Imaginations collide at University of Melbourne in its latest brand campaign via McCann Melbourne
When great minds collide, giant leaps are made. That is the premise of the University of Melbourne’s new brand campaign via McCann Melbourne.
Led by a 60-second brand ad, the campaign is designed to inspire the best and brightest minds with a metaphor for when creative ideas meet collaboration and robust research. The spot was filmed on campus and using the University’s own students, teachers, academics and executives, including from the Victorian College of the Arts.
The campaign aims to raise community awareness of the University’s significant research achievements and share the stories of how people are benefiting from these research projects every day, in Australia and around the globe.
The campaign will include social and digital media, cinema, television, print advertising, outdoor and a content partnership with The Guardian. McCann also managed the media strategy for the campaign as part of the agency’s integrated creative and media offering.
Says Pat Baron, executive creative director of McCann Melbourne: “This campaign acknowledges that contributions that impact us all aren’t for the most part created by individuals working alone in dark spaces, but through the bright minds and their imaginations colliding and collaborating. A little bit like advertising agencies.”
Says Lara McKay, executive director, marketing and communications at the University of Melbourne: “The ‘Collision’ campaign is absolutely a celebration of the people at the University of Melbourne. Having almost 100 students, academics, professional staff and members of our alumni community feature in the film demonstrates this idea of collision at work.
“We believe the campaign really is something very different for the category and hope it will connect with people and drive them to learn more about the work of the University of Melbourne.”
This is the first major work for the University by McCann since winning the business in a competitive pitch at the beginning of 2015.
Click here to visit the campaign hub.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE
Executive Director, Marketing & Communications: Lara McKay
McCANN MELBOURNE
Executive Creative Director: Patrick Baron
Creative Director: Andy Jones
Creative Director: Alex Wadelton
Art Director: Corey Thorn
Copywriter: Chesney Payet
Head of Broadcast: Victoria Conners
Production Assistant: Afrim Memed
Editor: Patrick Jennings
Managing Director: Adrian Mills
Head of Strategy & Media: David Phillips
Senior Channel Strategist: Ross Dougall
Executive Director: Serrin Dewar
Account Director: Jessica Jolley
Account Director: Sally Bradley
Print Producer: Anthea Waters
Retoucher: Ross Goddard
Senior Finished Artist: Daniel Hickey
Digital Director: Tony Prysten
Senior Digital Producer: Joe Guario
Digital Producer: Rebecca Earwaker
Social Lead: Chris Baker
EXIT FILMS
Director: Mike Daly
Producer: Martin Box
Managing Director/EP: Kim Wildenburg
DOP: Geoffrey Simpson
POST PRODUCTION – THE EDITORS
Editor: Ryan Boucher
Producer: Nicoletta Rousianos
VISUAL FX – FIN DESIGN
Colourist: Ben Eagleton
Producer: Amelia Babos
Lead Flame Artist – Justin Bromley
SOUND DESIGN – KLANG
Sound Designer / Composer: Brendan Woithe
Producer: Paul Healy
ADDITIONAL SOUND MIX – SOUNDLOUNGE
Richard Buxton
Sam Hopgood
STILL PHOTOGRAPHY/PRINT – SARAH EWING AGENCY
Photographer: Chris Von Menge
Producer: James Mauger
Retoucher: Jamie Phillips
29 Comments
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=he%27s+got+the+whole+world+in+his+hands+adidas
Nice to see something different for University advertising. I like it.
NICE BUT https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=he%27s+got+the+whole+world+in+his+hands+adidas
Nice. I don’t completely love it, but pretty revolutionary for the category.
Would happily take this over cheesy montages of successful alumni any day.
Great work Exit and McCann. So good to see something we haven’t seen before.
Exciting and refreshing to see something so different for this usually boring category. And to everyone referring to the adidas ad, you obviously missed the idea behind this.
I find this strange and antithetical… I just don’t see the minds colliding idea in this, more bodies coming together. And they don’t really collide in thought, but more mould into one big hive? I feel the execution is confused – it’s using a visual stunt (which has been seen in Adidas and even Playstation) to retrofit an idea, rather than leading from the idea, and going where that takes you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCqWQZ8RDYI
Nice. Different idea and some real craft across all the elements.
