Lunch - Latest News

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - #STOPSTANDSTILLISM

To say that I'm proud to have worked on this piece would be an understatement. Few people in my life have had as much impact as Martin Luther King Jr. When the amazing folks at Corbis reached out about Greenlight partnering with the Estate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to release a library of motion, and images for the first time. I knew I wanted to be a part of the project personally, as well as assemble a small team to be able to do justice to the message hope and inspiration of Dr. Martin Luther King jr. James Hackett, Scott Hiers and Dan McManus (from Six Degrees) worked tirelessly over the holidays to put together a beautiful piece which we feel honored and proud to have been a part of. Our task, creating a motion piece which inspired a new kind of thinking about MLK.

What would MLK's brand have evolved to if he were still alive? #STOPSTILLISM
So much of what Dr. King was about was creating movements, peaceful action and intelligent discussion. We are thrilled to have been able to be a part of this piece. Working with Dr.King's voice, and images was truly a gift - Amy Miranda

The Black Out - A Note From Amy Miranda

I've built a career on the internet, and some would say that I spent more time here then I do anywhere else. I prefer it. Having made digital a huge part of my personal and professional life I like to think I understand the power of it. What drew me into to the web was a moment of discovery, when I was in highschool my mom worked at a computer manufacturer and I was lucky enough to have a laptop. I remember when I first got online. It wasn't pretty but there were people, and there was information. It was an exploration, a discovery. I remember spending hours and hours online, up late, I remember my parents discussing it (via phone with my Dad in the US and my Mom in Canada). I remember them deciding that if I was that interested in it, they should stay out of it. I was learning, I found something I wanted to do (although hacking, phreaking, and blogging weren't really lucrative - or jobs yet) they supported it. They didn't understand it, but they supported it.

Now, almost 20 years later I'm hoping that everyone understands the power of the internet. Now all of these years later what the internet is, and will be moving forward is in jeopardy. Many people say, this bill won't pass, it's not just about this bill (SOPA/PIPA) it's about the debate in general. I believe this will only be the first type of legislation aiming to control content online. . As a business person and digital evangelist I understand both sides. I understand content creators and publishers (especially because I am one, and manage a slew of them) wanting to be paid, to stop piracy but I am also a Pirate and I understand users.

With some of the quasars of the internet universe blacking out, or posting messages to protest SOPA/PIPA sites like Reddit, Google, Wikipedia, ThePirateBay are speaking volumes about how important this is. Not just for Americans but for anyone who uses the internet. This is not about content. It's about money. It's about business. That's the sad part. It's not about the people.

I do not believe that the internet needs to be censored. I do however believe it is the task of businesses, content publishers, and creators to protect their content. Find smarter, more convenient ways to distribute (Louis CK) and people will pay, content will be protected, publishers can be credited, etc. This is about businesses getting smarter about how they do business, not creating legislation to do this for them.

We support the boycott. We hope you do too.

- Amy Miranda

Lunch Welcomes Data Armada

We wanted to formally welcome Data Armada to lunch. Data Armada is a full service production partner - From ideation, to post production and beyond, the Armada was formed to reign in all aspects of the creative process and make them accessible with just one phone call. That makes them a perfect partner for the lunch network. We all like efficiencies and so do Reilly and Brenton. Sometimes maintaining efficiencies when you turn the cameras on can be a challenge so we're thrilled to have a partner available to our clients

Reilly is a Director who understands how to convey a message for clients but he also understands how to bring creative to life. That’s probably because Reilly has worked in all facets of the business.
Prior to becoming a Director he served as a Creative Director at Segal Communications/Draft where he led the creative team and was responsible for the final creative product. Prior to that Reilly
produced and directed On-Air Promos and Station IDs for CTV’s Specialty group of channels. Reilly is also no stranger to integrated, being not only an editor at U8TV but producing components for U8TV :The Lofters.

As a Creative Director-turned-Director, Reilly has worked on brands such as: PlayStation, AXE, Degree, Virgin and Ford. It was Reilly’s ability to work in any number of roles that led to co-founding Data
Armada. From Creative Consultation, to Direction to Post and Animation Reilly can be engaged to add value to any part of the production process, It’s on these principles that Data Armada was formed to bring value to clients throughout the production cycle from a director who understands both sides of the brief.

Brenton is no stranger to crafting an idea, with experience as a senior Creative Editor in commercial editorial (Flashcut, Rooster and Bijou), series television and VFX supervision he’s done it all, even production. As a freelancer he’s directed his share of music videos and to date has 3 television pilots under his belt.

Brenton has had the luxury of working with some of the best Directors and Creative Directors in North America in both traditional media and online (Ford, Telus, MTV, ConAgra, P&G…).

It’s his love of art, technology, storytelling and collaboration that make him the incredibly detailed person he is today. In partnering to form Data Armada he brings all of these experiences to the table when working with clients; from understanding all of the components of a production’s moving parts, his appreciation of great craft and his ability to create a unique value proposition for his clients, it’s Brenton’s passion for the work that makes every project he touches unique.

From a quick studio shoot, to cutting a piece, to making magic from start to finish. Data Armada is scalable, cost effective and of course high production value. Welcome to a production with just one phone call.

Happy Holidays from Lunch

We hope that all of you have an amazing, relaxing and magical holiday.
We look forward to making more dreams come true in 2012. Heartfelt thanks to all of our amazing clients for entrusting us with your ideas, your deadlines and your excitement.

Of course, we're still here over the holidays and look forward to introducing you to our new site in January.

With Love,

From Lunch.

Gif Rap The Rainbow

When the Skittles team calls we answer, especially when there's Rap in it.

After working on Touch the Rainbow and collaborating as much as we did on the little nuances of Skittles we knew we wanted to help in whatever way we could to make this happen. It wasn't a whole lot of time but with great people and collaborators it's never the time that matters. Especially when there's some hip hop. When we first heard the idea, we loved it. It started with an early conversation about what was feasible, and of course legal ;) and then like most creative driven projects the team set out to sell it through. We crossed our fingers all the way to the finish line and once again Mike & Chris created something fun that we're thrilled to have been a part of. It was a great team, Scott Hiers, Pixelpusher, Fatbox, Apollo, and Family Style working alongside the team at BBDO to do something awesome, pretty fast. Congrats everyone and thanks for making us a part of some pre-holiday fun. So, go ahead Rainbro, Gif Rap The Rainbow.

Torontoland Find The Giant Snowmen!

When our friends at CP+B Canada asked if we would be interested in helping to make 20 giant snowmen come to life in the city of Toronto we of course said, "YES!" When we found out that this campaign was on behalf of Toronto Tourism benefitting the Starlight Foundation we were ecstatic.

