Stella Artois and Mother London have created an online series that somehow combines a stylish 60's sensibility and an environmental message. The eight-episode YouTube series, Recyclage de Luxe, is hosted by the super sexy Alain de Monde and takes it name and visual cues from previous Mother campaigns for the brand. Scooped and totally plagiarized from Creativity (I could not have said it better, so why bother trying and it's Monday).

Beautiful visual effects from MassMarket make this spot, titled Csar, for the US Air Force look more like a movie trailer than a TV commercial. Agency is GSD&M Idea City, Austin and it's directed by MJZ's Phil Joanou. Full credits.

Albert Exergian has created a poster series, 40 of them, based on popular television shows - using the most minimal image for each. View them on the homepage of his blog or via Fubiz where I found them.

Inspired by prehistoric art and ancient cave paintings, Boolab director Martin Allais created this beautiful spot for German TV channels ARD and ZDF which tells the history of man (well, or most of it) in 65 seconds. Be sure also to watch the "Catapult" spot below it. It made me chuckle. Via Motionographer who did a Q&A with Martin Allais.

I heard on the radio this morning that this is the first time since 1937 that Toronto has not had any snow fall in November. Go global warming! As an adult I'm not a big fan of snow, too messy, but I loved it as a child. In honor of snow, or lack thereof in Toronto, here's a clever campaign for Lynx via BBH, London. The brief was to make sure young guys didn't leave the house without their portable Lynx Bullet, because you never know when romance might strike. Scooped from Ads of the World.

I know there are, but more and more I'm seeing ads that copy online films, art and music videos. Prime example - this Amazon Kindle commercial that's been airing for a few weeks now. As soon as I saw it, I was reminded of this music video for Oren Lavie's Her Morning Experience, directed by Oren Lavie, Yuval and Merav Nathan, which was included in the 2009 Saatchi & Saatchi New Director's Showcase in Cannes. It's most likely that the latter is the not the first vid to use this technique either. Want to see more as that have "borrowed" from online films? Eliza Williams at Creative Review did a great story called The YouTube Dilemma.

Aesthetically, I'm really happy that I just stumbled across this video for Good Shoe's Under Control on Shots' Cut & Paste, as now I have three stills all in a row with black backgrounds. Nice colour continuity, yes? Great video too, even though it creeps me out a bit (the point I guess). I feel the need to wash it down with something a little more...err...girlie, like Douglas Wilson's Satisfaction video for Benny Benassi. Kisses to Sdog, who I haven't heard from in a week. Hope you are having a great time in Amsterdam.

LOVE THIS - especially Animal's "momma". Amazing.

Here's a beautiful spot for Boag's directed by Noam Murro via Publicis Mojo, Sydney. Full credits are here.

These two spots may give you deja vu as I posted them back in August, but had to quickly take them down due to confusion over air dates (oppsies). But, I'm happy to report, that they are both now on air. Bachelor Pictures and Nakeder are directed by Partners Film's Aleysa Young. Agency is Zig, Toronto and full credits are here. I LOVE the volume balance feature highlighted in Nakeder - I wish my TV had that. Santa, bring me a new one?

I know Halloween is long past, but I just caught wind of this last week. Stephanie Pennington, a producer at Crush, Toronto, made this amazing Salty costume for her friend and colleague at Crush, Josh (he's a CG artist). Not familiar with Salty? He's the adorable hero in this Knorr commercial by DDB Toronto, directed by Sons and Daughters' David Hicks. I hear the costume was a big hit - strangers were stopping Josh on the street to have their picture taken with him (love it). Thanks to Stephanie for the pics.

In other Salty news, because the Salty character was so well received, DDB Toronto, in conjunction with BigShot Toyworks, is in production on Salty salt and pepper shakers which will be available in January. The set used in the commercial was made just for the shoot, not mass produced. Not sure how they will be sold - Knorr promotion maybe?

Here's a fun self-promotional piece from GJP Toronto for Roland Semprie, Personal Trainer. View here with full credits. Scooped from Freddy at advertising/design goodness. I'm thinking a baggy pair of sweat pants for girls with "these used to be tight" on the ass would be funny too.

