Quick Sprint

Posted by bkisbigblog on

In our Memory Lane Marathon, here’s a quick sprint…

RIPE FOR THE NICKING

If we’ve created something that is so cool some Joe off the street wants it bad enough to risk potential gaol time, we know we’ve done our job.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Optus “We Hear You” Campaign

Fake microphones & character accoutrements stolen

BKI custom built the character for the Optus “We Hear You” campaign

___________________________________________________________________________________________

NRL Star Willie Mason’s Leg Mould

Big Kahuna Imagineering created a casting of Mason’s leg as well as imprints of his hands that fans at the 2008 NRL Fan Day could use to see how their own anatomy measures up against this rugby superstar. The NRL loved our work so much that they let some eager fan run home with it.

Read more about moulding Mason’s leg here…

Willie Mason in the BKI workshop getting a mould of his leg done
Finished mould of Willie Mason’s leg for the 2008 NRL Fan Day
Moulds of Willie Mason’s leg and hands for the 2008 NRL Fan Day

________________________________________________________________________________________

ksubi’s “Sign of the Times” Sculpture

Big Kahuna created this 8-foot tall hand sculpture complete with severed fingers and gushing blood for premium jean label ksubi a few years ago. A replica of the fountain BKI created was installed at the label’s flagship store in Melbourne but somehow some cheeky thief broke in and stole the large sculpture in the middle of the night. Not an easy task!

Find out more…

A replica of the ksubi’s “Sign of the Times” sculpture Big Kahuna created was stolen in 2007

Other Big Kahuna Projects…

 

Lap 1 of Memory Lane

Posted by bkisbigblog on

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

_________________________________________________

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

_________________________________________________

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…

 

Big Kahuna’s Jewel in the Sky

Posted by bkisbigblog on

Client: The Touched By Olivia Foundation

Brief: Create a one-of-a-kind sculpture for TBO’s world-famous playground Livvi’s Place

The Jewel in the Sky sculpture BKI designed and built for the Livvi’s Place in Five Dock’s Timbrell Park, NSW
BKI rudimentary CAD drawing

Children’s Charity The Touched By Olivia (TBO) Foundation is the force behind Livvi’s Place – the internationally-heralded, all-ability playground popping up in parks all over the country. With help from leading playground experts, disability specialists, architects and early childhood academics, Livvi’s Place was uniquely designed so that all children, regardless of their ability, can play side-by-side.

The TBO Foundation approached BKI during the construction of the first Livvi’s Place in Five Dock’s Timbrell Park, NSW. The brief was to create a one-of-a-kind sculpture to sit at the entry of the playground. Inspired by the extraordinary play space and the foundation’s butterfly logo, BKI created the Jewel in the Sky sculpture.

From many angles the sculpture appears disjointed and abstract, but when you come to one focal point in front of the five-planar assembly it transforms – the seemingly irrelevant pieces suddenly come together to form a beautiful butterfly that is flying amongst the green hills above a river bridged by a yellow brick road with colourful, dangling fruits cast from tinted, transparent resin.

Only revealing its form from a certain angle, the Jewel in the Sky appears to be a jumbled mess until you stand in front of it ready to enter the plaground

Big or small the sculpture greets everyone who enters with a cheery burst of vibrant colour from its perch atop the entry gate of this magnificent playground.

This September, Livvi’s Place in Timbrell Park was named the best play space in the country by Parks and Leisure Australia. The original playground has just celebrated its first birthday last November and there are 29 more Livvi’s Places planned for parks around the country.

The original sculpture has been so well received that Big Kahuna has just sent off a second Jewel in the Sky for a Livvi’s Place located at Victoria Park in Dubbo, NSW. These projects were great opportunities to showcase Big Kahuna’s more artistic side and we can’t wait to do more!

Pictures of the Jewel in the Sky at Five Dock and Dubbo…

Helping Sensodyne Help More Australians Enjoy Ice-Cold Indulgences

Posted by bkisbigblog on

Client: Sensodyne (GlaxoSmithKline)

Agency: C4

Brief: Re-interpret the award-winning Sensodyne Chill Test campaign for smaller scale promotions

Sample of the in-store Sensodyne Chiller Units BKI custom designed & built

Having sensitive teeth is an issue BKI takes seriously. There are a lot of fantastic things that sensitive teeth can’t handle like ice cream, slurpees and cold beer. With that, Sensodyne is doing a great thing for mankind by providing a solution with their toothpaste that relieves the pain of sensitivity. In 2008, C4 approached us to help Bellamyhayden’s client Sensodyne get an edge above their competition and help Australians measure their sensitivity with a Sensodyne Trade Chiller Unit massive experiential marketing campaign in shopping centres around the country.

More information on the awards the Chill Test won…

The Sensodyne Chill Test engaged with customers at 20 Westfield shopping centres over the span of 20 weeks for total of 225,000 interactions.

The effort was such a huge triumph that Bellamyhayden (now merged with Naked) won the Grand Prix at the 2009 Media Federation Awards as well as the top award in the Food and Grocery category. Sensodyne was keen to capitalise on this success so C4 came back to BKI to create a smaller scale version of Sensodyne’s Chill Test that they could roll out in Priceline stores around Sydney.

BKI drew inspiration from the original Sensodyne campaign (a large igloo set staffed by four “toothfairies”) to imagine and create stand-alone, call-to-action units in a below-the-line strategy to encourage people to shop for Sensodyne toothpaste rather than their competitors at the store level.

Original Sensodyne Chill Test Campaign (left) and re-invented Chiller Unit