At Lunch we believe in doing as much work as we can for charity. So we approached our team of Lunch & Narwhal artists and they agreed it was something we should get involved with.

So began amassing almost all of our artists to create the 20 giant snowmen around Toronto. The list includes: Tara McPherson, Nathan Jurevicius, Alex McLeod, Team Macho, TADO, Ben&Julia, Mark Gervais, Melinda Josie, Travis Lampe, Noel Middleton, APAK, Rilla Alexander, Jon Todd, Patrick Kyle and Ginette Lapalme.

So when you see one, be sure to take a picture with it. For every photo received - either through text or email - Toronto Tourism will donate $2* to the Starlight Children's Foundation Canada, who are dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses and life-altering injuries.

*From Nov. 1 - Dec. 20, 2011 or until the maximum donation of $50,000 is reached.

We're proud to have been a part of this incredible campaign and we hope you can too. We hope this becomes a tradition for Toronto.

All above mentioned artists are available for commercial work through Lunch.

TakeThisLollipop.com - Jason Zada

The king of viral is back - with a vengeance - literally. Quite the juxtaposition for Jason Zada - who was also responsible for Elf Yourself has released a new experience which leverages everyone's privacy concerns.

We won't give any more away.

In less than 48 hours - more than 182,651 likes (and still climbing) and global media attention, all for a personal project with no media budget.

He's still got it. Congratulations Jason.

Jason is available for work in Canada through Lunch

Priusv.ca - A true collaboration

When our friends at Saatchi & Saatchi came to us with the brief for the new PriusV site, first we got really excited, and then we got to work in helping to put together a perfect team. Alex McLeod created the look and feel of the website, tv spot and print components while Sajak & Farki got to work on making the site fun, usable and of course integrate with Toyota.

Congratulations to Toyota, Saatchi & Saatchi (Helen, Brian, Kelly, Lena and Matt), Alex McLeod, Sajak & Farki, LIly and the extended team who worked on the videos (Headgear Animation, and Polyester to name a few) and boombox for the lovely sound design.

Well done Everyone!

Thank you Steve: An Open Letter For Steve Jobs.

-image used with permission care of Tom Christmann-

As an entrepreneur and a person hearing about the passing of Steve Jobs tonight created a reaction I hadn't expected. Of course, being in a creative business, and being entrenched in the technology world since I can remember. I have always felt that Steve was not only a visionary and a genius, but he was also a real person. Authentic.

From his commitment to quality, results and change to his fearlessness and his thoughts about life. Steve Jobs, felt like a kindred spirit to me. I'm sure millions of other people around the world feel the same. From dropping out of College (so did I) to being fired from Apple, and being utterly devastated to rising up from the ashes and realizing that it truly was the best thing that could have happened to him (me too). I relate to that first hand.

"I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."

I've suffered my own losses, tragedies and made similar mistakes but all of those things make you who you are. You make that decision in life about whether you're going to learn from your mistakes or not. Whether you're, going to "connect the dots".

"Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

Steve Jobs reinforced that for me. That if your intentions are to do the right thing (even if other people don't always agree), and do great work and trust your instincts anything is possible. I also know this to be true. That's Steve Jobs the person.

From a business perspective he taught me not to pay attention to competitors, that the only thing you can really control is yourself, and being afraid just isn't an option. That when you find something you love you do it, and that when you're connected with great people you do great things. I think that's the part that many people don't think about, to grow, and create the beautiful products Apple did, took legions of people. Perhaps Steve's greatest gift was his ability not only to lead, inspire and challenge but to motivate his teams, by rolling up his own sleeves and be engaged with his people. Not just his employees, shareholders, but his consumers. He often was known to reply to tech support emails which he received.

There were also a lot of things that Steve did that I didn't agree with, whether it was his thoughts on Flash, and Adobe or his militance in regards to technology etc. etc. . However, you have to respect the place it came from. Passion. Heart. Living fearlessly isn't easy and of course at times that creates opinions that are unpopular, but when you look at what life really is, it's a legacy. You get one chance and you make whatever mark you can based on whatever it is that drives you. Steve Jobs admitted he'd done things he wasn't proud of, admitted he'd made mistakes but he just kept going. Learning.

Being an evangelist for something you believe in, isn't always safe, and more importantly when you're that passionate it isn't always pretty. But when you do something you love - you get inspired again and you fall in love with it every day, no matter what anyone else is saying and you dust yourself off and you move forward.

I know that tomorrow will certainly be a different day. The world has lost a force. Not just the founder of a company, but a visionary. I hope everyone will be blessed with just a small percentage of Steve Jobs' passion for life and creativity. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you Steve.

- Amy Miranda, October 5, 2011.

News from Lunch - Jason Ford has lunch

We eluded to the fact that our clients had asked, and we listened. When we said that we meant it.

We have in the past few months added some fire power to our growing production network, this reflects some changes we are really excited about. Our clients asked. We listened.

We had been asked by our clients for help with not only larger scale production, but individual resources for collaboration. Media Buying, Creative Direction, Content Production, Strategy, Information Architecture and Design.

We are thrilled to announce some of those additions over the next few months. While we've been busy at work, we're finally getting around to making these announcements more publicly.

Today we are thrilled to finally officially welcome Jason Ford to the network. Jason joins lunch as Executive producer of Content and Brand Partnerships. Jason is someone who not only understands content, he understands business and that behind all of the cool things that attract audiences there has to be return on investment in order to keep consumers engaged.

Jason brings a unique mix of management, strategic, and marketing experience, matched with his expert creative content and development talents - Jason is a visionary and a force to be reckoned with in youth, music and popular cultures.

He is a television executive with 12+ years experience in production, development, writing, casting, brand partnerships and design.

Once you view his work, itʼs clear that heʼs not afraid to break the ʻrulesʼ to make content that is more engaging, authentic and memorable.

Jason is an expert and pioneer in digital integration and social networking. He has proven success in expertly integrating product placement and brand partnerships into content seamlessly and unobtrusively.

Jason was most recently the Supervising Producer for MuchMusic in Canada overseeing all content for the youth and music networks. In his position with the MUCH MTV Group, he oversaw a staff of 40 direct reports for Bell Mediaʼs various youth and music networks.

Jason has been personally nominated 5 times for the Gemini Awards and was honored to receive Hors Concours at the Banff World Television Awards for Best Youth Television Series. Jason has created countless shows and content for youth networks, including "Video On Trial" one of Canada's most successful television series.

