Catalyst Studios Brings to Life 50 Years of Alvin Ailey in Target’s ‘Art for All’ Campaign

Artistic legacy captured in stunning short film conceived by Target’s Agency

MINNEAPOLIS, March 31 /PRNewswire/ — Target continues to push its reputation as a design-centric retailer that gives back to its community and supports the arts with the latest effort in its successful “Art For All” campaign. The newest iteration of the effort is a short film titled Art Celebrates, honoring 50 years of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT).

Target’s Minneapolis-based agency, Catalyst Studios, brought the strategy and conceptual direction to Art Celebrates. The seventy-five second installation was directed by Limore Shur at New York-based production and motion design company Eyeball.

To screen the short, go to: http://catalyststudios.com/artforall/artcelebrates.html.

“The ‘Art for All’ campaign brings art in all its forms to the public in the most delightful, unexpected and entertaining of ways,” says Betsy Treinen, Director of Brand Strategy & Client Services at Catalyst. “By doing so, Target raises the bar yet again on branding as we know it.”

While a version of Art Celebrates will be crafted as a broadcast TV spot, the project was originally conceived as a video installation playing on multiple screens of varying sizes in huge entertainment venues.

Each of the installations – “Art Celebrates” included – merges different, sometimes disparate art forms with the iconic Target bullseye. At the same time, adds Treinen, it was crucial that each piece didn’t feel like a broadcast spot. “Target wanted ‘Art for All’ to feel like the brand in a commercial sense, but not be a TV commercial. I think even they were surprised by how the process of undertaking these installations ended up reinventing, refreshing and renewing the entire brand and opening their eyes as to where the brand could go.”

“Catalyst wanted to embrace the legacy of Alvin Ailey into the larger scope of Target’s Art For All campaign and, to do this, we had a very specific idea in mind,” explains Catalyst creative director Shannon Pettini. “It was critical to take the idea in our heads and successfully translate it for the entire team to ensure that we were all moving in the same direction and that the integrity of both the vision and choreography remained intact. This amazing team included our Target client, Eyeball, and Alvin Ailey’s artistic director, the legendary Judith Jamison, and associate artistic director Masazumi Chaya.”

“We see projects like this as examples of a new paradigm in creative collaboration between companies like Catalyst and our studio,” says Shur. “The level of trust here was impressive. I think as brands and media companies seek new ways to engage audiences in a more visually dynamic and interactive experience, they’re increasingly going to look to strategic and creative partnerships like this one for new ways of delivering content.”

The “Art Celebrates” installation launched in Los Angeles on March 13. It debuted in Dallas’ Victory Park on March 26. To review the entire Catalyst Studios “Art for All” campaign, go to http://catalyststudios.com/artforall/.

    Credits for "Art Expands"
    Client: Target
    Agency: Catalyst
    Production: Eyeball
    Music Composition/Sound Design: Rumble

ABOUT CATALYST STUDIOS

Catalyst Studios (http://www.catalyststudios.com/) is a Minneapolis-based, award-winning interactive and digital agency. We bring smart, sound creative to our clients’ marketing and advertising programs.

    CONTACT: Christina Jackson, Marketing Director of Catalyst Studios,
    +1-612-339-0735, christina.jackson@catalyststudios.com |

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    Web site: http://www.catalyststudios.com/
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SOURCE Catalyst Studios