loewe AG, Kronach

Kronach. – The Loewe promotional film, “Remote Control”, has been awarded one of the most prestigious German design prizes, the Silver Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany. The film portrays an opera chorus directed by a Loewe remote control. In addition to the Loewe film, other winners include an interactive installation by Deutsche Lufthansa, the Andy Warhol exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the BMW exhibition stand at the IAA 2009. The award-winning Loewe film was produced by advertising agency Scholz & Friends Berlin. "To have received the German Design Award is a great honour for Loewe. We see it as our responsibility to continue the systematic development of our high-quality brand communication”, said Oliver Seidl, Loewe AG CEO.

The making of
Production was already underway before the actual shoot. A month before filming, a new 60-second arrangement was made of the “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” from the opera Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi. This arrangement was then sung by 14 professional singers in a wide variety of ways – in chorus, solo, in groups, beautifully, loudly, quietly, badly, high, low, in screams, in whispers etc. The countless sound tracks were then rearranged and brought together in a single track: the one which can be heard in the film. As a result, the sound track was already in the can on the day of the shoot – all that was needed was the picture to match. The producers were helped here by a choir of around 80 singers from four different amateur choirs in Hamburg. They, in turn, were supported by four actors, who took over key roles such as that of the conductor. However, as filming was set to take place just before Christmas, all of the concert halls suitable for the shoot were booked out. The only possibility was to use the halls at night – from late in the evening after the final concert of the day, until early the next morning before the matinee. In just seven hours, light, sound and cameras had to be set up, 80 amateur actors had to be filmed for as long as possible, and then everything had to be packed up again.

On track for success
On its release, the film rapidly became an incredible success, especially on the Internet. Its profile was raised exponentially by viewings on various video platforms such as YouTube, and it has been awarded numerous prizes in international competitions. To date, the film “Remote Control” has been viewed well over 600,000 times online and awarded numerous prizes. These prizes include the Gold Award from the German and European Art Directors Clubs (2009), and the Bronze Lion at the international advertising festival "Cannes Lions 2009". The award-winning film can be viewed at various sites, including the Scholz & Friends YouTube profile at www.youtube.com/user/ScholzundFriends

German Design Award
The Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany was awarded for the 42nd time mid-February. Submissions are only eligible for the award if they are put forward by the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs or the Economics Ministers and Senators of the German federal states. Only creations from the areas of product design and output from communication design which have emerged from a regional competition, a selection procedure (adjudication) recognised by the respective federal state or an international competition are admitted to the competition. The exacting awarding criteria set mean that the German Design Award is considered the “the prize of prizes” and the “Design Oscar”.