fit in stonewash.

For the introduction of the 501CT, the latest twist on the original 501, we wanted to showcase the modern Levi’s guy. Our 501CT hero is cool and sexy, but turns out to be a really nice guy in the end as well. The perfect modern hero.

TA: How does it fit into the overall Levi’s brand campaign?

Jen Sey / Levi’s: One of the core tenants of the Live in Levi’s campaign is storytelling: all generations of our fans have stories to share, and that’s something that you’ll see coming to life throughout the campaign work. From the Live in Levi’s Project (where we share stories from our friends of the brand as a way to inspire fans to share their Levi’s stories with us), to the launch of the new women’s collection, where we partnered with Alicia Keys.

So for this season – that we’re able to connect with such a broad audience to celebrate Levi’s stories – we pivoted to use TV as a bigger storytelling platform.

levis-logoTA: Who worked on the spot?

Jen Sey / Levi’s: The Levi’s Global Consumer Marketing Team and our advertising agency FCB West. And it was directed by Sara Dunlop.

TA: The video is in Macy’s stores and on YouTube. Where else can it be seen?

Jen Sey / Levi’s: On TV and cinema across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, as well as in our stores and on digital pre-roll globally.

It’s everywhere.

TA: Any plans with social media?

Jen Sey / Levi’s: The spot was teased through our global social channels encouraging and directing fans to see the full length on our Facebook and youtube channels. What’s great is that so many of our fans spread the word themselves by sharing on their social media channels.

WATCH HERE:

Margaret Cho stars in animated food truck series – Chow-Fuhn

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Margaret Cho is taking her comedic chops to the world of animated food trucks in what she calls the first ‘Sci-Foodieomedy’, entitled CHOW-FUHN.

Chow-fuhn13In this new web series, also including the voices of Bobby Lee (IMDB) and Jon Lovitz (IMDB), Margaret and cohorts expose the chef vs. chef, cut-throat business of food trucks!

The series is created by Gabriel DeFrancesco (IMDB, Trading Up, Roman Holiday, RISD ’99 IL), and is aiming to raise $120,000 on Kickstarter.

Take a look at the pitch

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Indie Documentaries on Food & Drink surge in 2015

2015 has been a banner year for indie documentaries about food and drink, chefs and mixologists.

Case in point, Caffeinated, which recently premiered.

Also hitting the screens and circuit, Kickstarter fundedThe Birth of Sake, by Erik Shira. ‘The Birth of Saké’ is a documentary film that explores how sake is handcrafted at a family-owned Japanese brewery named Tedorigawa.

Description: In a world where most mass produced goods are heavily automated, a small group of artisans must brave unusual working conditions to preserve a 2000-year-old tradition that we have come to know as saké. THE BIRTH OF SAKÉ is a cinematic documentary that reveals the story of passionate saké-makers and what it takes to make world-class saké at Yoshida Brewery, a 144-year-old family-owned small brewery in northern Japan. The workers at Yoshida Brewery are an eclectic cast of characters, ranging from 20 to 70 years old. As a vital part of this cast that must live and work for a six-month period through the brutal winter, charismatic veteran brewmaster Yamamoto (65) and the brewery’s sixth-generation heir, Yasuyuki Yoshida (27), are keepers of this tradition, and are the main characters who bring the narrative forward. As craftsmen who must dedicate their whole lives to the making of this world-class saké, their private sacrifices are often sizable and unseen.

From what the TASTE AWARDS can see, this is more than a short-term trend, this is the tip of a very large list of food & drink-based films. More on this topic soon.

FYI Channel’s New Culinary TV Series – Man vs Child: Chef Showdown

CAFFEINATED Documentary releases in Theaters, Streaming and on Cable

The documentary CAFFEINATED is enjoying a multi-platform national release in select theaters and iTunes, Amazon, googleplay, Xbox, vudu and all major cable providers including Time Warner, Comcast, directv and more.

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Film Synopsis: Learn the story behind your morning Joe. From seed to mug, coffee, and the process by which it is created, has shaped the lives of thousands of individuals worldwide. Working with Geoff Watts, famous green-buyer, the filmmakers travel to America’s most populous coffee-drinking cities and to producing countries, interviewing connoisseurs and farmers alike. With a focus on the social and cultural landscape of coffee, Caffeinated gives the coffee consumer unprecedented access to the farmers responsible for growing that perfect bean, and the producers responsible for brewing that perfect cup.

 

Twitter:@TheCoffeeMovie
#CaffeinatedMovie, #TheCoffeeMovie

Website: http://caffeinated.vhx.tv/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Caffeinatedthemovie