hawthorne direct Takes Home Tellys

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fairfield, IA - hawthorne direct, the direct response TV advertising agency, recently received three Bronze Telly Awards for their productions for Light-N-Strike Strobes, Sonic Web and Sun Spots. The documentary for WorldTeach earned a Finalist Telly Award.

"We are humbled to be receiving these Telly Awards. Only the best and the brightest in non-network, cable TV commercials, film and video productions earn a Telly. We are proud to be considered of such caliber; it’s a great thing for our industry," said Timothy R. Hawthorne, chairman and executive creative director of hawthorne direct.

Light-N-Strike Lures

“Light-N-Strike Lures” is a unique combination of a product that works, an infomercial that has a high entertainment value, and the best elements of a standard television-fishing program. The fact that the Light-N-Strike lures really work allowed us to take Beau Rials (host) to an actual bass lake and shoot successful "real time" fishing during all of the host or pitch segments. We never talk about the product without fish being caught, and the show also includes features that reveal the product success with Steelhead fishing in the Pacific Northwest and salt water and lake fishing in Florida. This infomercial is not filled with computer graphics and high-end animation, but is loaded with shots of big fish being successfully caught by these unique lures as well as underwater "real shots" of how fish attract to this lure.

The creative approach to this show was to shoot the entire body of the infomercial in a true fishing environment. This allowed the Light-N-Strike lures to be actually catching fish "in real time" throughout the body of the infomercial. We allowed many entire segments to be posted in a way that proved that "real fish" were caught in the time of the take. We reduced the size of the B-roll so that a discerning audience member could see that no edit was placed in the segment to compress time. Many fishing infomercials are comprised largely of testimonials and a pitch person extolling the virtues of the fishing package. We wanted to create a program that was loaded to the gills with the lures successfully catching fish, and to create an end product with the best elements of a successful infomercial with the entertainment value of a standard television-fishing program. The Light-N-Strike lures will replace the need for any other type of fishing tackle. They will not only “out-fish” any lure but will compete strike for strike against live bait. The Light-N- Strike lures all re-create the swimming action of live bait, and more importantly contain a proprietary technology that emits random flashing controlled by the movement of the lure in the water. This flashing lure creates a bright, dynamic flash in front of a fish, which sets off a predatory strike. Whether the fish is hungry or not the Light-N-Strike lure causes the fish to attack, creating many more strikes than a standard lure, with harder and more intense strikes.

The special thing about this show is the ability to weave the "pitch" into real time fishing footage.

The “Sonic Web” Show Description:

Sonic Web was one of the best selling summer home and garden infomercial products in 2002. The electronic control device was found to be the only one on the market that worked after having been put through a variety of tests, prior to the creation of its infomercial. Its performance was exemplary at a USDA mosquito test facility where it was tested under the supervision of a retired USDA mosquito expert. Through the results obtained from these tests, the “Sonic Web” infomercial was able to provide enough appealing information to send the competition scrambling and had an extremely positive impact on retail sales. More than 6000 units have been sold on TV.

The animation used in the infomercial explains the principals behind the operation of the Sonic Web in a visually captivating manner, and makes them easy to understand. The show is structured to reveal all of the features and benefits in each act as well as in the CTAs.

Sun Spots

Sun Spots let you monitor harmful UVB sun exposure and thus can help you avoid sunburns. Sun Spots are small round self-adhesive spots that you can stick to your skin or clothing when you’re out in the sun. After you’ve been exposed to what is called the maximum recommended level of UVB radiation, the color of the sticker turns from yellow to orange, letting you know that you will need to either apply new sun tan lotion or seek the shade. This product was produced as a :120 and :60 short form.

WorldTeach: An Extraordinary Journey

Tim and Laya Hawthorne, a husband and wife team, produced, directed, shot, wrote, edited and self-funded a documentary/promotional video for WorldTeach, a 15-year-old, non-profit volunteer organization located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As a 2-person crew, Tim and Laya took 2 months off from their jobs and flew around the world (over 35,000 miles and 30 flights) traveling to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Galapagos, Namibia and China to document the activities, thoughts, and dreams of college student volunteers teaching English, computer and environmental science in third world countries. Over 40 hours of tape were shot with a Sony DV Cam. The resulting 54-minute video was presented as a gift to WorldTeach for purposes of fundraising and recruiting new volunteers at colleges and universities throughout the USA.

As a small, non-profit organization (about 250 volunteers yearly) with limited financial resources, WorldTeach was overjoyed to receive such a powerful, professionally produced recruiting and fundraising tool. Helen Claire Sievers, WorldTeach Executive Director, said: “Please know that you have made a major impact on what is a very fine program that continues to promote peace and understanding between peoples, as they help children around the world to gain the skills they will need to provide for themselves richer lives.”

Through its emotional and personal portrayal of how this program touches volunteers’ and indigents’ lives, the documentary fulfills its purposes of motivating prospective volunteers to sign up and generating contributions from foundations and individuals. With beautiful photography, compelling music and riveting glimpses into the experiences of the volunteers, this documentary brings an uplifting message of the joy of communication that transcends language and cultural barriers.

The Telly Awards was founded in 1980, to showcase and give recognition to outstanding non-network and cable TV commercials. The competition was expanded a few years ago to include film and video productions. The Telly has become one of the most sought-after awards in TV, commercial and video industry. The Telly statuette has even appeared on the set of many TV shows. In the past 22 years, winners and finalists have come from agencies, production companies, television stations and cable operations, as well as corporate video departments. All 50 states have been represented in past winners.

All judges have previously won a Telly and consist of a group of well over twenty highly qualified production professionals. They are from all regions of the USA, from small towns and major cities, and from small and large firms. They also represent a cross-section of producers: From agencies, TV stations, production houses and corporate video departments.

hawthorne direct is a full-service direct response advertising agency, specializing in creative and production, long and short form media buying, telemarketing/fulfillment management and integrated marketing.

For more information about hawthorne direct please see www.hawthornedirect.com.