Video

Fashion brands are drawn to video like a moth to a flame. As it should, given the inherently visual nature of clothes, makeup, and accessories. We’ve ID’d four general reasons labels go for video promos.

Fashion as Art

Ben Kingsley and Helena Bonham-Carter, both known as cinematic risk-takers, star in the latest Prada clip, directed by Roman Polanski called “A Therapy.” The only overt mention of the Prada name is the lingering shot of the inside of Bonham-Carter’s shoe. Otherwise, it’s a kooky, funny vignette that comes out of nowhere and ends in the same place. Also, Helena Bonham-Carter should say, “I love my daddy” just like she does here in every movie she makes. [via Adweek]

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Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

The Great Gatsby is coming to theaters, which means I’ll be returning to my yellowing, dog-eared copy of the book to once again take in the greatness of each glorious word. But if the book is missing one thing, it’s a soundtrack.

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BlackBerry has placed a “sponsored” post on Gawker featuring a firm called Small Girls PR, which got its awful name presumably because the founders are short. They list their heights on the homepage of the firm’s website; both are under 5′ 5″.

The second clip in the ad stars another young female entrepreneur (above) telling the story of how she’d be absolutely lost and couldn’t possibly be quite as bold if she didn’t have her BlackBerry Bold with her at all times.

Blech.

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Turning away from same-sex marriage for a minute, both Mitt Romney and President Obama have released videos that discuss jobs, or the lack of them. As the economy continues on the shaky path to recovery, the job market is still a hot-button issue.

Above, we have the latest from Romney, which spotlights three Iowans who have struggled to find work. “A Few of 23 Million” means to show that President Obama’s economic policies have failed, though it makes no mention of the opposition the President’s policies have faced during the course of his first term. Besides jobs, the Republican National Committee says it’ll be focused on the national debt this week.

President Obama’s clip highlights those who lost their steel working jobs in Missouri, after Romney’s Bain Capital took over.

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Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, is appearing in a Mother’s Day PSA on behalf of Second Chance on Shoot First Campaign, an organization that raises awareness about what it calls “unsafe, reckless gun laws.” The campaign has support from elected officials, public servants, and others including New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the NAACP.

Fulton’s sadness, and her message, really come through.

[via The Grio]

With the general election kicking into high gear, President Obama isn’t just telling jokes. He’s being serious about the accomplishments of his first term and showcasing them in this new video, which features the campaign’s new slogan “Forward.” Thoughts?

Presidential contender Mitt Romney is also debuted a new video. While the President makes no mention of his opponent, Romney’s video focuses squarely on President Obama’s perceived shortcomings from the past four years. The clip also promotes the website ObamaIsntWorking.com, which continues the list and counts down the days until the looooong election season will finally be over. We’ve got that video after the jump.

And Rihanna has a new video. Also after the jump, because it’s Monday and you need to dance. Read more

This tear-jerker is part of Proctor & Gamble’s “Thank you, Mom by P&G” push for the 2012 London Olympics. Launching 100 days before the Games, the clip, called “Best Job,” is available on a Facebook page dedicated entirely to the campaign. In addition to the video, there’s a scrolling page containing “Thank you, Mom” messages from visitors, an app, and a website dedicated to the campaign. The company is also raising $5 million for youth sports groups around the world and is donating more than $50,000 to KidSport Canada.

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If you ever got a terrific piece of career advice, here is your opportunity to share it.

New York Women in Communications has launched an interactive video series called “Connect with the Women Who Connect the World,” featuring journalists Katie Couric and Arianna Huffington, Internet executive Susan Lyne, marketing expert Mary Lou Quinlan, and CRT/Tanaka‘s chief creative officer Patrice Tanaka (pictured, who talks about her late-in-life adoption of ballroom dancing). Each has won a Matrix Award from Women in Communications.

Women interested in participating in the program are asked to record and submit a 25-second video sharing the best advice they have ever received.

A montage of the produced series will launch at The Matrix Awards on April 23, held during a luncheon at The Waldorf Hotel, where the 2012 Matrix Award honorees will be saluted. The organization plans to continue the series throughout the year to inspire the next generations of communications pros.

Pantene is reintroducing bygone products from its hair care line with the “Back by Popular Demand” campaign. And what better way to do that than to revisit that most iconic of hair eras, the 1980s.
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“Kony 2012″ was huge before we fully knew what it was. A campaign to raise awareness about a man wanted by the International Criminal Court who’s been on the loose for more than 20 years actually succeeded in doing that while also bringing both praise and criticism upon the organizing group. In less than five days.

Let’s start with the basics: a San Diego-based organization called Invisible Children released a documentary for the “Kony 2012″ campaign on Monday in an effort to bring widespread infamy upon Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army. The LRA rampaged across Uganda, kidnapping children and forcing them to commit atrocities. As a result, Kony is wanted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Jason Russell, co-founder of Invisible Children, visited Uganda a decade ago, met a young boy, Jacob, who had been both a kidnapped member of the LRA and a victim of its horrendous cruelty; he watched as a member of the group murdered his brother.

Fast-forward and Russell has made a 30-minute video that has gone viral in a matter of days, leading to appearances on the Today show, awareness from government leaders and celebrities including Ryan Seacrest, lengthy coverage in The New York Times and other top-tier media outlets, and skyrocketing sales of the $30 “action kits” created for the campaign.

Though we know this well enough already, the first thing that we all marvel at is how fast social media makes things move.

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