Robots & Blazing Post Produce Telly Award-Winning Campaigns
For Howard, Merrell & Partners

RALEIGH, N.C. (August 10, 2009) – Serious Robots and Blazing Music+Sound teamed up to provide post production, music and sound design for Howard, Merrell & Partners’ award-winning spots produced for Georgia-Pacific Professional. HMP won three Silver Telly Awards in the 30th Annual Telly Awards competition.

Two entries – “Mo Office” and “Mo Kitchen” – created for enMotion® touchless towel dispensers, won in the Online Video/Humor category. The third entry, “New Baby,” is part of a Georgia-Pacific Professional brand campaign and won in the Online Video/Corporate Image category.

“The enMotion campaign is very different from the GP brand campaign,” said Billy Barnes, creative director at Howard, Merrell & Partners. “The thing they have in common though, besides each winning a Telly, is both try to bring interest to a low-interest category. We’ve always found that the best way to do that is to get out of the ordinary, make it memorable, find a way to connect.”

The “Mo Office” and “Mo Kitchen” videos are part of the Mo/enMotion campaign, which promotes the touchless towel dispensers. The main character in both spots is Mo, a handsome and helpful guy around the workplace who just happens to have a towel dispenser for a head. As such, Mo embodies characteristics of the enMotion dispenser – he is efficient, cool, reliable, a team player and most of all, hygienic. “Mo Office” and “Mo Kitchen” were shot by director Michael Metcalf, with editing by Ian Krabacher of Serious Robots and sound design by Aaron Keane of Blazing Music+Sound.  
 
The “New Baby” video, which tells the story of a little boy and his dad getting ready to go meet the boy’s newborn sister in the hospital, is part of the Somewhere/Somebody branding campaign for Georgia-Pacific Professional. “New Baby” was shot by director Mark Claywell, with editing done by Scott Roy of Serious Robots and music and sound by Keane of Blazing Music+Sound.

“We were really pleased with how all these spots came together,” added Barnes. “Each required extensive sound design, especially the Mo spots, which we shot without sync sound because we had confidence that Blazing could pull it off.  And they did.

“The fact that Serious Robots and Blazing Music+Sound are in the same building made the whole thing seamless,” Barnes continued. “The edit suites are just down the hall from the audio suites and recording booth. This proximity really benefited the spots because we were able to quickly try out different sound design options against the edit and vice versa. It’s not that common you find all that talent in one place. Makes life for the agency creatives and producer much nicer. In the end we were able to get the best of everything without having to drive cross town or fly cross country to get it.”

The Telly Awards honors outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs; the finest video and film productions; and online film and video. Annually showcasing work from the most respected advertising agencies, production companies and television stations, the Telly Awards receives over 13,000 entries annually from all 50 states and 30 countries around the world.

Serious Robots, one of the Southeast’s top post production companies, provides editorial, design and finishing to companies in the commercial and broadcast industries. Blazing Music+Sound provides all aspects of music and sound production, including original music composition, voiceover recording, and sound design. Both are divisions of Trailblazer Studios www.trailblazerstudios.com.

Raleigh, N.C.-based Howard, Merrell & Partners Inc., specializes in linking business and communications strategies to yield higher levels of financial performance for its clients. Founded by Jack Howard in 1945 and later reorganized as Howard, Merrell & Partners under Mac Merrell’s leadership, the agency is a pioneer in understanding and applying the power of emotions to develop more effective business and communications strategies. Agency service offerings include brand development, creative development and production, consumer insight research, public relations, media asset services, event planning and management, interactive services and strategic account management.