Here's the official video for "Laura", the third single to be taken from Chris Owens and Chet JR White's debut album "Album" (great name for an album - surprised no one ever thought of it before). It's directed by Brian Lee Hughes, who did glossy's branding. I'm happy to see what I consider to be a very pretty and happy piece from BLH, when I would normally use words like "funny", "odd" or "creepy" to describe his work - see Fruit by the Foot, Clearasil "Mom" and his Rat-vertising for 1-800-Got-Junk.

Here's a spot from PETA, titled Grace, just in time for American Thanksgiving. I'm a big turkey fan, it's one of my favourite meats, and this spot doesn't faze me. But despite being a carnivorous turkey lover, I can respect the creative in this spot. The last line is a nice touch too. Agency is LA-based Matter. It's directed by Über Content's Dave Laden and edited by Arcade's Patrick Griffin. Full credits here.

Psyop Managing Director Justin Booth-Clibborn had the opening for his first ever photography exhibition, Planet Burning Man, this past Friday night at the Blacklist gallery in New York's Lower East Side. Below is a Q&A with him on the night and his work.

Q: Tell me about your trip to Burning Man and the collection of photos exhibited on Friday night.

A: This was my first time. I have been aware of Burning Man for a while from friends and others who have been, all of whom have said it's unlike anything else, you have to experience it, you would love it etc. For my birthday this year my lovely wife, Jill, gave me a ticket and hatched the plan for me to go. No mean feat, as she works full time and we have two small children which she was going to take care of. It was an amazing gift - not only in terms of the time to be free and creative, but in encouraging me to step completely outside my daily life into a world with no commerce, no advertising, no money, and very few rules or restrictions.

Although I have been a photographer all my life, and of course I was salivating at the idea of Burning Man, with the desert light and backdrop, the interesting and weird people, the art etc, I really tried to go with an open mind and very few expectations. I certainly didn't imagine it would lead to my first solo show. What I found was a level of creativity, ingenuity, community and giving unlike anywhere I had ever been. It was like another planet, not only visually, but in vibe as well.

One of the themes I was trying to communicate was that of freedom and in addition to the photographs I showed this through four projections of loops of stills of different women dancing, that I had photographed in impromptu photo shoots around the playa. Three were on screens and one I projected on the front window of the gallery so it could be seen from the outside and the inside - I think it it worked really well.

Q: This was your first exhibit, please tell me some overall impressions on the night.

A: Totally thrilling. I printed and framed all the shots myself, and worked hard on the edit, boiling the nearly 3000 shots I had taken down to 40. I always aim to tell a story with my pictures of any event, so the layout and flow of the space was very important to me, as well as the quality of the individual shots.

The most gratifying part of the night was the direct feedback I got. So many people who had been to Burning Man said I had really captured the place like no other shots they had seen, many who who had not been said they were now definitely going, or seriously considering it, and even some people who just thought it is a bunch of hippies in the desert on drugs admitted they were wrong. That makes me feel I really achieved what any artist wants - to change people's perception of the world, and help people see things in a different way.

Q: Is having an exhibit something you’d like to do again? Any plans for another photography trip in the near future?

A: I would definitely love to have another exhibit, but with such an amazing debut, the work would have to be very strong. I have a few ideas of other subjects and projects, and am discussing with my wife Jill what to tackle next - we are great creative as well as life partners. She is a visionary. In the meantime, we are hopefully both going to Burning Man next year.

A selection on pictures from the night and a few of Justin's Burning Man photos are posted here.

Okay, I'm on a sports fan. I do like going to live sporting events, but I enjoy spectator watching more than game watching. Well, with one exception. I went to my first basketball game last year, Raptors, and LOVED it. The game went into double or triple overtime (do they have triple?). Was great. I digress. This four minute long spot for the CFL (Canadian Football League), This is Our League, won The Micheal O'Reilly Best Copywriting Award at the ADCC Awards. As I said, I could really care less about sports, but I found this spot so engaging. Might be a bit of a Canadian patriotism thing, but by the end, even me, the sports hater, was a little misty-eyed (ya, I admit it). Agency: Bensimon Byrne, Toronto; CD/Writer: David Rosenberg; AD: Michael Lee.

