It was a full house for D/C digitalmeister Robbie Whiting’s solo panel at South-by-Southwest Interactive, “We made this, and it’s not an ad.” An actively engaged live audience was echoed in the blogosphere, where more than one attendee called it the “best panel” of “the year,” “the last four years,” “ever.” The premise of the Director of Creative Technology’s talk was that many of those organizations-formerly-known-as-ad-agencies are now venturing far afield from recognizable “advertising,” even crossing into product development. But it turns out that many of these non-ad projects not only serve quite effectively as marketing in a social media age, but also as a mighty spur to the agency’s creativity, cohesion and contemporary chops. Tip Records, D/C’s music label and home to the legendary Gary Wilson, was just one example. If you’re interested, slides are posted below, audience commentary here.

Great tickets don’t grow on trees. Or do they? Enter The Ticket Oak, the 30-foot centerpiece and star of the latest integrated campaign from StubHub. You want sweet seats to sold-out shows or a Price Alert deal for Saturday’s game? The gregarious Ticket Oak provides. And if you don’t happen to have a Ticket Oak? Then StubHub’s the next best thing (like you couldn’t see that coming).

Brought to life entirely practically — no CGI here — by the puppeteers at Anatomorphex and shot lovingly by acclaimed director, Mike Maguire, the Ticket Oak makes his television debut during this year’s March Madness. But expect to see him very soon in print, digital, mobile and social media everywhere. Watch this space for more details.

Watch the other spot after the jump.

Finally, Communication Arts, the bible of the design, advertising and interactive design world, has ripped the veil from Duncan/Channon. In a 10-page investigation within CA’s Interactive Annual, reporter Sam McMillan reveals the shady background and shocking practices of the agency that was “born to rock” — from its “temple of guanxi” bar, wherein take place lurid lectures on “teledildonics” and concerts known as “Roofies,” to its music label Tip Records, home to the inexplicable Gary Wilson, to its “real account people, media people and planning infrastructure.” Shudder.

All apologies to those innocent Duncan/Channon clients who may have been inadvertently besmirched by the probe: (click to see the featured work of each) StubHub, Hard Rock, Blurb, Tahoe South, Birkenstock, VICE Russia, Jackson Family Wines, Rex Goliath Wines, Sanita and D/C’s venerable, never-harm-a-soul pro bono clients WhyHunger and the Western Railway Museum.

Flip through the article below or download a PDF here.

Everyone in the music biz knows that when you want the best in sound reinforcement, starting with the industry’s most innovative speaker systems, Meyer Sound is your move. For more than 30 years, Berkeley-based Meyer Sound has set the standard for sound in recording studios, big arenas, small halls, churches, theaters and cinema, around the world, creating breakthrough systems for Francis Ford Coppola, the Grateful Dead and Metallica, among many others. Everyone in the music biz also knows that there’s only one agency with its own record label (i.e., Tip Records) and a history in music going back to the dawn of time.

So when Meyer Sound went looking for help in reinforcing its own business and making further inroads into new markets, turns out there was a match made in heaven just across the bay. Now proud agency of record, D/C will be working on digital and print creative, collateral and media planning and buying for Meyer Sound. And that sounds perfect.

Is there any advertising more rote and shopworn than winter ski advertising? There’s the requisite photo of some dude who skies better than you ever will leaping from a cornice that’s probably not even in bounds to a slope with more fresh powder than you’ll ever see. Attach bad-ass headline. Ship.

In its new winter out-of-home campaign, Tahoe South says enough already and foregoes photography altogether in favor of a psychedelic illustration from Finland’s acclaimed Kustaa Saksi. Said illustration makes abundantly clear that when it comes to choosing sides at Lake Tahoe, the south side, with its 24-hour gambling and cocktail-fueled nightlife, is definitely the wild side.

In case you missed it: D/C makes a splash with Tahoe rebrand.

There are actually two Lake Tahoes, north and south. With a half-dozen isolated resorts and few winter activities beyond skiing, it has been easy for consumers to grok an image of the north as the lake’s quiet side. On the other hand, with tons to do at every hour and for every budget, including great skiing at every skill level and conveniently located bars, restaurants, shopping and 24/7 gaming, it has been tough for consumers to envision a singular image of the south — or for marketers to project one cohesive brand.

No longer. The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, which is tasked with promoting the south side, hired D/C for a complete rebrand. Eight months later, client and agency unveiled the new brand and an entirely new name for the destination — Tahoe South. The strategy embraces the truth of the destination, that it’s the place for the up-all-day-and-night visitor, and the brand identity celebrates this spirit. The website is curated by local experts and serves as a digital concierge to the region, connecting visitors and would-be visitors to the best web content about Tahoe South, as well as relevant real-time feeds from YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and Twitter.

More images after the jump.

