http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ2I6FvDRXw

On Wednesday, Aug. 19, NC State's Centennial Campus took on a Hollywood-type feel as film crews shot the latest series of television commercials for the university. Join us as we go behind the scenes to chat with director Sasha Levinson, actor PJ King and NC State alum Geoffrey Hunter about their experiences on campus and what goes in to making a great commercial.

8/20/2009 3:13:48 PM

Quote :

"what goes in to making a great commercial"

Then they must not be the same people who came up with 'Red means go'

8/20/2009 3:18:28 PM

That was a good campaign; better than most U's commercials.

8/20/2009 3:56:11 PM

we all go to NC State.

8/20/2009 3:58:10 PM

I don't know who that "actor" is.

If this wasn't such a shitty university, we'd have some sort of video club that could make our own commercials.

8/20/2009 4:41:17 PM

she was not prepared for that opening segment. at all.

8/20/2009 4:53:47 PM

A commercial on the main campus might be a more honest portrayal of the school, but I can see why they went to centennial what with Hillsborough Street torn up, the Court of the Carolinas torn up, and while the brickyard is still nice it is all brick so they can't give the unrealistic feeling of a greener campus.

I still don't know how I feel about the commercial being shot away from the "real" campus. I've gone through undergrad & am now in grad school at NCSU and have never had a course on centennial campus nor much reason to go there.

8/20/2009 4:55:42 PM

oh i saw them all outside yesterday by the bridge

8/20/2009 5:06:26 PM

And your major is?

Centennial is the new "real" campus, it's the heartbeat of NCSU's most popular majors, has a golf course, employs over 20 companies and non-profits, and is the source of a lot of grant money. It's the perfect place to shoot this type of film. And your thoughts of it not being a green campus aren't entirely correct. NCSU is in the process of submitting plans for LEED certified dorms on centennial.

Sure the freshmen are going to sit in Harrelson for Calc 1, but most of the physical sciences are going to end up on that campus.

[Edited on August 20, 2009 at 5:08 PM. Reason : leaky fingers]

8/20/2009 5:08:36 PM

Quote :

"And your major is? Centennial is the new "real" campus..."

8/20/2009 5:17:33 PM

Out of all the faculty, students, and staff, we don't have a single person qualified to be our spokesperson?

[Edited on August 20, 2009 at 5:19 PM. Reason : I did like our commercial last year though.]

8/20/2009 5:18:11 PM

Quote :

"Centennial is the new "real" campus"

HISTORY COUNTS FOR NOTHING, PEOPLE

YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST

dude, just because it's new doesn't mean it trumps the original campus

but I guess since you can't even fathom that there are other types of majors* besides engineering, my point is lost on you

[Edited on August 20, 2009 at 5:31 PM. Reason : *let alone ones with any value, since they aren't the "most popular"]

8/20/2009 5:29:09 PM

This footage was just leaked from the new ad.

8/20/2009 5:33:09 PM

^

Don't forget Poland

8/20/2009 6:00:20 PM

I never had a class on Centennial Campus either. I feel slightly jipped because of it too. I always see the NC State promos with that bridge/walkway thing and think "where the hell did that come from?" Then I remember it's on the "other" campus.

8/20/2009 6:04:56 PM

^ You mean "gypped"--in case any outsiders read this thread. We want to appear educated. And I hope you didn't offend any gypsies.

8/20/2009 6:29:52 PM

damnit I laughed at that

8/20/2009 6:43:52 PM

I had like 4 different majors during my time in undergrad (jumped around a lot, but put in a lot of work during the summers & still graduated in 4 years), and am back for grad school if a different department altogether, and I think I've only been on centennial twice that I recall.

I think the first time happened like this...I thought, hey, I have some time to kill, & said to whoever I was with do you want bus with me over to centennial and see what that's all about? And like a year or so later, I thought, hey I haven't been there in a while, I'll go back & check it out. I think I purchased something at a C-store that time if I remember right.

8/20/2009 6:44:49 PM

I spend 99.9% of my time on Centennial. I hardly ever come over to Main anymore (which reminds me, I wonder if they're ever going to name it something else, like the ________ campus once Centennial becomes more like a full campus with dorms, a dining hall, and a big library). I often forget that there is a larger percentage of students who never see Centennial.

8/20/2009 7:52:06 PM

On an unrelated note, this gem is on the nc state youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17u0rQkaxiw

[Edited on August 20, 2009 at 8:01 PM. Reason : .]

8/20/2009 8:00:50 PM

these commercials feel generic and not memorable to me, like they could be about any school that is more about job training than the "college experience"

we need to bring back the "i wish i could see the future" commercial

or the "college days" film from 1939 featuring w.c. riddick and harrelson

[Edited on August 20, 2009 at 8:41 PM. Reason : oh god how did this get here i am not good with lounge]

8/20/2009 8:28:33 PM

Quote :

"And your thoughts of it not being a green campus aren't entirely correct. NCSU is in the process of submitting plans for LEED certified dorms on centennial."

He was using "greener" in the more literal sense, not in the eco-friendly sense.

8/20/2009 8:45:17 PM

at first i thought this guy was getting ready for a rally.

8/20/2009 8:46:03 PM

AS IN FEWER BRICKS AND DICKS.

Well, fewer bricks.

8/20/2009 8:47:27 PM

Quote :

"or the "college days" film from 1939 featuring w.c. riddick and harrelson"

i'm working on getting a new soundtrack for that one and putting it up on the site

featuring PHAT BEATS

8/20/2009 8:57:36 PM

^3

That dude was in that suit for hours with no ventilation in 95 deg. heat.
total top gun trooper.

