Break Through Buzz is the creative stuff that impressed Ketchum’s creative community this week. Check out what captured our imaginations and inspires us to keep pushing the boundaries of possibility.
Dial 1-9-9-3
Selected by Nadiya Fyle
To promote its recently-opened retrospective, NYC 1993, the New Museum turned more than 5,000 payphones into analogue time machines, transporting residents and tourists back 20 years with the push of a few buttons. The campaign invites people on the streets of New York to dial a toll-free number, listen to stories about what the city was like in 1993, which differ from phone to phone and are tailored to individual neighbourhoods – e.g., a call from Broadway might dial up stories about how theatre thrived in 1993, while a payphone on the edge of Central Park might recall an era when the park was a more dangerous place. I love this unique way of storytelling about and connecting to the past, using an authentic, widely seen, but no longer appreciated asset from the era.
Pinning Herself Back Together
Selected by Robert Burnside
Most eulogies are spoken or written scripts that are biographical. This one – from Ginny Brocker at Zócalo Group – instead evokes the spirit of the departed one, using images, in what I find to be a very moving way. From reading the simple post and viewing the photos, one gets a true feeling for her father, his personality and values – an amazingly well done and effective use of media. It seems to me to be an example of the future of eulogies, and an improvement on the past.
A Moving Portfolio
Selected by Jeff Lewonczyk
To apply for an internship with Berlin-based design firm Hort, U.K. illustrator Mark Predergrast chose to submit his portfolio as a single attention-grabbing video. The result is more than just a clever, shareable form of self-presentation – it’s also:
- A series of case studies in the creative process
- A number of exciting new approaches for responding to client or new business briefs
- A collection of meditations and insights on visual communication
- A feast for the eyes, ears and mind
Yes, it’s 20 minutes long, but watch it in pieces over the course of a day – it’s an education unto itself.
Bringing the Cold Inside
Selected by Sarah Unger
In order to raise awareness of what homeless people go through in the winter, German non-profit fiftyfifty dropped temperatures in a movie theater during a film about homelessness to mimic the experience of the movie subject. This is a brilliant example of how organizations can create immersive firsthand experiences in order to build empathy in consumers.
The Great British Class Calculator
Selected by Alexander Watson
BBC News has created a great interactive tool to encourage participation from readers: an online test that allows you to determine where you sit in a newly developed social-class hierarchy. What better way to get people to interact with your news story… great fun and sure to be shared.
Have a Ball – or a Hundred – With a Stranger
Selected by Shani Taylor
Pop philosophy site Soul Pancake recently challenged random people to sit in a ball pit to discuss various topics and ultimately find commonalities between each other. This is a great example for brands that want to engage in storytelling, since it shows that stories are most successful when they find points of connection. It is an important reminder that our work with clients can find ways to leverage the serendipitous commonalities people have with one another to strengthen a brand’s promise.
