This Ad has been approved for all Audiences. The Product Becomes the Wardrobe in New Webisodes for PNB Nation.

August 25, 2004 -- Forget the age-old question of art imitating life versus life imitating art – these days the question seems to have evolved into which corporate sponsors have contributed to, or infiltrated, the art. There are a myriad of examples of this, but none more blatant than product placement in film. Barely 60 seconds of screen time can elapse before the audience is bombarded with strategically placed logos. Toronto-based agency Urban DNA however, is turning the concept of product placement on its head . . . instead of the movie becoming the ad, the ad has become the movie or in this case, the short film.   
   
Teaming up with cutting-edge director Duane Crichton (who recently won 2 MMVAs) and Spy Films, Urban DNA has produced a series of episodic films for the internet entitled The 4 Deadly Artz. The webisodes, which can be viewed in installments beginning August 23 at www.4deadlyartz.com, serve as proof that the net can be utilized as a vehicle of smart, savvy marketing as well as a medium of artistic expression. Celebrating the four pillars of Hip Hop, (emceeing, breakdancing, graffiti, and deejaying), the content is delivered in a 70s ‘retro' Kung-Fu movie style. This reflects the culture of Urban DNA's client PNB Nation, a manufacturer of street-inspired apparel, and PNB's core consumer.
   
Marketing, though a creative and subjective discipline, consists of formulas as scientific as the table of elements. Clothing, particularly urban clothing, is traditionally marketed according to a rather predictable formula: enlist a celebrity, ensure heavy product placement, and buy print and outdoor media. Instead of merely gracing the pages of fashion and urban magazines, PNB Nation, through The 4 Deadly Artz, will be seen on TributeTV, in Tribute Magazine and even has its own movie poster. Supported by elements such as print ads, television & radio presence, P.O.S. materials, contests, and accompanied by a soon-to-be-released Universal Music soundtrack, the webisodes serve as part of a wholly integrated and highly targeted campaign that posits the vehicle instead of the product itself as the focus.
   
"Instead of anchoring the brand to a person, we anchored it to an entire culture, that's what PNB Nation is all about. As a brand re-entering the market, PNB Nation must be smarter and more resourceful. An original pioneer in their industry, they needed to apply that same spirit to their re-branding efforts. And with The 4 Deadly Artz, they have" explains Graham Wong, President of Urban DNA.
   
The truly groundbreaking element of the campaign is that it will be marketed like a movie and not a clothing line. The webisodes go beyond simple product placement, they are the reason for being, the storyline in and of itself. The clothing is relegated to the role of extras –or wardrobe at best. Instead of art as a mere disguise for an ad, the ad itself has become art.    

URBAN DNA, a full-service design, advertising and communications agency, specializes in the language, culture and currency of the streets. With a vision to craft strategic creative and marketing programs that resonate with, and are relevant to, Canada's urban consumer, Urban DNA is the bonafide communications partner for all that is 'urban'. www.urbandna.ca




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