8/20/2009 9:15:15 PM

I found State's previous commercial to be a reminiscent of Denis Leary's MTV commercials from the early '90s (starts at about :45):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKXNAp8Q13A

Obviously, the State ad is toned way down in comparison, but one can clearly see the influence:

http://ncsu.edu/redmeansgo/campaign/tv-gateway.htm

On a related note, many have accused Leary of plagiarizing some of the material by the late comedian Bill Hicks. So, I guess we can actually give a dead guy a lot of credit for State's most recent TV ad.

8/21/2009 3:55:53 AM

From The Technician:

Red means revamped advertising

Published: Friday, August 21, 2009

The Facts: The University filmed a new set of television advertising spots on Wednesday. They attempt to show the University’s true ideals and differ from last year’s campaign. The project cost a relatively thrifty $142,000.

Our Opinion: The new television advertisements are a bright spot for the University, and a marked improvement from last year’s campaign.

N.C. State creative services recently spearheaded the creation of a new set of television advertising spots for the upcoming year. The two television spots, filmed Wednesday on Centennial Campus, attempt to show the innovative ideas the University brings to real life situations. The primary spot, which is 30 seconds long, will showcase “5 or 6 visual examples” of students actively participating on campus.

The advertising campaign is a marked improvement from last year’s vague slogans and air of pretension. The previous advertising spot, “Red means go,” featured beautiful production and not too mush else. The empty slogans didn’t say anything about the campus.

The campaign was not particularly well received by students either. Students found it attractive, but void of any real substance or meaning.

Rather ironically, the opaque spots perfectly mirrored the lack of transparency provided by the University’s top administrators.

Chancellor Woodward and his administration are striving toward higher University transparency this year -- likewise, the advertising campaign is being revamped to provide an honest appraisal on the sort of real-world solutions the University produces.

Stephanie Hlavin, director of creative services, said, “[before this year] there really was no brand.”

Hence the goal with this year’s spots -- according to Sasha Levinson, their director -- was to show “N.C. State [as] a place that fosters big ideas.”

The changes this year were especially challenging in light of the budget cuts facing the University. Hlavin said creative services has experienced serious fiscal restrictions but was still able to produce the advertisements.

With the production assistance of an outside firm, creative services was able to generate the spots for $142,000. The figure is lower than last year’s expenditure and significantly less than the national average for a 30 second television spot, $318,000.

The spots are the sort of fiscally responsible project the University should be taking on to reestablish its humble and prestigious reputation as one of the nation’s finest land-grant institutions.

The only qualm with the new spots was the lack of communication on campus about them. Many students seemed confused about the blockage on the Centennial Bridge -- even some basic signage would have been nice.

The spots, which will premiere during the first football game on Sept. 3, are a marked improvement over last year’s campaign and should serve as a marketing lesson to the rest of the University.

8/21/2009 7:26:46 AM

cool, Geoffrey Hunter was one of my residents a few years ago.

and

Quote :

"but I guess since you can't even fathom that there are other types of majors* besides engineering, my point is lost on you"

yeh, those other majors don't really count so much

8/21/2009 7:51:29 AM

Centennial Campus is definitely not replacing main campus; however, I do think everyone needs to check out Centennial Campus as it is a major part of the university.

8/21/2009 7:59:44 AM

engineering is what brings in the money

8/21/2009 8:00:01 AM

^
I'm skeptical of that. CALS is huge. Link plz.

8/21/2009 8:42:53 AM

I actually liked last year's commercial. It was edgy and different. Contrast that with the "I'm a Deacon." and UVA ads last year, which featured some alums/students but told you nothing about the university. I think running the same thing as last year's ad multiple years would come across as hollow, but building on NC State as a place that fosters big ideas is a great foundation (perhaps mixed in with some shots of campus/students (yes, even main campus).

8/21/2009 9:00:08 AM

"What is this place called NC State?"
TERRIBLE.

The article uses the perfect word to describe last year's ad: pretentious. I, for one, welcome this new train of thinking.

8/21/2009 11:28:05 AM

These are images that I associate with NC State. The free expression tunnel & outdoor classroom in particular could fit well into a theme of fostering ideas & fresh perspectives, but I expect they'll end up trying to designing the ad to appeal to a more corporate crowd.

8/21/2009 12:44:27 PM

Last year's commercial campaign was outstanding from a cinematography standpoint -- ultra sleek and progressive-looking. The problem was that the content was pretty empty and (as the article perfectly described) pretentious.

Oh well though. It definitely could have been worse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVENWl8uBeg

8/21/2009 3:49:11 PM

Quote :

""What is this place called NC State?""

shit annoyed the fuck outta me

8/21/2009 4:02:43 PM

They understand that if you keep genius waiting, guess what, genius gets up and leaves. North Carolina State University understands if you let the problems of today wait until tomorrow, tomorrow will be a problem.

That's a very fickle genius. When I watched that I thought they were going to say when genius hits a problem like a speed bump, they stick to it & find a way around it, but no, turns out they leave.

[Edited on August 21, 2009 at 4:11 PM. Reason : .]

8/21/2009 4:07:31 PM

haha after rewatching it ^, it reminded me of dennis miller...in that a bunch of words come out and by the end you are like "wat"

8/21/2009 4:09:01 PM

I wonder if TGD will change the facebook group name now that they are abandoning that campaign:

Red Means Go
1,167 members
http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=32298816156

8/21/2009 4:16:10 PM

WE ALL GO TO NC STATE

8/21/2009 4:23:17 PM

We did lose Dr. Conte though

8/21/2009 4:42:55 PM