Jason also created and produced the surprise hit reality show and talent launch pad, “DISBAND”. The show was critically acclaimed, nominated for a Gemini Award, and launched the careers of 4 new and hugely popular Canadian bands: Stereos, These Kids Wear Crowns, Abandon All Ships, and San Sebastian. After Jason paired the Stereos with Universal Music resulting in a record deal and premiered their episode - they were an instant success. Within one hour of their television debut the band's fanbase on MySpace grew by 5x and their single went to #1 on iTunes within 4 hours. Within 2 weeks the band went platinum in Canada. This instant success is almost unheard of in the Canadian music industry.

Jason joins lunch to assist in providing our clients with strategy, connection planning, creative development and assisting our clients in building strong brand partnerships that show the kind of return we know they need.

Keep an eye out over the next few months for some of the projects Jason is currently working on with Lunch.

Jason is available through Lunch for consulting, executive production, strategy and content development.

For more on Jason Ford

American Horror Story

Let's start by saying "they don't make 'em like they used to." Well. WeFail do.

We had the pleasure of working with our friends at Campfire NYC to produce an experiential site for FX's new "American Horror Story" series - Created by the creator of Glee. Starring Dylan McDermott, Jessica Lange, and Connie Britton. We're pretty excited to be involved in supporting the show.

The challenge, to help Campfire NYC create something dark, exploratory and of course creepy! Pretty fun. Like all of WeFail's work, there is a lot to explore. Over time the site will become more populated with artifacts from the house.

Enjoy.

WeFail are available for commercial work through Lunch.

ETA - From FITC - It's not a conference. It's conversation.

You may know what we at lunch like things that are a little different. We also really like great conversations and pushing the envelope.

Well, here's a pretty amazing way to do all of the above. We're excited about this. You should be too. What we like about it, is it's application based. Attendees are being chosen. 100. That's it. Tickets are moving quickly.

The speakers alone are people we are really excited to be in a room with. From Graffiti Research Lab's Evan Roth -to We LIve In Public's Josh Harris.

Everything from how technology can shape advertising, to the value of sharing. It's not a conference. It's a conversation.

We believe in it so much we're sponsoring it.

Reinventing the Event Format
Unlike any other FITC event, the format of ETA puts attendees across the table and in discussion with each of the presenters. Thirty-minute presentations are followed by twenty-minute discussions at round tables; with each presenter changing tables every hour. This format provides unparalleled access to real conversations with all of the presenters, something virtually impossible at big events.

This exclusive and intimate event has been designed for creative directors, strategists, c-suite executives and the best of the best in advertising and technology.

ETA Creative by our very own Scott Hiers.

Congratulations to Studio Dialog on their Gemini win!

We are so happy, thrilled and proud for the team at Studio Dialog.
Congratulations go to the entire team for their very recent Gemini Win for Best Achievement in Main Title Design for Blackstone, The Series.

Studio Dialog completed the design and animation of the show's main titles.
Have a look at the work that brought home the award here.

Congratulations Guys.

Alex McLeod: Distant Secrets

We at Lunch are thrilled for Alex McLeod. He's had an exciting year full of incredible work. Alex has an amazing solo show coming up at Angell Gallery on August 25th. If you'll be in Toronto from August 25- September 24th please take a moment to stop in.

This show will feature some exciting installation pieces which include a small point of collaboration with some other members of the lunch network. Exciting stuff.

The show's opening reception will be Thursday August 25th 6–9 PM at Angell Gallery. Alex will be in attendance, as well as of course, a bunch of us.

Where: Angell Gallery
60 Ossington Avenue, Toronto

August 25th – September 24th

"Composing his vast-seeming, self-contained vistas as though he were an omniscient deity, at work building the most fascinating possible baby mobile, Alex McLeod’s work spangles with baroque effects and cartoon charms. Non-existent stages, McLeod sees these digital C-Print pieces so clearly in conceiving what they can be, that in rendering them they become like the ultimate opera stage; totally make believe and non-existent, and yet while we are within their power, it’s as though we have somehow appeared within their borders. We become the actors in his scenes, since he leaves them all so conspicuously depopulated, and they often seem to echo with the noise of their denizens. In his new body of work though, McLeod comes a little closer at times than he is used to do. If a work like Mystery is a kind of Christmas morning gone array seen from floor-level, then Blood Clouds is more like a puppet show complete with too-obvious strings attached – all these new pieces are more intimate; not with but for us. They change tactics by being quite a bit less God’s-eye-view in their apprehensions of what they depict.

Magic for instance is a piece whose title recalls many aspects of its imagery, and functions well as a synecdoche for the show as a whole; and a magic kingdom (ruled by an invisible artist-creator-king); a process of creation akin to sorcery that makes use of baffling illusion. But also, with respect to the depicted goings on, that of course seem to belong to and exist within the piece, but which actually (and for once quietly) suggest that we may not realize that magic is already around us. These hyper-real, hyper-visible works tip us off to the disappearance, not only of the “fourth wall” between themselves and us, but of the boundary between truth and hyper-fiction in the world at large. McLeod’s mode, here as always, on some level, is prophetic. Because he is a consistent fantasist, of what he won’t exactly say; but we know the focus will be everywhere and the contrasts will be sharp."
- Angell Gallery

Kira Shaimanova has her first Cover with Las Vegas Weekly

Kira Shaimanova completed her first cover for Las Vegas Weekly Magazine.
Kira completed the custom sculpture illustration in 5 days time for this week's print run. From a simple concept, to final sketch, Kira received approval and sculpted through the weekend to create an incredible likeness of Las Vegas Mayor. Oscar B. Goodman including a tiny Martini glass from the miniature collection of Amy Miranda.

Kira is available for commercial and editorial work through Lunch.

Gold Cyberlion for Team Skittles

Congratulations to our friends at BBDO Toronto and the whole Skittles Team on the Gold win at Cannes.

What a lovely way to kick off the summer.

Congratulations Mike and Chris.

Cannes Lions International - Official

Lunch Launches Free Lunch.

When I founded the company 2 years ago I knew 2 things well about the digital business.

1. It was the most collaborative business I’d ever known.
2. There are endless possibilities to what can be created and achieved.

I knew I wanted to find a way with Lunch to help people make their ideas a reality. Not everyone has the ability to take an idea from being just an idea to something tangible. So, we wanted to help.

So, with that, we launch Free Lunch.

Free Lunch is an opportunity for people with ideas to be paired with people who can execute them. We're looking for application ideas, mobile ideas, integrated ideas. Things we can help you to build. Have you written an amazing story and have always needed an illustrator to bring it to life? Did you have an idea that you think could change a vertical?

