I want to let my viewers know about the newest installment of TIFF’s popular Packaged Goods series screening at TIFF Bell Lightbox on December 12 at 7 p.m. Packaged Goods: The Year’s Best showcases the best in commercials and music videos from 2012.

Anyone who knows me and my love of all things TIFF, it would take a lot for me not to attend this event.  However, I do have a previous engagement that I’m unable to make it.

Curated by guest programmer Rae Ann Fera, Packaged Goods: The Year’s Best features pieces from global advertising and music video award champions. Some highlights are viewer favorites like the Guardian’s “Three Little Pigs” directed by Ringan Ledwidge; TEDxDubai’s “The Power of X” and director Sean Pecknold’s Fleet Foxes music video “The Shrine/An Argument.”

I heard about the P&G commercial that highlights the tireless efforts of Olympic Moms everywhere.  After previewing Packaged Goods: The Year’s Best, I understand just what everyone was talking about it because would bring a tear to a grown man’s eye.

There are so many entertaining and inspiring excerpts that I hope my Toronto readers will consider attending this screening.

Featured Works Includes:

Guardian “Three Little Pigs”
UK \ 2:00 \ Spot
Agency: BBH London
Director: Ringan Ledwidge, Rattling Stick
A classic fairytale is re-imagined in the context of an online and participatory news culture.

Canal+ “Bear”
France \ 1:20 \ Spot
Agency: BETC, Paris
Director: Matthijs Van Heijningen Soixante Quinze
After a lifetime of watching great movies, a bear rug decides it’s time to get behind the camera.

Shaw “Chase”
Canada \ 1:30 \ Spot
Agency: BBDO
Director: Stylewar, Smuggler
Action so real it feels like you’re living it.

Call of Duty Black Ops II “Surprise”
USA \ 1:10 \ Spot
Agency: 72andSunny
Director: Guy Ritchie, RESET
Look who brought a jet to a gun fight!

DirecTV “Questions”
USA \ :30 \ Spot
Agency: Grey, New York
Director: Tom Kuntz, MJZ
Actor John Cleese asks important questions about cable choices while enjoying the finer aspects of life.

Bodyform “Richard”
UK \ 1:45 \ Spot
Agency: Carat, Rubber Republic
A disgruntled fan gets an unexpected, tongue-in-cheek personalized video response that will forever have you rethinking feminine hygiene marketing.

K-Swiss “Blades”
USA \ 4:58 \ Spot
Agency: 72andSunny, Los Angeles
Director: Jody Hill, Caviar Content
Ever the bombastic pitchman, Kenny Powers delivers his magnum-bleeping-opus for the Blades shoe launch.

ESPN “Shake on It”
USA \ 1:00 \ Spot
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, New York
Director: Aaron Stoller, Biscuit
Sports fans will go to great lengths to defend the honour of their chosen team. Very great lengths.

BGH “Dads in Briefs”
Argentina \ 1:00 \ Spot
Agency: Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi, Buenos Aires
Directors: Nico & Martin, Primo
There are some things you just don’t want to see. This spot for Argentine air conditioner brand BGH is full of them.

Mamia Nappies “Ready When You’re Not”
Australia \ :45 \ Spot
Agency: BMF, Sydney
Director: Scott Pickett, Jungle Boys
Parents will know that sometimes a baby’s cute face portends something far more sinister. This spot from Aussie diaper brand implores you to be prepared.

Tropicana “Good Morning, Morning”
Canada \ 1:00 \ Spot
Agency: Juniper Park, Toronto
Director: Sean Meehan, Sons & Daughters
This lovely spot, awarded Best in Show at Canada’s Bessie Awards, gently rouses the sleepiest of heads to welcome a new day.

Prudential “Linda: Day One”
USA \ 3:00 \ Spot
Agency: Droga5
Director: Everynone, Epoch
For Linda, the first day of the rest of her life is a bittersweet one.

