With all the excitement that quite naturally surrounds the launch of Pool Collective 02, the latest magazine for the iPad from the guys at POOL (more of which later), the day job could be in danger of being nudged into the shade a little.
Well, actually no – not when the campaign is as arresting as Simon’s latest for MasterCard.
And not just any MasterCard either, World Elite MasterCard. In the South of France no less. The bold, high-end campaign features people achieving their goals and living their dreams in far-flung corners of the world with the MasterCard concierge service acting as a facilitator. Sort of like a fairy godmother, but with a monthly repayment plan. In any case, ever keen to see life imitate art, pictures of Simon indulging his yacht-rock fantasy while he was on location may yet surface on this blog, so watch this space.
As with all great campaigns, there was a great team involved in putting this all together for McCann Singapore.
Senior Art Producer: Siobhan Crowley
ECDs: Danny Higgins, Todd Waldron
AD: Thomas Kerk
Copywriter: Jatinder Sandhu
Agency Producer: Adele Huang
Executive Producer: Dan Halprin
Producer: Louis de Fontanes
Production Company: Team Halprin
Remember the earlier mention of Pool Collective 02? Sure you do, it’s the magazine for the iPad featuring the fine work of the POOL photographers. Yeah, that one. Anyway, if you have an iPad but have yet to get hold of it… it’s free! What on EARTH are you waiting for? There’s also an interview with world-class producer Tony Visconti (Bowie/T. Rex) and his multi-talented son, Morgan… music, videos… See for yourself by clicking here.
And if you don’t have an iPad, this is probably the best reason to get one until the next issue comes out.
Hello there, hope you’ve all been keeping well while Simon’s been keeping busy…
Busy working away on Pool Collective 02, the new edition of POOL’s iPad magazine, Simon’s also found out that he’s a finalist in the National Portrait Gallery’s National Photographic Portrait Prize 2013.
The photograph in question is of none other than POOL collaborator Ingvar Kenne, whose own award-winning collection of portraits, Citizen, is featured in the new edition. For those of you with RSI, or who just can’t be bothered to click this link, we’ve put the image here too. We urge you to have a look though – there’s an interview and everything…
More soon… keep checking back.
The recent Canon Rebel T4i campaign that Simon shot is AdWeeks Ad of the Day! The 60-second commercial (click here for a write-up and embedded clip) features Simon’s stills, which make up the print campaign.
Now, should a clickthrough prove too much effort, we’ve gone to the trouble of highlighting our favourite quote below (you’re welcome).
“A new ad for the brand from Grey in New York features a montage of adventurous photographers braving environmental hazards to get that special shot. The spot does a particularly nice job of portraying the product users as the heroes of the story: Their antics are by varying degrees entertaining (trying to outrun a charging giraffe, staring down an irate fishmonger) and stupid-dangerous (climbing to the edge of an icy roof to get a better angle on the kid making snow angels in an empty pool). The resulting pictures are all marvelous…”
That’s Simon… entertaining, stupid-dangerous and marvellous (we’ll stick with the UK spelling for now, ta.
A big well done to all involved!
Remember the post on the Bundy Rum shot? The one with the massive 20×24 polaroid? Well, here’s the result – and very impressive it looks too.
As touched on previously, the whole project had a kind of art-echoing-life feel to it as far as the process was concerned, as Simon explains…
“The shot for Masters Distillers was born out of the idea of craftsmanship, in a world where everything is instantaneous and photographs are taken rather than crafted we decided to go back to traditional methods that require craft skill and thought.
To emulate the craft and care that goes into the Master Distillers’ range we decided to use the 20×24″ camera where each image is an original, a one of a kind photograph on polaroid film, due to the complexity of the operation of the camera it required we slow the process down and craft each shot much in the same way the Masters Distillers range is produced.”
So there you go, a top-drawer campain for a top-shelf rum.
And the genius collective behind the collective genius?
That would be…
Creative Director: Tim Green
ECD: Andy Dilallo
Agency Producer: Jeremy Devilliers
Production Company: Team Halprin
Executive Producer: Dan Halprin
It’s normally models who have to contort themselves into weird shapes and uncomfortable positions in the name of a great shot but, as you can see, Simon’s more than happy to get stuck in when the job demands.
This photograph, taken by Rob Altman from Canon, shows Simon on the campaign for the new Canon Rebel T4i (or 650D for the rest of the world) which will be coming soon. It proved something of a labour of love for Simon who was so impressed with the camera that he has gone on record as saying that from now on, when amateurs ask what camera they should buy, he’ll be recommending this one. Which is some recommendation in itself.
In fact, when asked what the hardest part of the shoot was: dealing with the salt spray; the wet clothes; the cold water or being in a 12″x 12″ tent with a live bat, Simon replied, “None of those. It was having to give the camera back.”
Class.
Will you take a look at this beast! It’s not often that a camera takes centre stage, but as Simon (hiding in the wings) will tell you, this 20×24 is no ordinary camera.
These shots come from a Bundy Rum job, through Leo Burnets in Sydney, that saw Simon reunited with creative director Tim Green for the first time in many years.
The crafted, bespoke tones that a polaroid can bring were just what Simon wanted for this campaign, which features Bundy Rum’s new premium range. The developer burns, the bleeding edges… these are the maker’s marks that mirror the crafted care of the hands-on distilling process.
More pics…
The ad will be out soon – keep ‘em peeled!
On the 8th October 1829, Shephenson’s legendary locomotive, the Rocket, raced to victory in the Rainhill trials. It was an event that was to change the face of rail transport across the world.
On the 8th October 1939, German forces annexed Western Poland, marking the end of the September Campaign and the beginning of something far, far bigger.
On the 8th October 1978, Australian Ken Warby set the water speed record of 317.60mph. A record that still stands today.
On the 8th October 2012, POOL COLLECTIVE 01 for iPAD is launched. It’s a free download that can be found here.
Featuring stunning work from all five members of the collective as well as this year’s grant winner, Brodie Standen, Simon’s contribution is The Beautiful Game, a very personal collection made up of shots of football stadia from around the world that manages to score on every level. Nice written companion piece too…
Go have a play with it. If you have an iPad that is… Oh, and did we mention that it’s FREE?
Simon’s latest dabble in directing is a series of commercials is for Guide Dogs Australia that sit alongside the print campaign, that you can see here.
The otherworldy quality of these films is soundtracked by none other than king krautrock collaborator and ambient guru Brian Eno, which is fitting, given their almost ethereal beauty.
Beach
Bush
City
Ferry
‘An experience unseen is still worth experiencing’
A wonderful sentiment for a fantastic campaign – well done all!
Hepatitis C is a hard-hitting disease, one that can do real damage. Any campaign hoping to help in the fight against it needs to be equally as hard-hitting, and ‘Start Your Fight’ is certainly that, looking to fight fire with fire and turn the tables on this chronic condition and really go on the attack and raising awareness.
Simon’s work on the campaign, created by DDB Remedy on behalf of Merck Sharpe and Dohme Australia, is featured below.
Art Director Luke Acret
Copywriter Omid Amidi
Art Buyer Leesa Murray
Produced by Cam Gray @ POOL
Four shots, four states, four tubs of ice cream. Sounds like a dream job to us and the results seem to confirm it. Have a look and see for yourselves what happened when Simon went on the road to whip up the following photographic feast for Connoisseur ice cream.
For those of us thinking that October’s a slightly odd time to launch a range of ice cream, don’t forget that they do things differently in the southern hemisphere – including seasons…
