As all of us in the ad world try to envision the ad agency of the future, the Peanuts crew offers this commentary on the biz as it is and was... Happy #$*^in Holidays, Charlie Brown!

At first glance, this new spot from adidas via TBWA/London may seem like an amusing gag: a man named Aki provides a unique service to the people of Tokyo (called "Break-Up Service"), breaking up with their romantic partners so they don't have to. The spot is great, but the real kick is that there IS a site called BreakUpService that's been around for several years. Originally a service that did just what Aki does - navigate the treacherous waters of ending relationships - the site now serves as a blog and community for those dealing with romantic disentanglements.

Given the power and reach of the Web, this seems like a much more effective - and cost-efficient (it's free!) - model. Maybe Aki would be interested in writing an article for the BreakUpService blog? 

Agency: TBWA\London
Agency Producer: Tamara Kennon
Creatives: Mat Fox/Mark Nicholson
Production Company: Blink, London
Producer: Jeremy Smith
Director: Kosai Sekine
Production Company (Japan): Taiyokikau
Executive producer: Andrew Thomas
Producer: Satoshi Takahashi
Offline Editor: Norihiko Maeda
Post Production House: The Mill, London
Telecine operator: Paul Harrison @ The Mill

Raging Artists is thrilled to debut a new column, "It's All Greek to MEgalis," in which ad biz multi-hyphenate Tom Megalis shares his thoughts on dung, diapers, and...oh, just read it for yourself: 

"Jack of all trades" once meant the kiss of death to any filmmaker. If someone referred to you that way, they were really saying, "dude you are a total hack piece of steaming dung who needs to turn in his camera and go work at a plunger factory."

And they were probably right.

Fact is, we all dip into the big shiny metal hack-bucket from time to time to pay those horrid little things we call "bills". What's that saying "one for the reel, one for the meal?" I hate that sayin, but I get it. A must battle cry to stay the hell alive in these times of post Bushy Boy and pre Wamma Bama.

Plus, if you wait for the "for the reel" caviar, good luck bro. You'll be downsizing pants - and downsizing your home to a refrigerator box by the fish market before you can say, "Ramen Noodles"

In the old days (the 1990's), most respected filmmakers specialized in one area. You were a director, a shooter, an editor, a producer, or an actor. And sometimes it was okay to double up. You could be a director/shooter, an actor/producer or even an editor/dancer. Although that last pair is tough to do at the same time. You can "pull" lots more than shots.

Times are changing more than a colicy baby's diaper.

For one, America has lowered its standards. Remember a term called, "Broadcast Quality?" Hahaha! I laugh at you Ye old video term! YouTube was the final nail in that coffin.

Technology has finally gotten good and cheap enough that control freaks like me can do most things with a MacBook Pro, an iPhone and a Starbucks grande soy latte.

And it helps that our global economy has slipped lower than a rapper's pants. What insanity do you spew at us Mister Greek man?!

It's true.

Our sliding economy has led clients to rethink their big agency bills and look for alternative ways to do business. And guys like me who have spent years playing in multiple sand boxes, sit on the sidelines going, "Come to papa, here's a pretzel and a fuzzy hat." Hey, Jack of All Trade guys don't have coffee bars and in-house chefs. It's lean and mean, baby!

Here are a couple examples of what I'm yackin' about. Recently, a regional pizza chain based in Ohio called Pizza Pan contacted Megalis Studio to help them advertise in the Ohio market. Pizza
Pan is super cost-conscious and has had lukewarm brand awareness in a super congested pizza market.

Megalis Studio's Los Angeles based producer Jenn Bastian and I created several memorable food characters that have huge attitude. We then produced a stop motion puppet campaign that went on to break through the TV clutter and help drive traffic to the 80 locations. It was all accomplished on a tight schedule and an even tighter budget.

Another cool example is the the work we just did for revol wireless. Sales for this regional wireless provider were flat. They had little brand awareness in the Ohio/Indiana market. The account is being handled by Brokaw Advertising in Cleveland, a terrific bunch people I call friends. They hired me to help craft a simple, low budget campaign that would increase brand awareness
and draw in a younger demographic.

The client and Brokaw had seen my personal vlogging work on YouTube and wanted a similar "in your face" approach for the revol spots. I assembled a small crew and produced the entire campaign in a single day on HD video. I edited the spots on my laptop while at the Starbucks. And since the spots have hit the air, sales are through the roof.