We’ve been working on several projects that fall into this realm in the past 2 years. Traditional probono work such as, @Random and new kinds of projects which we currently have in development. Things we’ve made investments in, partnered on and become partners with.
So we know based on that, and the amazing work we're lucky to do every day that we wanted to help others to make their ideas a reality.

We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Alex Bogusky about his new project COMMON because it’s exactly the kind of thing we believe is going to change the way business is done. It’s time.

Beginning this month Lunch will be accepting one sheets on ideas you might like help producing. Here’s how it will work. Of course you know we like to keep it simpler.

Every quarter we’ll review your ideas and choose 1 to get involved with – maybe even 2!

From there we'll be in touch with any questions and we’ll help to produce and develop the idea should it be something we think is tangible.

Since it's business of course we’re happy to sign any mutual documentation (such as non-disclosure agreements) to protect your idea should we not choose to move forward with it.

That's it. We hope you're as excited as we are.

Contact Amy Miranda for more details and information.

@RANDOM Launches.

Today brings the official launch of the @RANDOM project we've been working with our friends at Saatchi & Saatchi on for the past year or so... give or take. :)

A collection of incredible stories from a variety of incredible directors (including Imported Artists' Gloria Kim!)

Pixelpusher worked with Saatchi & Saatchi Toronto very closely to achieve the amazing art direction and experience of the @RANDOM website. Because Tourette's Syndrome manifests itself in so many different ways we all felt it was important to translate that kind of experience online. So the site, it's art direction and experience are all, well. Random.

We hope you enjoy it, and learn as much watching it as we did working on it.

This also marks a very special day for Lunch, in the next few days we'll be announcing a new division of our company focused on projects like this.

Congratulations to the entire team!

Read more about the project here :
@RANDOM on CTV.ca

@RANDOM Press Release

Happy Birthday Lunch

Two years ago, I quit my job and took a leap of faith. I didn’t have a “backer”, a parent company, or any money behind me. I got a line of credit and I jumped because I believed in what I was going to do, and more importantly I believed in the people I was going to do it with. It was the scariest, most sobering, humbling, and exciting thing I’ve ever done.

I realize now that you can’t have an experience like that, without having it change you as a person. It makes you think about what’s important and how you want to try to do things. I’ve also learned in the past few years that starting a business that way is hard. However, after two years I can’t imagine having done it any other way.

As a business woman I am motivated by making things, and I believed that through all of the things I’ve learned, Trials, tribulations, successes and probably most importantly - mistakes that this wasn’t just a business, it was an idea I believed in. It was a new way of doing things. I found myself in the middle of a dot com deadpool in the early 2000’s. I clawed tooth and nail to stay in the digital business, because I loved it. In 2003 I went into advertising and I learned a lot. Some experiences were incredible, some were horrible, some heartbreaking, it was all of them however that made lunch, lunch.

I had the pleasure and the honor of having people around me who believed we could do something new. They took a chance with me, and on me and that is what I think is the most incredible part of it being lunch’s second birthday. Because lunch isn’t just me, or Lily, it’s all of us together. I’ve gotten over the fact that it sounds cliché, because it’s true. We really do love what we do, which is why we do it. I think if we were motivated by anything other than that we’d be a bunch of different people, called something else and we probably would never have met each other. But we did. A collection of people who (for the most part) two years ago had never met one another. These were some of the best people I know and I thought, what if I could put them together, what would happen? What amazing things could be made. I’m proud to say, a lot. Not only the work, but the moments, the excitement, the ideas – what all of this should really be about.

I am a producer by trade. As a producer we hold together the details, we stick handle things when the team needs it and we coach and drive it home. The real stars are the ones doing the work. So I wanted to include some of their comments about being a part of Lunch.

"It's exciting to be a part of a respected family that shares the same passion to their craft - willing to collaborate, inspire, share and support to make ideas and executions more successful."

"Being in Lunch gives you more opportunities to work with your strengths by means of collaboration."

"Lunch is a family"

I love what I do, I love the people I work with. I love our clients. I probably love my craft more than I ever have. As Max Fischer would say, “Find something you love and then do it for the rest of your life”. That’s a great motivator.

After spending almost a week with many members of what has become the lunch network I realized we’ve succeeded. We’ve built something different. Our clients, the network, our friends, we want to thank you for supporting us, believing in us and trusting us with your work. We look forward to seeing where the next 2 years will take us. Most of that direction is really something we’ll find out from our clients and each other and that's what we find most exciting.

Thank you.

- Amy Miranda

Sajak & Farki Launch Gridbooks

Here at lunch we produce a lot of things. One of the things we tend to always have in production are banners.

You know it, we know it. We all have to think a lot about them. So Sajak & Farki thought, why not make that process a bit simpler.

Did they ever.

Gridbooks makes the process of banner creative a little simpler.

Specialized Templates for Sketching
The Gridbooks Ad Book features a 15-point dot grid that can be easily divided into two, three, four, five or six columns. It also features templates for standard banner ad sizes.

Digital Presentation Files
Receive free Adobe Photoshop® and Illustrator® templates with your Gridbook purchase. These pre-masked files make it easy to scan artwork and export digital or print-ready presentations of your digital campaign creative.

High Quality Paper
Gridbooks are printed on Neenah Environment paper — the highest quality recycled paper available. The outside covers contain 80% recycled materials and are French-folded for strength. Interior pages are printed on 100% recycled paper. All paper comes from sustainable sources.

Reversible Books for Left-Handed Users
Gridbooks feature a unique design that allows left-handed users to sketch without crossing the coil. The book can be used with the grid pages on the right-hand side or the left-hand side. There is no front or back cover —

Lunch's founder Amy Miranda and lefties everywhere thank Sajak & Farki for that.

Because you're reading this, you're our friend, and because you're a friend we'd like to give you 10% off of your Gridbooks purchase. Use LUNCHROCKS at checkout.

You'll also be able to pick up your very own, in person at FITC Toronto.

Sajak&Farki are represented by Lunch.

Ben&Julia At Pictoplasma 2011

This month in Berlin was Pictoplasma. Ben&Julia created an incredible exhibit entitled " 3 Moments in The Life of Kaluk". Ben&Julia invited viewers on a journey to the source of mythology and the creative process: the Myth of Kaluk, the five eared King Dog. The installation was conceived as a unique artistic experience, using a multiplicity of artistic techniques: sculpture, drawing, painting, costume design, animated video, sound and light, prints on fabric and holographic techniques… all combined within one single work.

The exhibition is still running until the end of the month in Berlin.

Stay tuned for some new motion work (launching soon)

Ben&Julia are available for illustration, direction, and magic through Lunch.

