Please Don’t Stop
the Music.
VMA 2020
Art + Design Direction, Branding
The summer of 2020 was strife with division. Public safety. Human rights. An unprecedented pandemic, politicized. Shit was dark. The 2020 VMAs was the first opportunity to bring people together to celebrate what may be our cultures strongest unifier…Music.
To help meet that moment, we needed to express a playful optimism that only MTV can. We needed a new Summer of Love. Inspired by the visual stylings of Push Pin studios and Peter Maxx, the 2020 VMAs transported the viewer to a happier (and super psychedelic) place.
The massive 360 campaign was a collaboration with creative partners, STATE design and our in house creative team, delivering over a thousand assets across outdoor, AV, digital and consumer. And it was truly a testament to what these teams could accomplish in their new WFH reality.
The 2020 VMAS was the pop culture event of the year, pioneering what a live event during a pandemic could be, and delivering a visually spectacular, feel good campaign that the world needed.
BRAND ELEMENTS
OUTDOOR / DIGITAL
PERFORMER
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BRAND CREATIVE TEAM
SVP BC Design: Thomas Berger
SVP BC Editorial: Justin Russell
SVP BC Creative Strategy: Lauren Epstein
VP Editorial: Anthony Gelsomino
VP Design: Rich Browd
VP Production: Joyeux Noel
CD Design: Casiel Kaplan
Sr. Motion Director: Timothy Livezey
Art Direction: Anthony Annandono Joe Cosentino, Kevin Burke
Motion Design: Mike Erla Oscar Rivera, Meika Jewett, Mike Yoo
Design: Christi Catalpa Carli Malec, Michael Gonzales
PARTNERS
STATE Design
Artists Together: An Underground Exhibition
In the summer of 2020, following the death of George Floyd, the Barclays center in Brooklyn had become an epicenter of social justice activism and protest. What was originally intended to be a VMA campaign focused media placement at the Atlantic terminal at Barclays was quickly re imagined into an inclusive and dynamic public art installation, dedicated to amplifying diverse creative voices.
We reached out to eight artists’ from NYC’s richly diverse creative community, and asked them to submit original pieces of art using the prompts “Unity”, “Music”, “Space”, and “The Future”. Visual connection to the VMA brand and the Moonperson was not necessary, but was appreciated.
What we received was a diverse collection of artwork that showcases the community and their creative voice. What we gave was a spotlight and exposure to some truly amazing diverse talents in the industry.
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ARTISTS:
Anika Cooper
Bronson Farr
Eugenia Mello
Eva Zar
Kervin Brisseaux
Morcos Key
Zipeng Zhu
BRAND CREATIVE TEAM:
SVP BC Design: Thomas Berger
VP Design: Rich Tu
VP Marketing: Antonia Baker