Brand strategy, design and art direction – Duncan/Channon
Custom logotype by Underware

Site strategy and UX design – Duncan/Channon
Technical development and content partner – Noble Studios

In case you missed it: Tahoe South goes wild.

After selling a majestic 2.4 million copies (and counting) on the Wii, Sonic and Mario at the London 2012 Olympic Games is set to drop on the Nintendo 3DS. And D/C is dropping a new TV spot to commemorate the auspicious return of gaming royalty. Running throughout North America, Brazil and online in the EU, the spots, filled with inside jokes and sight gags, are sure to bring home more gold for two of the industry’s all-time winners.

Check out the alternate Mario ending as well as the original Wii spots after the jump.

 
Wii spots

The creative brief was to highlight the fresh, local, made-from-scratch food that has transformed the Hard Rock menu over the last few years — and to do so without surrendering any of the brand’s rock edge. The result: “Meet Our Other Rock Stars,” new 60 and 30-second spots, written and created by Duncan/Channon, directed by Henry Hobson and produced by Alive and Well. The media brief was to reach 33 million people in 53 countries — and to do so without surrendering much of the brand’s marketing budget. The result: Hard Rock crafted a partnership with Facebook to hit users while they’re trash-talking with friends before, during and after the first streaming Super Bowl. Betting line: Hard Rock overwhelmingly favored to win.

Time flies when you’re having fun. Thanks for a great 2011. See you on the other side.

As anyone who has stayed up ’til 3 AM exploring it can attest (I’m looking at you, Bob Duncan), Ancestry.com is a fascinating and, yes, somewhat addictive experience. But while folks who’d gotten a taste were hooked, it seemed that the uninitiated didn’t know quite what was in store for them at the world’s largest online family history resource.

Enter a simple and compelling idea. Find people who are interested in their family history, but have never tried Ancestry.com, put them on camera and see what they discover. To bring their experiences to life, D/C enlisted the help of award-winning documentary filmmaker Sean Dunne. The result is sometimes poignant, sometimes funny and always totally real.

Look for D/C’s latest spots to roll out over the holiday break, complementing Ancestry’s existing work.

View the second spot after the jump.

Millions around the world are blowing off work today to stay home and groove on Gary Wilson’s new Tip Records album, Feel the Beat, available at iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, Spotify, Google Music and a digital outlet near you. Evidently, Gary Wilson Day was first proclaimed by the City Council of Escondido, CA, but the movement soon spread to El Cajon, Santee, Chula Vista, Elfin Forest and Pueblo Siding, among other San Diego area municipalities, as well everywhere else on the planet.

You were truly en fuego. Get a load of the pictures and video. Or see them on the handy-dandy Tip Records app you downloaded at the party. Or download the Tip Records app right now and then check ’em out. Way to bring it.

The year’s Tipmas finds devotees at Duncan/Channon celebrating the First Annual Tip Records Holiday Extravaganza on Friday, November 4. This solemn/utterly ridiculous day marks the official launch of Tip Records and official release of the new Gary Wilson album on Tip Records, as well as the official annual celebration of the entire Tip Records roster of superstars. It also marks the official release of a bunch of whoop-dee-do involving food, fire, booze, hotpants and rubber gloves. Due to overwhelming demand, 2011′s Tipmas observances will be taking place at the Public Works venue in San Francisco’s swingin’ Mission. A happy Tipmas in advance to all!

For reals. The man about whom Beck sang, in “Where It’s At”: “My man Gary Wilson rocks the most.” The man whom the New York Times called “odd” and “wonderful.” The man about whom they made the documentary You Think You Really Know Me, which premiered at Lincoln Center. The man who performed on Jimmy Fallon last year because ?uestlove is one of his big fans (another one is Matt Groening).

Yeah, that Gary Wilson.

And on November 4, 2011, Tip Records — yeah, that Tip Records, an otherwise inexplicable division of Duncan/Channon — is going to release Gary’s next album, Feel the Beat, which happens to be the same day he headlines the First Annual Tip Records Holiday Extravaganza at Public Works in San Francisco. True story (unlike some of the stuff on this site).

Robbie Whiting, most recently an SVP at Draftfcb, has joined Duncan/Channon, as director of creative technology and production. He’ll serve as one of the agency’s key creative and strategic leaders, with a special emphasis on the digital practice, and oversee the entire spectrum of production.

Prior to Draftfcb, Robbie spent five years at TBWA\Chiat\Day LA as creative technology director, helping build that agency’s digital practice and working with clients like Nissan, Pepsi, Visa, Mars and Gatorade. Before that, he developed a comprehensive digital capability for the LA agency Ignited Minds, where he worked on Activision, Vivendi-Universal, Sony and Electronic Arts, among others. Early on, he was a hands-on web producer, and he started his career as a reporter for this thing called a newspaper.