Lunch Welcomes WeFail.

We're excited to welcome WeFail into the family. You may know them from being on the internet, since it's been the internet, and have been working in Flash, since before Steve Jobs decided he hated it and you probably already know their work.

Whether it's their sites for SundayPants, Punk'd Pinata, Eminem, David Lynch, or their latest project Die Hipster.

Their unique brand of animation, design and concept development make them an exciting addition to the lunch network.

We welcome Martin and Jordan. You should welcome them into your hearts as well.

WeFail are available for work through Lunch Globally.

Touch the Rainbow, No Seriously. Touch it.

When our friends at BBDO called about creating an irreverent masthead to match their amazing Touch The Rainbow videos of course we were excited to help. You can see it today on Youtube! With over 2million views so far we're thrilled to have been a small part of it.

So, touch the rainbow. Go ahead. We know you want to.

To See the Masthead Click here
YouTube Masthead

http://thelunchsite.com/clients/bbdo/skittles/index1.html

Lunch to host FITC Toronto 2011 Wrap Party

Everyone who knows us knows we really do love two things, 1. Technology and 2. Getting people together. So, when the opportunity arose to host FITC's 10th Year anniversary closing night party we grabbed it. A pretty exciting milestone for our friends at FITC.

Our very own Sajak & Farki are also sponsors and will be unleashing some pretty exciting stuff during the event. Lunch will produce some fun!

We'd like to thank Alex McLeod and Scott Hiers for collaborating on our Nebulous Lunchy party ad.

We're in great company with an amazing group of sponsors and we can't wait to meet more people at FITC.

Hope to see you there!

adidas is all in

Today we launched the reason we weren't at SXSW. We had the privilege of working on a global campaign that launched today. The new global campaign from Sid Lee and adidas. Lunch has worked over the past few months to collaborate on the launch of "the experience" you'll see today. Lunch, Jason Zada, Domani Studios, Tool, and Six Degrees have worked tirelessly to help showcase some of the incredible creative content that can be home to only adidas.

Congratulations today to the team of producers, creatives, developers and technical leads who worked tirelessly to make this happen. Today we're very proud to be all in.

Sid Lee's Global Adidas Campaign Launches 03/16/11

We're excited, as the day has finally come. Tomorrow Adidas will launch a massive global campaign to support their new All Adidas messaging.

Lunch has been working with Sid Lee in Montreal for the past 4 months to collaborate on the creation of the online experience along with Jason Zada, Domani Studios and Tool.

We're thrilled for Sid Lee, and Adidas.

Excerpt from Marketing Magazine
"Adidas is set to launch a massive global advertising campaign created by Montreal agency Sid Lee.

Adidas Canada president Steve Ralph described the “All Adidas” campaign—which will debut in more than 100 countries on Wednesday—as a “one-brand anthem” that will promote each of the athletic apparel company’s three product lines: Performance, Originals and Style.

“What this campaign does is fuse those three sub-brands together,” said Ralph. “Our research tells us that the 12- to 24-year-old [target audience] lives a life that is incredibly diverse; they’re into gaming, music, fashion and sports. Now is the perfect time to talk to that consumer about our brand being the most diverse brand in the business.”

Ralph said the campaign objective is to create a stronger emotional connection between Adidas and its core target. According to Ralph, research shows that the company is “falling behind” its chief competitor [Nike] when it comes to creating emotion around its brand.

The campaign creative will address what Ralph describes as the moment when top-flight performers—whether athletes or pop singers—get their “game face” on. While Adidas is keeping the creative under tight wraps until Wednesday, Ralph described it as “powerful,” “diverse” and “unexpected from Adidas.”

As with previous executions, the campaign will feature what Ralph described as a “who’s who” of popular culture—including athletes such as soccer stars David Beckham and Lionel Messi, NBA star Derrick Rose and pop singer Katy Perry.

Adidas’ YouTube channel is currently showing a series of five-second teaser spots comprised of a series of quick-cut images. The official two-minute anthem spot will appear online, while 30- and 60-second spots have been cut for TV and cinema. The spot will feature the song “Civilization” by French electro band Justice"

Feast Of Love - New Work from Kira Shaimanova

Kira has just completed a new piece entitled "Feast of Love". Kira's ability to create original characters, combined with her ability to create the type of mise-en-scene that captures a moment is what makes her new piece so exciting.

Excerpt from Kira's description of the work:

This cat couple piece was done in about a weeks time. I had such a blast doing an animal piece and thinking of how I can make a romantic setting for a cat pair.

Process:
I created my own version of a night stand table and incorporating the typical objects you'd find there (ie. lamp, books, clock, wooden counter). I took out the candle from my original sketch. I thought it was just a little much and the lamp light source is more than enough. Speaking of lamps, I actually made my own, of course using clay and various fabrics. I bought a light bulb, a socket and cord and had it coming in through the top of the lamp shade, since its not an average size lamp, the bulb was a bit big. For the cat food on display, yes I'll admit I used actual cat food. A little bit of cheating on my part, but I think it shows the juicy cat food in its full entirety.

Kira is available for commercial work through Lunch.

Zeitguised Creates New Show Packaging for VIVA

Zeitguised once again spins some magic. This time recently designing 3 Show Packages for VIVA Germany’s 2011 Rebrand.

Surreal and stunning. If you'll be in NY for Volta in March you can also catch a screening of Zeitguised's short film Peripetics - As part of the PROJECTiON program—presented by Culture Shock Marketing (CSM) and Vimeo—screening in the 7W elevators, the shuttle buses, and on the fair floor. This is a curated selection of contemporary moving-image digital artworks, from computer animation and effects to Super-8 film and experimentation.

VIVA GET THE CLIP from zeitguised on Vimeo.

VIVA BITS 'N PIECES from zeitguised on Vimeo.

Lunch's founder Amy Miranda speaks at TEDxYouth in Toronto

On November 20th 2010, TEDxYouth took place in Toronto on Universal Children's day.

Students were invited to submit applications to attend and were chosen to take part in the event. It was an exciting, inspiring and exhilarating day.

The video of Amy's talk about collaboration is now available for viewing on the TEDxYouth Toronto site.

Amy would like to thank the sponsors, organizers, fellow speakers, and attendees for including her in this very special day.

For all videos from TEDxYouth Toronto please visit the TEDxYouth Site.