Expedia “Find Your Understanding”
USA \ 3:20 \ Spot
Agency: 180, LA
Director: Eliot Rausch, Uber Content
Expedia positions itself as far more than just a cheap-travel site in this brave and emotional film.

Benetton “Unhate”
The Netherlands \ 1:10 \ Spot
Agency: FABRICA, 72andSunny, Amsterdam
Director: Laurent Chanez, Identity
Benetton traverses the fine line between love and hate.

TEDxDubai “The Power of X”
The Netherlands \ 2:03 \ Spot
Agency: WE ARE PI
Director: Körner Union, Big Productions Paris
A gorgeous human kaleidoscope is used to make a visual play on TEDTalks’ TEDx logo.

Willow “Sweater”
Belgium \ 4:02 \ Music Video
Director: Filip Sterckx
A mini treadmill, some video projections and a heap of imagination make this video for Belgian indie rockers Willow something to behold.

Target “Color Changes Everything”
USA \ 1:00 \ Spot
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, New York
Director: Filip Engstrom, Smuggler
A splash of colour and a large dose of choreography make this vibrant spot a visual treat.

Beirut “The Rip Tide”
USA \ 4:33 \ Music Video
Director: Houmam Abdallah
For his directorial debut, Houmam Abdallah created an ethereal, colour-drenched journey for Beirut.

Fleet Foxes “The Shrine/An Argument”
USA \ 8:42 \ Music Video
Director: Sean Pecknold
For this mystical, eight-minute mini-epic, director Sean Pecknold beautifully crafts a story of a lonesome elk that journeys through a gruesome world before undergoing a radical transformation at the hand of a double-headed sea monster.

Grimes “Oblivion”
Canada \ 4:17 \ Music Video
Director: Emily Kai Bock, Logan&Sons
Simple and low-budget, this video from director Emily Kai Boch – which follows Grimes to a dirt-bike rally, a football game, and a sweaty frat party – is completely adorable and strangely enthralling.

The Shins “Simple Song”
USA \ 4:36 \ Music Video
Director: Daniels, Prettybird
A family reunited for a funeral doesn’t grieve, but rather battles it out to find their father’s will in this quirky—and destructive —video from directing duo Daniels.

Woodkid “Run Boy Run”
France \ 3:36 \ Music Video
Director: Yoann Lemoine, Iconoclast
Yoanne Lemoine created these amazing, moody and evocative visuals for his own musical efforts as Woodkid.

Flying Lotus “Until the Quiet Comes”
USA \ 3:50 \ Short Film
Director: Kahlil Joseph, What Matters Most
Drawing music from Flying Lotus’ album Until the Quiet Comes – specifically collaborations with Erykah Badu and Niki Randa – this striking short film explores urban life through interpretive dance.

M.I.A. “Bad Girls”
USA \ 4:12 \ Music Video
Director: Romain Gavras, Iconoclast
Rap provocateuse M.I.A. challenges conventions in this rousing video from controversial director Romain Gavras by transplanting hip-hop’s most notorious tropes to a Middle Eastern setting.

Spiritualized “Hey Jane”
USA \ 10:21 \ Music Video
Director: AG Rojas, Caviar Content
This gritty, brutal, yet deeply affecting piece for British space rockers Spiritualized, which follows the struggles of a transgendered woman, is more short film than music video.

Channel 4 “Meet the Superhumans”
UK \ 1:30 \ Spot
Agency: 4Creative
Director: Tom Tagholm, 4Creative
To tout Channel 4’s extensive coverage of the Paralympics, this spot featuring the 2012 athletes and the Public Enemy track “Harder Than You Think” is as badass and inspiring as the premise suggests.

Justice “New Lands”
UK \ 4:18 \ Music Video
Director: CANADA, Partizan
Sci-fi meets sports meets anime meets neon visual effects in this driving and electric video for dance masters Justice.

 

 

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