This is too sexy not to share - also found at the ACDD Awards. These tassels are to promote Neighbourhood Dance Works Valentine's Burlesque. They were created by Target in St. John's Newfoundland. Sorry the image is so small, it's the only one they had on their site. What you can't see on it is the tag on them that says "Neighbourhood Dance Works Valentine's Burlesque". Super cute idea. Less effective is the video of the campaign that's on their site, which makes a great idea look lame (sorry, but true).

Here's another print ad that caught my eye at the ADCC Awards. "Ice" won a gold in the Advertising Miscellaneous category (so vague). Agency: BBDO Toronto; CD/AD: Carlos Moreno; CD/CW: Peter Ignazi; Photographer: Bill Drummond.

I caught this clever campaign for Gas X, that I'd never seen before, last week at the ADCC Awards. It picked up a number of awards including a gold for Advertising Billboard Single (for the Mantle spot). Agency is Saatchi & Saatchi, Toronto. View the campaign with credits here.

Love this. Watch it. I liked it so much I watched it two times back-to-back. Thanks Aleysa.

As many of you know, The Barbarian Group and Psyop have been super busy these last few months working with Esquire on their Augmented Reality issue, the December issue with Robert Downey Jr. on the cover, that hit newsstands today.

Esquire and The Barbarian Group began brainstorming for the December issue at the outset of 2009. Not long after, animation and design studio Psyop was brought in, with the shared goal of bringing the world of augmented reality to the readers of Esquire in a way that had never before been done. The joint effort reflects what all three companies are best known for - their forward-thinking, cutting edge philosophies.

The Augmented Reality Issue has merged interactivity with the print medium in new way that adds value to and ultimately changes the reader’s interaction with the magazine content. The user experience was The Barbarian Group’s highest priority, and the result is not only a technological showcase, but a sophisticated experiment in the future of content and publishing where digital and print combine to form new experiences.

Psyop and The Barbarian Group worked diligently to strike a balance between the creative goals of the project and the limitations of AR. Psyop designed, shot, and animated all the AR features on the Downey cover, and in two inside features, Fashion, featuring actor Jeremy Renner and Funny Joke, featuring actress Gillian Jacobs. They then fed these elements to The Barbarian Group, who was responsible for taking these 3D animations and programming them into the AR interface. After downloading the software from Esquire’s site, you can hold those pages up to a web cam, and they spring to life in 3D. Turning the magazine, tilting, etc. triggers different animations, and different reactions from the on camera talent.

Psyop, known for their intense design aesthetic and beautifully rendered 3D animation, had to create a look that would work in three dimensions, and at the same time create renders compatible with the AR programming. Likewise, Psyop also collaborated on the dialogue delivered by the on camera talent, and directed the talent to react to the AR elements not created at the time.

The Barbarian Group worked exclusively with Lexus to create and develop the technology for their advertisement featured in the magazine, exposing the user to an experience that would have otherwise been impossible without combining both the print and digital mediums.

A selection of stills showcasing the AR in the issue are posted here and a Psyop-produced video is here.

I attended the Digital Marketing Awards on Wednesday night. The Best of Show went to Jam3 for their Waterlife site created for Canada's National Film Board. Some other work that caught my eye is the aesthetically beautiful Met de la Creme created for the milk producers of Quebec by Nolin BBDO, Taxi's site for Diamond+Schmitt Architects (congrats Mr. Gomes - love the stache), Cossette/Fjord's intense Living Breathless for Ministere de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition feminine and the super entertaining It's a Wonderful Life, The Shameless Product Placement Cut for Twist Image (man I love Jimmy Stewart). Full credits and a Q&A with Jam3 on Waterlife is here and there's a full write up on the event and its winners here.

