Advertising and design agency 72andSunny has teamed up with G4 to launch and promote “Star Trek 2.0,” a new TV series that reinvents classic Star Trek episodes in an innovative and interactive way. In addition to collaborating with G4 on the concept for the show, 72andSunny also conceived a stop-motion ad campaign to help promote the series. “Star Trek 2.0” premieres Monday, April 10th on G4 at 11 pm ET/PT, with the promo spots “Karaoke,” “Coffee Shop,” “Cribs” and “Pool” breaking that day as well.

Star Trek 2.0
G4 recently acquired the original “Star Trek” series and wanted to find a way to reinterpret the show to attract a new generation of viewers, with the limitation that the original “Star Trek” footage could not be altered in any way. 72andSunny proposed a play-while-you-watch interactive game called “The Spock Market,” which allows fans to buy, sell, and trade shares of their favorite characters, aliens, gadgets and ships while logged on to www.g4tv.com/trek20. The stocks gain or lose points based on the events in each episode, keeping viewers engaged throughout the series’ season. In addition to The Spock Market, the new series includes Trek trivia, a real-time chat, and stats that track recurring events on the series like the number of times Scotty is pessimistic or times Captain Kirk’s shirt gets torn. “Star Trek 2.0” airs weeknights on G4 at 11:00PM starting April 10th.

Retro Cool Promos with a modern twist
To promote “Star Trek 2.0,” 72andSunny also created a four-spot promo campaign featuring stop-motion animation of “Star Trek” action figures still kicking it in the modern world. In one spot, Spock, voiced by comedian Charlie Murphy (“Chappelle’s Show”), loses his temper over a weak WiFi signal at a coffee shop. In “Pool,” Captain Kirk is on suntan duty at the request of Spock and Uhura while at an upscale pool party, and in “Cribs,” Spock takes viewers on a tour of his Florida mansion. “Karaoke” has Spock at a karaoke bar getting his shipmates out of their seats with his dirty rendition of Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative” while re-creating Bobby’s signature dance moves.

“‘Star Trek 2.0’ is basically an entertainment mash-up. We thought it would be cool to do a sort of cultural mash-up of the world of Trek with the world of today,” said writer Jason Norcross. “Plus, since we’re introducing ‘Star Trek’ to a potentially new audience on G4, it made sense to put the show in a more modern, relatable context.”

72andSunny enlisted animation and production help from directors Dan O’Brien and Nick Litwinko of New York’s Rogue Creative for the labor-intensive stop-motion shoot. Charlie Murphy, Eddie Murphy’s brother who is famous for his regular appearances on “Chappelle’s Show,” voices Spock, giving him a whole new life. The voice of Captain Kirk is provided by former late night TV host and ESPN anchor Craig Kilborn.

Glenn Cole and John Boiler, the agency’s creative directors and co-founders, along with Jason Norcross and Bryan Rowles, the creative team responsible for the promos, have always been huge Star Trek fans, so they were thrilled at the opportunity to pay homage to the series while introducing it to younger viewers. Although the opportunity to help develop a show while simultaneously promoting it was a challenging and unusual proposition, it fits perfectly into the agency’s forward-looking approach.

“72andSunny has always been a total creative partner for our clients, and this often means doing work that doesn’t fit into the definition of advertising,” said Cole. “There are plenty of ways to elevate or evolve a client’s brand, and when it involves shaping the content it becomes all the more interesting for everyone.”

PRODUCTION CREDITS:
Star Trek 2.0 Broadcast
Concept by: 72andSunny
Creative Director: Glenn Cole
Writers: Glenn Cole, Jimmy Buckets
Brand Manager: Erika Carter
Production: G4TV

“The Spock Market” interactive game
Concept by: 72andSunny
Creative Director: Glenn Cole
Writer: Tim Wolfe
Brand Manager: Erika Carter
Production: G4TV

“Still Kickin It” promo campaign
:30 “Karaoke”
:30 “Cribs”
:30 “Pool”
:30 “Coffee Shop”

Advertising/Design Firm: 72andSunny/Los Angeles, CA
Creative Directors: Glenn Cole / John Boiler
Art Director/Designer: Bryan Rowles
Writer: Jason Norcross
Producer: Liz Corsini
Brand Manager: Erika Carter

Production Company/Animation/Editorial: Rogue Creative/New York City, NY
Directors: Dan O’Brien, Nick Litwinko

Mix and Sound Design: Lime/Santa Monica, CA
Mixer: Rohan Young

Telecine: Company 3/Los Angeles, CA
Colorist: John Zaiik

Online Finishing: Brickyard VFX/Boston/Santa Monica
Online artist: Patrick Poulatian