The Best Conversation Ever

When our friends at Clean Sheet came to us with their creative concept for "The Best Conversation Ever". We wanted to help, even though the timeline was one of the most challenging we've seen. Alchemy and Six Degrees sprang into action. Six Degrees went out and asked Canadians if they could speak to anyone who would it be? We got some really interesting answers. Alchemy worked to create a cohesive visual representation of some of those responses.

excerpt from Strategy Online follows below

"The number one objective was to create a really big idea that people would want to talk about - not just because it's Wind Mobile, but because it's actually a profoundly unique question that really gets Canadians thinking - and support it with the right channels and media weight behind it," says Lindsay Mattick Davidson, director of public relations, Narrative Advocacy Media.

Participants can upload their submissions to Bestconversationever.ca and share them with their social networks. A panel of judges - including Lacavera, Wind Mobile president Ken Campbell and five industry bloggers - will determine the winners.

To facilitate the conversations, Wind will donate $100,000 on behalf of each chosen personality to the Canadian charity of their choice. An additional $100,000 will be given to the six most popular charities as voted for online by site visitors, who can also vote for their favourite entries for the chance to win $100 Ticketmaster gift cards. The contest will run until March 7.

Strategy Online - DREAM CONVOS A MATTER OF CHARITY FOR WIND MOBILE
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The Adventures of Clumpy and Crumbly

There's two little guys in this business we really adore. They're the lovable litter Clumps known as Clumpy and Crumbly. Last year around this very same time the characters were brought to life in what was a true Lunch network production, Alchemy, Sugino Studio, Six Degrees, STEM and Pixelpusher all came together to bring these little guys to life for our forever friends at DDB West & Scoop Away.

This year Clumpy and Crumbly were once again eager to depart on a slew of adventures. We pulled together our friends at Pixelpusher, Fatbox, and Six Degrees to create some new adventures. This time though, we're getting interactive and putting users in the drivers seat. Choose your own adventure - Clump Style.

They're rapping, they're traveling, camping, exploring, and getting in a whole pile of fun along the way.

Not only can you choose an adventure, you can change their outfits, add your own cat into the mix and write your own story. True Story.

We're absolutely thrilled to be able to share this piece with you and we hope you enjoy playing with Clumpy and Crumbly as much as we do.

Enjoy! and Happy New Year from the litterbox.

Happy Holidays From Lunch

Happy Holidays from All of Your Friends At Lunch!

Thank you to all of our friends, and clients for making this such an amazing year.

May your holidays be fun, safe and relaxing!

From All of Us At Lunch (Amy, Lily, and Paula), Alchemy, Alex McLeod, Ben&Julia, Domani Studios, Fatbox, FriendsWithYou Studios, Kira Shaimanova, Kozyndan, Magic Pony, Mark Gervais, Narwhal, Nathan Jurevicius, Pixelpusher, Relish Interactive, Sajak & Farki, Six Degrees, Socimedia, STEM,, and Zeitguised.

Season's Greetings from Sajak & Farki

Well, it's that time of year again. Here to help us celebrate is a lovely Holiday Experience from our boys at Sajak & Farki (aka STEM).

Bringing us the 12 days interactive fun, today it's an amazing little music box.

Might we recommend, Piano, Funk and Latin - with a little bit of Sleigh-bell.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays...

Work is Play for Kira Shaimanova

The question asked most about Kira's work when seen in photos is "Is it 3D?". The response. No it's real.

On Friday December 10th until December 31st 5 of Kira's sculpture illustrations will be on display at Narwhal in Toronto.

If you can make it to the show, you should, the level of finish on Kira's work is unbelievable, and the personality of each character comes through in an amazing way.

For more details on Kira's process check out Kira's blog, or the article and interview below.

When Sculpture and Illustration Collide

Kira is available for commercial work through Lunch

New Work: Energizer Canada TBWA/Toronto

It's not often enough that you see a script and know that it really needs a puppet.

Lunch recently completed a fun, silly and whimsical campaign for Energizer with TBWA/Toronto.

FriendsWithYou Studios brought their character design and animation brilliance to the table for Flickety Flashlight, Clickety Camera and Ricky Remote, Pixelpusher came to play for character design and animation on Kenny Controller and of course the amazingly talented Six Degrees came to create the music for all four spots.

Click below to see them all!

Kenny Controller

Flickety Flashlight

Clickety Camera

Ricky Remote

We hope you enjoy watching them as much as we enjoyed making them.

It Gets Better - Canada

Hopefully by now you've seen this piece. If you haven't, you should.

Arren Williams and Tommy Smythe teamed up to bring a message of hope to gay teens in Canada.
Motivated by Dan Savage’s inspirational project “It Gets Better,” and wanting to provide positive role models in support of Canadian gay youth, Arren Williams, a Toronto based design journalist, stylist and regular guest expert on Cityline along with Tommy Smythe, Sarah Richardson’s design sidekick on the HGTV show Sarah’s House, have teamed up to put together a Canadian campaign featuring high profile LGBT Canadians.

American writer Dan Savage started the “It Gets Better” video project as a response to a series of suicides by gay teens in the US. He set up a YouTube channel in which people from different walks of life can post videos telling their stories and encouraging teens to understand that they can survive the bullying and move on to lead happy and fulfilling lives.

Inspired by this movement, Tommy and Arren are spearheading the initiative in Canada and hope this project will inspire teens and give them a positive outlook to show that there is strength in numbers. Tommy and Arren are working with Canadian talent from the worlds of design, fashion, the arts, business, sports and politics who are all ready to step up and help.

Participants so far include TV Host and Political Satirist Rick Mercer, Ballet Dancer Rex Harrington, Fashion Designer Joeffer Caoc, The cast of MTV’s 1 Girl 5 Gays, Author Anne Marie McDonald, Gold Medalist Mark Tewskbury, Director and Playwright Alisa Palmer, Makeup Experts Derek Selby & Kirk Brierley, Director Laurie Lynd, Politician George Smitherman, Writer/Performer Diane Flacks, Media Personality Enza Supermodel, TV Host Deb Pearce and Playwright Brad Fraser.

“This project would not be possible if not for the significant contributions of several individuals and companies,” said Williams. Tom Symes, Managing Partner and Head Of Sales at Imported Artists helped bring Jean-Marc Piche and Simon Mestel on board.

Jean-Marc, a Montreal native who has long been a fixture on the commercial directing scene and a force in the feature and documentary film communities, directed and shot the video, while Simon Mestel donated his time as director of photography.

Lunch Welcomes Kira Shaimanova

Amy Wildhorse - Part of "Mad Hollywood" series

The first time we saw Kira's work we wondered the same thing you're probably wondering now. Is it real? How is it done? How long does it take?

It's real. The rest is magic.