So, yeah, finally it's kind of okay and sort of cool to be a Jack Of All Trades kind of dude. Providing you still think smart, produce more efficiently, and bathe regularly.

Tom Megalis, a director, artist, animator and performer, is the founder of Megalis Studio and sister creative company, Crab Media Group. He has offices in Cleveland and Los Angeles.

In this spec from SpotLab grad Michael Moretti, a dad reads his boy a bedtime story about a father, a son, and their off-road adventures in a new Jeep, proving you're never too old for fairy tales.  

Copywriter: Ty Hutchinson (Goodby, Silverstein & Partners)
Art Director: John O'Hea (Goodby, Silverstein & Partners)
Director: Michael Moretti
DP: Stephen Kennestonr
Editorial: Red Car
Editor: Sophie Kornberg

Talent: Dereck Grauer (Dad) and Griffin Prechter (Son)

Director Michael Moretti, who recently completed the SpotLab program, helmed this spot in which a man washes his hybrid truck...and cleans up the sky while he's at it. The ad touts a new hybrid Silverado truck from Chevy (the first full size hybrid of its kind) due to hit the market in December. "The truck we used in the spot was made into a Hybrid using decals and badging to make it look authentic," says Moretti.

VFX: Riot, LA
Lead Compositor: Satoshi Ozeki
Compositor: Pierre LeQuerre
Desktop Compositors: Cecile Tecson, David Hernandez
EP: Robert Owens
VFX Coordinator: Mike Wigart

Directors Subir Chatterjee and Namita Roy Gosh use the purity of nature as inpriation for this visually arresting spec commercial. Harmony, balance and rejuvination are illustrated with a kaleidoscope of floral imagery and human motion within a drop of mountain spring water.

Client: Bliseri
Title: "Water of Life"

Director(s): Subir Chatterjee and Namita Roy Gosh
Production Company: WhiteLight Films
VFX/ Creative Director: Jayant Hadke
Post Production House: Prime Focus

In this spec, a childhood couple learns - serendipitously - that some things in life are just meant to go together, like the two of them and the taste of vanilla and Coca-Cola.

VANILLA COKE "Belong Together"

Every step, big or small, is a step in the right direction, and we casually put the question out to some people to see what steps they were taking toward a cleaner, greener world.

Many are learning to go with the flow. We were pleased to learn that many companies, including Union Editorial, GARTNER, tight, Outsider USA, and über content, have done away with plastic water bottles in the office and even on set. The land-filling staple has been replaced with filtered water and reusable glasses or personal water bottles. Union also has replaced the company water cooler with a filtration green cooler that supplies both hot and cold tripled filtered water, and added recycling containers to every room.

You can eat your meat and potatoes...with potatoes. Union Editorial also has replaced convenient plastic utensils with stainless steel or potato utensils. That's right - there is a biodegradable plastic fork replacement made out of potato or corn starch that can be reused for up to five years, and is biodegradable when its life is over - who knew?

It's time to run production by the book...without the book. GO Film has officially done away with the hard copy pre-pro book. The commercial production formality has been replaced with reusable flash drives containing all of the necessary job info - there must be some happy PA's around that office, too; putting those books together has never been a highly coveted assignment!

There are ways to light up a set, and not burn fuel. über content has brought their greening efforts to the set, where - in addition to boycotting bottled water - the company spends a little extra to use generators that run on bio-diesel and corn-based power. Speaking of less-wasteful light, Union has placed all of its lights on motion sensors, so when a room or bay is empty - it's dark.

If Ed Begley can do it, so can you! In an effort to cut down on pollution, Bryan Farhy of restless has been biking to and from work for years, giving one of Hollywood's most prominent envrionmentalists a run - or ride - for his money. Director Jordan Brady of über drives a 100% electric car to the office (über has installed a paddle to charge Brady's ride as needed) and home again (Brady's home is solar-powered...FYI). 

It's a start! With its establishment in 2006, Raging Artists set a standard for ad biz PR as a paper-free firm, distributing all of its releases and pitches online. We've employed electronic press kits to replace the traditional paper books, and archive client press online rather than in a binder. Not only do the East and West Coast offices of Raging Artists recycle all paper and plastic waste, but Managing Director (and burgeoning artist) Kristy Thomley also creates art using out-of-date magazine pages, and draws on 100% recycled drawing paper.