Flipboard “My Magazine” Campaign Kicks Off With Inspiring Stories From Extraordinary People

Astronaut Leland Melvin, Grammy Nominee Carolyn Malachi AndConservationist Steven Hawk Featured in Brand Films
November 11th, 2014  •  Palo Alto, CA

Today, Flipboard kicks off its “My Magazine” campaign with three 30-second spots in the Science, Music, Flipboard Picks and Big Ideas sections on Flipboard. Featuring prominent personalities, including former NFL player and NASA astronaut Leland Melvin, Sierra Club Magazine Editor and conservationist Steven Hawk and Grammy Award Nominee singer Carolyn Malachi, the trilogy shows how each person uses Flipboard as a way to learn, stay connected and share their perspective with the world.

“Showing how stories shape our lives, these films reflect Flipboard’s mission and bring the brand to life,” said Marci McCue, head of marketing at Flipboard. “The tone and style are distinctly Flipboard; even though you never see the product, you understand what we value.”

Launched in conjunction with Flipboard’s latest product release, these mini documentaries represent a significant step in defining Flipboard’s brand. Each video starts with imagery and a voice-over that tell the viewer about each magazine maker and his or her journey. The images shine through each person’s silhouetted torso, making content the centerpiece that informs and inspires people every day. The videos all end revealing the person’s face, framed in Flipboard’s new magazine design, presenting a way to learn more about the three curators and their missions by following their magazines on Flipboard.

About The Filming

Filmed over the course of two days in Los Angeles, Carolyn, Leland and Steve sat in the dark as their chair slowly rotated for a silhouetted scene that allowed the film crew to create a slow reveal of each character’s face. Using a black and white digital camera and a specialized motion control system timed out to the length of the final videos, the silhouette of their torsos became the canvas for the computer graphics team to communicate each person’s journey and dream.

To produce these films, Flipboard’s head of brand design, Byron Parr, partnered with Mike Jacobs at Strike Anywhere, a production company with a team of directors based in San Francisco, Calif. Together they built the series with storyboards, interviews, imagery and original music scores, and launched Flipboard’s first brand films to tell the company’s story.

Videos And Magazines

The series as well as behind-the-scenes videos are available for viewing onFlipboard’s YouTube channel. Leland Melvin’s four magazines, Carolyn Malachi’s two magazines and Steve Hawk’s two magazines are on Flipboard as well as on the Web.