Kira Shaimanova is a three dimensional illustrator. That means she makes her illustrations, from scratch, with a stunning level of finish and detail. She found her calling in sculpture illustration after taking a doll class one summer, which inspired her to take her art to another level. She has been producing her extraordinary creations ever since. Her process includes creating individual dolls from clay, hand-made sets and photographing the final work. She loves incorporating her quirky sense of humor into her characters and settings. Shaimanova is mainly inspired by the fantastical and unreal, we're thrilled to have her join the Lunch network and can't wait to see her worlds come to life.

King of Neverland - Part of "Mad Hollywood" series

Sweet Talk - Part of "Chivalry is Undead" series

Kira is available for projects through Lunch.

Lunch Welcomes Domani Studios

Sometimes you meet someone and you just feel that instant connection, because you share the same interests, direction and approach. I'm thrilled to say that about Domani Studios.

Their involvement in the industry, community and passion for the perfect marriage of creative and technology make them one of those companies that you want to work with again, and again - in fact that's probably what led us to be sitting at the same table in the digital cafeteria.

Their work with Tool on Touching Stories - (if you don't have it, get it) to their FWA Site of The Year We Choose The Moon, the list goes on. Domani after all, means Tomorrow.

We're thrilled to welcome Domani Studios to lunch.

Recent Recognition for Domani Studios

ADC: Hybrid Cube, Gold, Silver
AICP Next Award: Audience Choice
International ANDY Award: Website Category Winner
Cannes Lions: Titanium Gold
Cannes Cyber Lions: Gold, 3 Silvers, Bronze
D&AD: 2 Yellow Pencils
Flash In The Can: Best Of Show
FWA: Site of the Year, Site of the Month
MIXX Awards: Gold
New York festivals: Gold
One Show Interactive: Gold
SXSW Web Awards Winner
Webbys: Category & People’s Voice Winner

What's for Lunch? - The Onion.

We don't usually use the word "stoked". It's probably the only way to describe this new addition to the Lunch family. We're stoked that Tool has signed The Onion to their roster. Yes, the Onion. The collective known as The Onion is now available for commercial work through Lunch/Tool. Branded Content may never be the same.

The Onion - The Reel

Together is Amazing. We agree.

From filling foodbanks, to innovative LED puzzles, and collaborative gaming the launch of Shaw's new Together is Amazing campaign was really just that, amazing, and we did it Together. BBDO, Shaw and STEM came together along with the support of the Lunch network to develop the online presence for the new campaign.

Within the Shaw network there's millions of people. So, Why not collaborate to do some amazing stuff?

We feel the same way. It's all about being connected in a network to make things better together. So, have some fun, check out an event, and help fill Canada's foodbanks. More amazing stuff to come. Together.

lunch collaborates with BleuBlancRouge

We were lucky enough to be included on a project that included real life stories, of real people living with HIV/AIDS. Lunch pulled together a team to help tell their stories from discussions of side effects, to isolation to the positive outlook most patients now face.

Directed and Shot by Radke's Robin Hays and DOP Trent Opaloch with motion graphics and design by Pixelpusher delivered impact and heart to the stories of people living with HIV/AIDS.

People like us from One Life / Une Vie on Vimeo.

Watch all 4 Videos in English or French

May Cause Side Effects

Walk this Way

HIV Ain't What It Used to Be

People Like Us

New Work: Scion meets Kozyndan

Scion has come to Canada. You may have seen them around, and if you were to pay a visit to a Scion dealership you may have noticed their new brochure. Donning the front cover in all of their technicolour glory is a beautiful original piece by Kozyndan.

When our friends at Saatchi & Saatchi came to us and described their vision, we knew that it was a perfect fit for Kozy and Dan. Away they went working away on what turned out to be a world full of Scion robots, music, sports, a dog on a bike and of course a sasquatch for good measure. Like most pieces by Kozyndan you can get lost in it. Ps. It's better in person ;) so we think you should pay a visit to your local Scion dealership to get one.

Kozyndan are available for commercial work through Narwhal/Lunch.

New Work: Everyone Experiences It Differently... 5 React

Recently we had the pleasure of working on a really great piece for our friends at BBDO.

STEM generated some really beautiful work using motion design and flash to create unique, rorschach like animations in which users could generate their own art.

Six Degrees created an atmospheric sound design which married to the visual design completed by STEM for an experiential piece which was used in a takeover at Dundas Square in Toronto, in online advertising as well as a microsite experience.

Click here to watch the Takeover Creative Placement

Alex McLeod - Art Shows and Interviews

So, Alex McLeod has popped up all over the Earth lately, from NY, to Spain to his upcoming Solo show on the West Coast. Today, his new show is even listed as one of the top 3 things to do today in Toronto.

Alex's new show opens tonight at Angell Gallery and runs through September 25, 2010.

Alex's candy coated landscapes are worth seeing. Big.

Alex was recently interviewed on Mocoloco.com My State of the Art: Alex McLeod . Enjoy

To keep up to date on Alex's Adventures, become a fan on Facebook

Alex is available for commercial work through Lunch

Lunch welcomes FWY Studios!

From the minds of the collective known as FriendsWithYou (Sam & Tury) comes the magic of FWY Studios. We at Lunch are thrilled to welcome the FWY family to our Lunch family.

We were lucky enough to spend some magical and fun days and evenings with the team while they were in town for Luminato Wish Come True Festival this summer and it was like, well, peas and carrots. It looked kind of like this,

Match.com - Better Together Campaign by FWY Studios for US Sydney

As you can see FWY Studios creates some pretty amazing work, from installations, to broadcast, to character design, games, mobile, online experiences - to well, anything you can imagine. The team loves to collaborate and make new things. They've already been featured on Motionographer, have done work for N*E*R*D, Volkswagen, PopTarts, Match.com and more. Everything is executed by the FriendsWithYou team and who better to execute that vision than the artists themselves.

We are absolutely thrilled to have them as a part of the family.

FWY Studios 2010 Reel -

FWYstudios Reel 2010! from FriendsWithYou on Vimeo.

:
For more news on FWY Studios and FriendsWithYou visit

FWY Studios are available for fine art and commercial work through Lunch.

Zeitguised Featured on the blog of Kanye West

Our second artist to be featured on the Blog of Kanye West (The First was the one and only - Alex McLeod) - the Second is Zeitguised.

Kanye, as we already know, has good taste.

Zeitguised is available for commercial work, through lunch.

Dine Alone Records: Summer Sampler

Do you like Summer? Do you like Music? Do you like free music? Do you like Making your own album covers?

The answer is yes.

