Sydney Film Festival launched a TVC and cinema commercial to promote the 2011 event, part of an integrated marketing and advertising campaign created by Boccalatte. The campaign explores the idea of "the ingredients for a good festival," with each "ingredient" represented by costumed style characters. The result is an irreverent, stylistically inventive and surreal romp inside the fun, dynamic and progressive the world of Sydney Film Festival.
Campaign Creative Directors, Boccalatte, a Sydney based visual and brand communication agency, have been tasked with the challenge of creating a campaign that will grow audience numbers and make the festival more accessible. Targets include both people aged 35 and over, including baby boomers, who are already interested in film and a younger Generation Y demographic. This audience is a particular emphasis for the campaign, as research shows 60% of new festival attendees are drawn from the ranks of those aged 18 - 35.
To achieve this, Boccalatte developed a highly creative, conceptual approach, working closely with Director Scott Otto Anderson of Photoplay. The execution describes the "world" of the Sydney Film Festival and uses life-sized characters played by actors clad in stylised costumes, each representing one of the ingredients in a good film festival. The characters take the viewer through a fantastical narrative, bringing to life the breadth of stories and emotions the festival-goer can experience and making connections that resonate with a range of potential audiences.
"We started by thinking about the number of films and the diverse range of stories that are told throughout the film festival," said Boccalatte's founder and Creative Director, Suzanne Boccalatte. "Films move, inspire, horrify, sadden, shock, amuse, delight, madden and thrill us. We can all relate, in some way, to the stories, aspirations, emotions and events that occur in film. This inspired us to consider the details and narratives that happen within different films. By using film narratives to describe the festival to the audiences, we directly target their interests, personality or preferences, giving us the opportunity to talk directly to many different audiences in a variety of ways."
The resulting Photoplay produced TVC was directed by Anderson, who worked in a closely collaborative process with Boccalatte. Damien Drew, a local costumer designer renowned for his work on Star Wars and The Matrix, created the distinctive and visually arresting costumes. The ad unfolds as a journey from on ingredient to the next and Suzanne Boccalatte describes it as "a non-linear romp through an Alice in Wonderland type world, highly stylized and surreal, fun, and bright."
The client has been thrilled with the output, claiming it to be one of the great campaigns in the Sydney Film Festival's 58-year history. "I think everyone will feel very proud of what has been achieved," said the Festival's Artistic Director Clare Stewart.
The campaign created by Boccalatte is fully integrated, with executions across print, outdoor and online advertisements, using stills captured by celebrated photographer Helen White. The motion component includes a TVC and cinema commercial with 15 second, 30 second and 45 second edits. Boccalatte's work also includes the design of the festival program, all marketing collateral as well as magazine, newspaper, outdoor and online advertisements. Sydney Film Festival runs from June 8 - 19.
The Sydney Film Festival began in 1954, making it one of the longest running events of its kind in the world. The festival runs for two weeks each year in June and showcases Australian, international and alternative films. In December last year, UNESCO named Sydney as an "International City of Film" and the festival is the jewel in that crown.