Good to see someone challenge the segment norm.
Everyone in this ad looks like they smell of op shops
So credits for everyone, except for the people who made the campaign hub???
Shame on you Mcann.
Pretty weak effort here. Tenuous link to minds colliding. Hilarious to see the now infamous long list of McCann credits.
This idea just doesn’t work for me. It’s just not shallow enough and requires you to think to make sense of what’s going on. Also the idea has been done before by T-Mobile and in my humble opinion was far better executed back then 6 years ago. And they got 40 million views https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM if this ad had more synchronised dancing i think it would have worked. ok bye.
Nice one. Clearly there’s a ton of full fee paying students at the uni to bankroll this one.
Haters gonna hate! Nice one Corey & Chesney. We are overdue a few.
Will painter Jeremy Geddes get a credit for the stills/print element?
http://jeremygeddesart.com/popups/palemeory.html
I like this. A lot. And anyone who has worked in this category before will know getting this up can’t have been easy. Just look at every other university’s advertising.
@max
Nice BUT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_F9oW2oCdM&app=desktop
@ Inspirations Collide – Jeremy Geddes is an ex-amulni of the University of Melbourne, and his approval was obtained.
Nice to see something different… but i’ll have to agree that the execution, and link to minds colliding falls a bit flat.
The strategy and execution had something, anything, to do with each other.
Captures my university life. Group orgies, huddled bodies, can of stale VB with cigarette butts in it. Interesting strategy!
…is this being trolled?
Some fuck head misses out on a credit? Fuck you.
Some small minded dimwit can’t see the connection between the strategy and the creative… you’re probably beneath the target market chap!
I am continually amazed at the ad industry’s ability to be it’s own worst enemy.
Here is a campaign that successfully pushes the envelope strategically and executionally. For a category leader no less.
And out come the haters. What would you prefer? Stock footage of students fist pumping the air in London basking in their career success?
Campaigns like this are good for our industry as they open the door for the rest of us to create more interesting and challenging ideas.
I like to remind myself that, given the choice, most people would rather not have our advertising shoved in their face every day (ad blockers are testament to this) so if we do what we do, wouldn’t we strive to make it better?
By the way, those of you that ‘don’t get it’.. Holmesglen Institute is currently taking admissions to their leadlighting course. Get on it.
Strategy, creative or production – which ever way you look at this it’s boring, ugly and weird.
If you believe the work is truly great, don’t get on the defensive. Let the haters hate, and don’t listen. Let the work speak for itself.
My daughter and I thought this ad was terrific in evoking the mindset of an elite, high-fee university with a neoliberal administration. A bunch of hapless students end up as a squirming ball of undifferentiated humanity, a bit like a ball of spitting caterpillars, while a few of them get to stand on top and wave their arms around. What an excellent symbol of the society these students are about to enter. Bravo to the team, but I’m not sure you sent the message you wanted to send.
It’s OK, but doesn’t distinguish itself that well against any other uni. Pretty hard to demonstrate a USP with an educational institution. Also, it is a bit crusty looking. Nice direction and well shot, but the darkness and bodies only makes it all seem a bit gross and dirty. Lots of flu, colds and stirs. Also, it doesn’t work so well achieving cut through in outdoor print. Slots into the environment too neatly, rather than making you take note, all just gets lost. Good effort though.
The similarity to the work of Jeremy Geddes is too close for comfort, even if consent was obtained. Its very interesting that a creative credit is not more prominent, regardless of whether it is necessary or requested, it suggests some insecurity of creative integrity. It’s the same concept, same composition, same lighting, same angle, but sadly trivialized within an inappropriate and puzzling context.
I’m sorry my comments are all negative. Would loved to have said something positive but I’m lost on this one. Firstly, “collide” is negative. Collaborate is better. If you look for the first time the creative for outdoor looks a mess. A group of people exploding out of a building … really? Not a nice message in this day and age of terrorism. As in a lot of outdoor these days the creative has not been “sized up” to suit a quick glance (don’t have long to understand the message when you’re driving). But then what is the message anyway? The video just looks like a group uni orgy. An expensive one at that I’m sure.