Lap 1 of Memory Lane

When Big Kahuna Imagineering turned 11 this year, we did a little jaunt down memory lane. Here’s our first lap:

TRULY OFF-THE-WALL BRAND PROMINENCE DEVICES

Custom-designed and fabricated mirrorball for Motorola’s Good Charlotte gig, 2007

Motorola Mirrorball for Good Charlotte Gig

Paddington Town Hall, 2007

The Big Kahuna team got the chance to flex our artistic muscles when Motorola gave us full creative license to come up with something that would wow guests at the Good Charlotte performance they sponsored in 2007. We answered their request with a one-of-a-kind, internally-lit, 1.2m disco ball decorated with Motorola phones and CDs.

Hung from the ceiling of Paddington Town Hall with care, that glowing mirrorball was the shining centrepiece to the event. The value in this project was not so much in its commercial viability but its WOW factor and the contribution it made to the overall atmosphere of the event.

VIDEO CLIP of Good Charlotte & our mirrorball

BKI’s Motorola Mirrorball hung from the ceiling of Paddington Town Hall

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Cascade Propellor

Prop for TVC

This behemoth of a propellor is “off-the-wall” because it didn’t scream, “CASCADE! CASCADE! CASCADE!” but still had everyone talking about, well, Cascade.

The Brief: To create a replica of an oversized propellor that would be used as the centrepiece of Cascade’s next TVC. The commercial spun the tale of Tasmanians planning to propel their chunk of Australia away from the mainland to save their delicious beer from greedy mainlanders. When we took on this project with only five days to finish, an industry compatriot of 25 years experience told us we were… well, let’s just say the word he used started with an “f” and ended with a “d”.

Ignoring the doubters and in true Big Kahuna fashion, we rose to the challenge and pulled off the project to an impeccable standard. The best part? Being able to stand in front of this propellor with its artistically-rendered exterior and let the visual deception convince you that it has survived five decades of hard service on the seas instead of five days in the Big Kahuna workshop.

VIDEO CLIP of Cascade TVC…

On the set of Cascade TVC

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STX Shipbuilding Company TVC

This project was high-risk because so much had to be left to the last minute. The South Korean shipbuilding company STX asked Big Kahuna to create a scale model of an ice sheet that would realistically crush and break apart as a replica of an icebreaker ship forced its way through it.

With no opportunity for a trial run, the one-day shoot was pressure enough. But, of course, it kicked up a few thousand notches when on the day the motor propelling the ship wasn’t powerful enough to trigger the separation of the faux-ice jigsaw we had created. We sourced and couriered motor after motor until we eventually found and installed the one that worked. When we finally got that perfect shot, the room full of 40 over-excited Koreans erupted in what we could only assume was a cacophony of delight.

Planning the jigsaw
Jigsaw mechanism designed by Big Kahuna (left) and the jigsaw on set of STX TVC
STX TVC set

Other past projects…

 

Pedal to the Metal

Client: Volkswagen

Agency: PLAY Communication

Project: Re-design and fabricate VW Pod

The newly-redesigned VW Pod made its debut at Belmore Park, Syd., just in time for the Chinese New Year Markets
Big Kahuna sketch for VW Pod

Volkswagen wanted the original concept of the VW Pod – a pedal-powered photo booth – re-designed for long-term, secure, outdoor use. With features like high-security lockout shutters, durable vinyl seating and sunlights, Big Kahuna gave our client exactly what they wanted.

The newly-redesigned VW Pod made its debut at the 2011 Chinese New Year Markets in Belmore Park, Syd., before heading to Darling Harbour the following weekend. The pod is meant to be circulating around the country throughout the next year. So, keep an eye out!

Queue for the VW Pod, Belmore Park, Syd.
VW's concept behind the Pod, Think Blue.
VW Pod drawing a crowd at Darling Harbour

Making an Entrance

Client: Vodafone

Agency: Moon Communications Group

Brief: Design, fabricate and install the grand entry gate to the National Vodafone Conference

The brief was to create an impressive entry gate to the Vodafone Conference. Big Kahuna solved the client’s original brief by offering a practical design that allowed for high-volume traffic to pass through the entrance easily. The conference was held on the 8th of February at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.

What Jeremy de Villiers, Head of Print Production at Moon, said:

“We went out to the convention centre yesterday and the install of the entry looks amazing. Our client was incredibly pleased with the result so thank you for your great work”.

Travel-Friendly Promotional Barrels

Client: Bundaberg

Agency: oOh! Media

Brief: Create realistic replicas of Bundaberg’s iconic barrels for a national promotional campaign

Big Kahuna created 7 lightweight, transportable barrels to go on the road with Bundaberg

The barrel is the iconic symbol of Bundaberg Brewed Drinks. So much so, they built their famous tourist centre in the shape of a traditional barrel in 2005.

So, naturally, when Bundaberg took their promotional campaign on the road last year, they wanted to take their distinctive barrels with them. But faced with lugging bulky, wooden kegs all over Australia and New Zealand, Bundaberg knew the real thing would be far too cumbersome so oOh Media! came to BKI for a functional alternative on Bundaberg’s behalf.

BKI rudimentary CAD drawing of Bundaberg barrrel design

The Bundaberg promotional barrels needed to be lightweight, transportable and as realistic as possible. First, Big Kahuna designed the barrel into three sections, nested within one of the parts for very compact transportation. Then to tick the ‘realistic’ and ‘lightweight’ boxes, BKI chose to reproduce the barrels in fibreglass from fibreglass moulds. The result was seven Bundaberg-branded barrels for oOh Media! that traveled around a healthy chunk of Australia and across ‘The Ditch’ equipping Bundaberg with high-fidelity, experiential marketing hardware that powerfully reinforces the brand.

Photo courtesy of oOh! Media and Bundaberg