Team One Wins at Cannes For Its Custom Magazine

0

Team One ad agency has won two coveted Cannes Lions awards for an unusual advertising campaign that allowed consumers to create their own personalized magazine.

The catch: The advertising solely featured ads that promoted the launch of the 2010 Lexus RX.

In January, the El Segundo-based agency created a Web site that invited consumers to create a free magazine, choosing content provided by Time Inc. and American Express Publishing.

The magazine, titled “Mine,” featured 36 pages of customized editorial content and four full-page ads for the 2010 Lexus. Each ad featured text personalized according to the reader’s geographic location and content preference.

Consumers signed up by visiting the Lexus Web site. They could choose between printed or digital versions of the magazine. About 31,000 hard copies of the magazine and 20,000 digital copies were distributed. About 17 percent of readers asked for addition information about Lexus, according to Team One.

The agency called the campaign an “evolution of magazine production and consumer interaction;” jurors at the prestigious Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival agreed.

The agency was presented with a Gold award in the Best Use of Magazines category and a Silver in the Cars and Automotive category in the international advertising awards June 21-27 in Cannes, France.

Team One, a division of Publicis Groupe, was the only U.S. agency to medal in either category.


Turner Joins Mercury

Mercury Media, the Santa Monica agency that specializes in buying TV time for infomercials and direct response ads, has hired Keith Turner, the former president of ad sales at NBC Universal.

Turner, who has been given the title of vice chairman, will help Mercury attract mainstream TV advertisers and convince them to try direct response advertising.

“There has long been a mentality among blue-chip advertisers that direct response is a medium for direct sales, not brand building, but that mentality is changing,” Turner said in a statement. “Our job at Mercury Media is to educate new advertisers and debunk these enduring myths.”


‘Dreams vs. Nightmares’

RPA Inc. in Santa Monica has produced a documentary film for Torrance-based client American Honda that features horror writer Clive Barker and spiritual counselor Deepak Chopra. The documentary is part of a Web advertising campaign for the carmaker.

The film appears on the Honda Web site. To drive traffic to the site, short clips from the film will run as video ads on other sites, including ABC.com, CBS.com, TV.com and Hulu.

The short film, titled “Dreams vs. Nightmares,” explores how dreams enhance creativity. In addition to interviews with celebrity thinkers, it stars Honda employees who share their dreams.

The film “is about seeing the opportunities and sharing the experiences of visionary leaders and Honda associates who are living their dreams,” said Barbara Ponce, manager of corporate advertising for Honda, in a statement. “This approach is part of Honda’s DNA, and we hope to inspire our customers to see the possibilities beyond the nightmares they may read in the news.”


Agencies & Accounts

Digital Domain, the special effects house in Venice, has produced a series of tie-in commercials with the movie “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” The ads will appear in cinemas and on TV for LG Mobile Phones and Burger King, with new robots created for both advertisers. L.A.-based ad shop 72andSunny is the new agency of record for CKE Restaurants Inc., the corporate parent of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. The agency will focus on the restaurateur’s core audience of young males with the first TV ads airing in September. WhittmanHart, a Chicago-based provider of Internet marketing services, has hired Alexander Ouvaroff as general manager of the Los Angeles office. He previously worked as general manager in Los Angeles for MRM Worldwide, a unit of McCann Worldgroup. Blaine Group in Beverly Hills has signed up to provide media support for Cornerstone International Group, an executive search firm. The assignment includes PR work for Cornerstone’s annual conference in Las Vegas. Mustang Marketing in Thousand Oaks is opening a Northern California office. Danny Bracco, communications coordinator, will run a copywriting and PR operation in the Bay Area. David & Goliath, the L.A.-based independent ad agency, has hired Rodrigo Butori and Steve Yee as associate creative directors. Originally from Brazil, Butori has worked at Saatchi & Saatchi, Ground Zero Advertising and TBWA/Chiat/Day in Los Angeles. Lee’s resume includes stints at Goodby Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco and TBWA/Chiat/Day in Los Angeles. Both men will oversee projects for all D & G; clients. U.S. International Media, a Los Angeles-based media-buying firm, has hired Janet Bescoby as West Coast director of planning. She previously worked at Carat USA and Bates USA West.


Staff reporter Joel Russell can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 237.

No posts to display