It's been ages since I heard a good jingle (almost an oxymoron). I really like this new festive spot for Illinois Lottery - it's festive, has great art direction and a mighty fine jingle that includes the mention of a crazy cat lady (what's not to love about that?). Agency is Energy BBDO and it's directed by Biscuit's Aaron Ruell (who is also a great photographer). Full credits.

Psyop CEO Justin Booth-Clibborn is also a photographer (and with two small children, I'm surprised he finds the time). This year he attended Burning Man and took some amazing shots and this Friday night, in New York's Lower East side, Blacklist is presenting a selection of those photos in Planet Burning Man. If you are in NYC please stop by and have a glass of wine.

Ohhhh.....this is cool (have I mentioned that I'm willing to pay good money to be impregnated by Peter Saville's sperm?). Scooped from Creative Review.

I'm a big fan of AKQA and was excited to see that they have a new project out for Xbox where you can make your own Lips Jukebox Music Video. BUT, I've tried to get on to do it at least 10 times in the last 24 hours and each time I get this annoying "OOPS" message. Very Annoying.

Years ago I had a GTI. It went fast. It was fun. Last week at the Boards Summit I heard someone (sorry, don't remember who) talk about Real Racing GTI - a game and a contest that is being used to launch the new MkVI Golf GTI in the US via the iPhone and iPod Touch. The gist of it - a racing game where the top six high scores will win the new 2010 Golf GTI. The speaker also said that they were pretty sure it was the first time an app was used to launch a product. I was happy to see that Contagious got wind of it and has posted an interview with Charles Taylor, general manger of digital marketing at VW in the US, so I could share. Check it out here.

Did you ever think we'd run out of places to put ads? How about attached to flies? Pitty the interns that had to pull this one off - attaching banners to flies with wax. Thanks to Aleysa Young who sent me this in response to my "things to do with dead flies" post below. LOL - love how the info on YouTube says that no flies were harmed. Wouldn't want PETA on their asses.

In the spirit of Seabiscuit, here's a wonderful spot for Weetabix - yep, Weetabix. A talking horse, an underdog and some slow-mo running. What more could you ask for? Agency is WCRS and it's directed by the always amazing Ringan Ledwidge.

Did you miss last week's Boards Summit? You can check out the Directors to Watch reel that was screened there (and part of the October/November issue) here. Like a six-year-old post Halloween, it's full of goodies. My favs are the fan video for Grizzly Bear's Two Weeks, directed by Gabe Askew, and Again & Again for Bird and The Bee, directed by Dennis Lui.

Here's the result of what I'm guessing is some free time, some dead flies and the right side of the brain. Now if they can only sell it to Raid or Off. Nice work. Found on Creative Review.

It's sad news that Cliff Freeman & Partners has closed its doors. In tribute to a great man and a great shop, take a moment to watch the iconic Where's the Beef for Wendy's. Via Agency Spy.

This new spot for Levi's via W+K Portland, featuring American poet Walt Whitman, has been getting a lot of air time lately - I'm seeing it on TV and in cinemas. It reminds me a bit of this award-winning (Gold Lion in 2008) spot for VW, Night Drive, via DDB London which features a Dylan Thomas poem narrated by Richard Burton. I have to saw I prefer the VW spot, not only becuse it came out first, but because there are less product shots. Feel there are too Levi's labels in the Levi one.

I know Halloween is over, but I just stumbled across these super cute ads for Mini on the Communication Arts site. They were created for "Motortober", a month long Mini dealer promotion that took place in October. Sausalito, California-based Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners decided that the best way to celebrate the season was with some Halloween-inspired imagery. Full credits on CommArts. On a side note, I'm super proud of this year's pumpkins I carved - LOVE carving pumpkins.

If you read glossy regularly, and if you don't shame on you, you'll know that I'm a big fan of Mad Men (although I have to say that I'm enjoying this season a little less than last). Noah Phillips, a creative at Cutwater, knows I'm a Mad Men fan and was kind enough to send over this video on the attention to detail on break room set. I enjoyed it & thought I'd share. Thanks Noah.