By Mindy Charski
Photo By Andric
When BBDO was creating ads to promote AT&T’s International
Roaming, the team looked for three things in its models, according
to art director Brian Locascio: people who had the correct hand
structure, could maintain difficult hand positions for long periods
of time, and don’t sweat a lot. Out of 85 models considered, three
were hired.
Why the peculiar requirements for the highly visual effort from the
agency’s Atlanta and New York offices? The ads, shot by
Toronto-based photographer
Andric , feature hands that have been painted to look like
animals or structures that symbolize some of the countries where
AT&T’s roaming is available. The hands are always holding an
AT&T phone in the ads, which are aimed at international
travelers.
“We knew we had to show the devices and the campaign had to be
flexible enough to showcase any country,” says Locascio, who is an
associate creative director at BBDO Atlanta.“So forced in a corner,
we started researching different things we could do with hands, and
that led us to Guido Daniele.”
Daniele is a Milan-based artist who specializes in body painting.
“Guido paints on hands like no other,” Locascio says. “No one came
close to his skill level.” As for Andric, the AD says he was
brought in because the creatives wanted to hire someone who “has a
technical side of his work along with his eye for photography.” The
photographer has also shot other AT&T work for the agency, and,
a bonus, could communicate in Italian with Daniele.
The team created nine initial ads during a two-week shoot. Each day
Daniele would start painting in the morning while Andric worked on
lighting and minimal retouching on images from the previous day.
The two would later take test shots and make adjustments to the
paint and lighting. It was already dark by the time they started
shooting, Locascio says.
The ads are running as “station dominations” in several cities, on
buildings in New York, in airports, on airplane folding trays, on
the Web, and in publications including
Forbes, Fortune and
USA Today. The team subsequently created four additional
executions for the Dallas-based client.
There has been an interesting twist: “We actually get random people
calling the agency to ask for prints of executions that they have
seen,” Locascio says. “Since we approached it wanting to make art,
that is a huge compliment.”
Handy Work
Sept 25, 2008
By Mindy Charski
When BBDO was creating ads to promote AT&T’s International Roaming, the team looked for three things in its models, according to art director Brian Locascio: people who had the correct hand structure, could maintain difficult hand positions for long periods of time, and don’t sweat a lot. Out of 85 models considered, three were hired.
Why the peculiar requirements for the highly visual effort from the agency’s Atlanta and New York offices? The ads, shot by Toronto-based photographer
Andric , feature hands that have been painted to look like animals or structures that symbolize some of the countries where AT&T’s roaming is available. The hands are always holding an AT&T phone in the ads, which are aimed at international travelers.
“We knew we had to show the devices and the campaign had to be flexible enough to showcase any country,” says Locascio, who is an associate creative director at BBDO Atlanta.“So forced in a corner, we started researching different things we could do with hands, and that led us to Guido Daniele.”
Daniele is a Milan-based artist who specializes in body painting. “Guido paints on hands like no other,” Locascio says. “No one came close to his skill level.” As for Andric, the AD says he was brought in because the creatives wanted to hire someone who “has a technical side of his work along with his eye for photography.” The photographer has also shot other AT&T work for the agency, and, a bonus, could communicate in Italian with Daniele.
The team created nine initial ads during a two-week shoot. Each day Daniele would start painting in the morning while Andric worked on lighting and minimal retouching on images from the previous day. The two would later take test shots and make adjustments to the paint and lighting. It was already dark by the time they started shooting, Locascio says.
The ads are running as “station dominations” in several cities, on buildings in New York, in airports, on airplane folding trays, on the Web, and in publications including
Forbes, Fortune and
USA Today. The team subsequently created four additional executions for the Dallas-based client.
There has been an interesting twist: “We actually get random people calling the agency to ask for prints of executions that they have seen,” Locascio says. “Since we approached it wanting to make art, that is a huge compliment.”
