Top 10 of 2010, Part 1

Today and tomorrow, I'm going to do a year-end roundup of the ten most read Work That Matters posts — according to Google Analytics.

Here are numbers 10-6:

10. Okay, so this is awkward... (Dec. 14)

A very recent post, this one got a big boost in viewership when I tweeted it at Ice T, with the smirking "@FINALLEVEL, call me... O_-" …and he RTed it.

It's just me goofing around with the "How Hetero?" application by Stockholm Pride, which analyzes your heterosexuality based on keywords in your Twitter feed. Ice T and I ended up being equally "just gay enough".

9.  Wow. Just Wow.   (Jan 29)



This was my reaction when I first viewed the "Embrace Life" PSA by Sussex Safer Roads Partnership.  It has since been viewed over 12 million times on YouTube and won multiple awards — including a Bronze Lion. But when I first read about it on Osocio, it was only viewable on the client's web site and not embeddable — very social media unfriendly.

Looking back, it's fun to read the comments as Marc van Gurp (of Osocio) and I  work to convince Neil Hopkins of Sussex Safer Roads Partnership to put it on YouTube ASAP. The final straw comes when I let hiom know that someone in Brazil managed to bootleg it on their own channel. Just over an hour later, Embrace Life was officially going viral.

I like to think that Marc and I played some tiny part in getting this spot online sooner than would have happened otherwise. It also cemented our online friendship, and Marc invited me to join the Osocio authors that March.

8. An immersive creative experience (April 16)

Usually, my most read posts are on burning social issues. But this one was quite the opposite.

It was for the launch of our campaign for the opening of Calyspo — Canada's largest theme waterpark, and went through our creative process in developing the characters that give the park its thematic faces. These illustrated characters have since been replaced by live action ones, which we also designed. The cute backstory is that Wildman Jack, the nature-loving blond guy, is named after my environmentalist young son.

7. Ottawa Admen go *POP* (July 30)

Another fun post, this one was about twin Art Directors (and friends) Daryn Wantuck and Tim Wantuck, and their participation in the exhibit Pop Life: Living in a Material World at the National Gallery of Canada. The twins work together at The Bytown Group, and I used to work there with them. So did illustrator Michael Zavacky who is now at McMillan. What was cool about this one is that Daryn, Tim, Zeke and I collaborated online to add an Ottawa ad industry touch to the exhibit — matching retro Doublemint Gum shirts!

6. iheartmom.ca (April 26)



One of the most heartfelt jobs we did this year was for the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. It was an appeal for donations by Canadian Olympic Bronze medallist figure skater Joannie Rochette — who lost her own mother to heart disease during the games.

This online video, shot by Acart Videographer Christopher while Joannie was making an appearance in Ottawa, was our launch of the "iheartmom" fundraising brand on social media. We ended up seeding to blogs all over the world. Joannie took "iheartmom" with her to her new role as spokeperson for Birk's, opening up a whole new fundraising stream for the Heart Institute.

Tune in tomorrow for the Top 5.

It's Summer! Woo-Hoo!

Summer begins today, and it's the Monday of the last week of school, so let's just kick back and look forward to the weekend with these radio spots from Calypso — Canada's Biggest Theme Waterpark:







The spots were written by our own Mel Lyon, and produced at Studio Lamajeure in Montreal. Hope you liked them as much as my son does. See you at the park!

The lighter side of Social Issues Marketing

Last week, Calypso — Canada's Biggest Theme Waterpark — opened to the public.

As you probably know, in addition to saving the world with all of our usual social issues marketing work, we've been secretly creating a world of colourful characters for Calypso's grand opening.

Beginning with character sketches, we developed the backstories of Calypso the water goddess, Wildman Jack the adventurer, Sara Max the daredevil, Capitaine LaPlank the pirate, and Dr. Dunk the evil scientist. Over the past couple of months, we have literally been bringing these characters to life designing costumes and characterization for use at the park.

And now, in this Acart-written, TVA-produced TV ad, we can finally give you a look at the Calypso characters in flesh and blood:






So, how is this saving the world? Well, it's certainly bringing seasonal jobs to a previously-quiet corner of the National Capital Region. And it's providing a great sense of pride for our community, as well as a strong pull for tourists around the world to take a second look at Ottawa as a fun destination.

But most of all, we're enjoying this change of pace because when you spend 80% of your time addressing the world's problems, it's just nice to celebrate the lighter side of life in your own backyard. Next week, I'll let you hear what some of these characters sound like as I blog our radio campaign.

See you at the park!

An immersive creative experience

With so much going on in the world of social issues marketing, sometimes I forget to celebrate the fact that at Acart we don't just change the world — sometimes we create a whole new one.

This June, Ottawa will see the opening of Calyspo — Canada's largest theme waterpark.



Considering our long experience working with the Ottawa Senators and developing the regional Hockey Country brand, we were keen on helping a new local entertainment giant join our community. We pitched the business last year, won them over, and set to developing a brand that would differentiate the park from others.

From the same people who run Valcartier Vacation Village in Quebec, the new park is destined to become a Disney of the North.

And there was the challenge. After considering a number of ideas, we realized that this job required a real depth of imagination. We had to create a whole cast of characters, and back story, from scratch.

Starting with the name, Calypso ("goddess of the waves") as the lead character, we developed a family friendly cast that represent the different types of rides and experiences people can expect from the park.

(Early Calypso concept sketch)

(Final)

"Condemned for centuries to the island of Gozo by Zeus, Calypso is finally free to find her own place in the world. The Queen of the Waves does not have to search for long before she finds her true home, Calypso Palace, in a park called none other than Calypso! What a wondrous find! Calypso Palace is her dream home—a giant wave pool producing all sorts of waves, all under her control."

That's the official bio of Calypso, and the other characters are similarly developed.

There's Capitaine LaPlank, pirate and embodiment of the kids' Aquaplay rides:



Sara Max, California daredevil, and brand expression of the more adrenaline-pumping rides like the Fast Track:



Dr. Dunk, evil scientist and lord of the Turbo Lab:



And finally, Wildman Jack, Aussie adventurer and face of the nature-themed rides like the Jungle Run:



The name of the last character may seem familiar to some of you. But hey — if Dave Thomas could name his burger mascot after his daughter, I figured a little tribute to my nature-loving son was not out of line!

The characters were fleshed out by Acartians Mel (copy) and Kerry (Art Director/Illustrator - who also did the Sens' new logo) and then worked into design by Leslie. We are currently working to costume living, breathing versions for Calypso's grand opening on June 7th.

What a ride... and we haven't even gotten wet yet!