From Lunch comes the Dine Alone Summer Sampler. From the minds of STEM (aka Sajak&Farki) comes a way to make your own custom cover for our friends at Dine Alone Records. With Creative, Design and development coming from the men of STEM.

Featuring the music of: Hot Hot Heat, Moneen, Alexisonfire, Arkells, City and Colour, Attack in Black, Tokyo Police Club, Dinosaur Bones, Parlovr, Spencer Burton, Mockingbird Wish Me Luck and Walter Schreifels.

Enjoy. Burn it. Create Your Cover. Buy it.

Lunch's Founder Amy Miranda in Brief Magazine

Thanks to Promax BDA's Brief Magazine and to Daisy Whitney for the great article on next gen marketing.

Check out the issue online - Pages 68-71 - Be sure to check out the full issue. Lots of great content.

Included below is the full interview from Amy Miranda from which the excerpts of the article in Brief were taken.

The transition to digital, or any new skill set is daunting. I think with digital it seems more daunting because of the role of technology. There’s been a lot of negative connotations to the digital space and the medium in general has unfortunately been oversaturated with people communicating that the transition is difficult, that people will be “left behind” or there’s an implication that if you don’t have experience in one area you can’t possibly transition to another. To me, that’s not a reality. Making the transition to anything new requires one thing: Passion. A real interest in learning. I can say that because although I’ve been in this business since it became a business, I learned as I went. I didn’t wake up and have the skills, I wasn’t taught them in school, in fact, I wasn’t mentored by any one person. Ever. I think that’s why I’ve concentrated so much on training, sharing the things I’ve learned so that other people can hone it, and make it better, and not have to go through the same challenges I did. My entire career has been a transition. I began thinking I wanted to do one thing, and specializing, to exploring different roles and learning about what I liked and what I didn’t. I asked a lot of questions, and I always encourage people to do the same. If you can’t find resources or people who are willing to help, it just means you should keep looking. People who approach the digital shift or next generation with a closed fist will be left behind, the future of the next generation of marketers is in transparency. I’ve seen too many good ideas, suffer, and in effect suffocate because people held on too tight. It’s really a balance, and whether we always are cognoscente of it or not, marketing is an art, and it’s about that balance between art and commerce. It’s about thinking differently, and taking risks – conversations. In terms of skills it’s about agility, and again a keen interest. Being adaptable and wearing different hats is critical, because everything is really becoming more efficient. So it’s about finding those efficiencies and developing solutions based on that. That’s a skill set that a lot of people have, when I do training and consulting with my clients about making the shift, whether it’s shifting the operational structure, or themselves it’s about knowing what you’re interested in doing and identifying what parts you don’t know. It becomes simpler to backfill. It’s about demystifying all of the unknowns. Most people, figure out quite quickly that they’re not missing the kind of skills they thought they were. You can’t teach people that, people are either interested or they aren’t. The next generation marketer is required to think about everything holistically, not elements individually, So when making the transition I think it’s important to be able to identify people who are thinking that way in what they do currently, and if you’re looking to learn attaching yourself to those people or companies is a great way to learn. You may not necessarily end up working directly with those people, but you can spend time with them. That happens a lot in my business, where people will ask to spend time with me, shadowing, taking part in industry functions or just talking. To me, that’s the best thing to do, is create a network where there’s a trade of knowledge happening, it’s been critical to what I do, and it’s where great ideas and new thinking is born. It’s like a nebula of ideas when you get enough smart people together and share knowledge. You can be a “traditional” marketer, or a “digital” marketer, or a designer, or a broadcaster but the soft skills are the same. It’s the application of those skills that’s different. I think people become daunted by the transition, to me it’s about being excited about it, if you’re not learning or engaged in what might be coming next, I can’t imagine still wanting to be in this business. Our currency is ideas, you can’t be left behind when that’s your focus.

All information is copyright Lunch. May not be reproduced without the permission of Lunch Inc.

Opening: Alex McLeod - Empire of Dreams @ mocca

On Saturday June 19th from 7-10pm @ mocca 952 Queen Street West, Toronto Empire of Dreams - Phenomenology of the built environment will be opening.

The exhibit will feature contemporary artists from Toronto, including Lunch's own Alex McLeod. The evening will feature an outdoor BBQ and music and artists will be in attendance.

Hope to see you there!

Contemporary artists from Toronto

The things that we build embody our highest aspirations and our essential instincts to survive. They also express our will to find place, to establish dominion over territory, over our destiny. Empire of Dreams is an exhibition of recent work by artists that looks at ways in which we exist within our built environment – the phenomenon that is our experience and interaction with structures and architectures that shape complex sensory and cognitive relationships to our surroundings.

Empire is manifest through physical structure - the built environment - and also through intangible and arbitrary structures: economics, politics, and the social and cultural constructs that influence identity and our perception of our place in the world. The artworks selected and produced for Empire of Dreams convey the artists’ insightful and timely discourses around our ever-shifting relationships to architecture, urbanization, economic and cultural paradigms, utopianism, existing and imagined space; the physical and the fluid structures that characterize empire and define who we are.

The artists’ backgrounds are diverse yet are filtered through the common lens of living in Toronto, Canada in the year 2010. Though the exhibition and the artwork do not always reference Toronto specifically, this shared experience of living in a large urban centre inevitably reflects conditions of existence common to all of us in the age of globalisation, of an emerging global empire. Through a remarkable range of approaches, techniques and in various media, the works in Empire of Dreams awaken within us new understandings of our surroundings, of the worlds that we build and inhabit.

Empire of Dreams also includes a magazine-format publication documenting the exhibition, including text from the curator, interviews with participating artists, and contributions from prominent guest writers and theorists, produced in collaboration with new Toronto-based art journal One Hour Empire.

Lunch Welcomes Ben&Julia

We're very pleased to announce the addition of Ben&Julia to the lunch network.

Ben&Julia are a French-Swiss duo of multidisciplinary talented
Directors and Art Directors.

We're thrilled to have them, from their art to their puppets, to their incredible sense of whimsy Ben&Julia join the team and are now available for work in Canada through lunch.

Julia graduated from Central Saint Martins and worked as an associate producer and graphic designer for MTV and as an art director for TV and press.
Ben studied editing at CLCF and 3D animation at Isart Digital and worked as a director, editor and VFX artist for various agencies in Paris.

In 2006, Ben & Julia decided to join their forces in order to create colorful and creative work, mixing animations, live footage, drawings, puppetry for commercials, virals, music videos and animations.

This year they've created Ben&Julia Studio in Berlin.

They work worldwide with clients such as: MTV, Swatch, St Michel, Tissot, RATP, Olympic Museum, Atari, Microsoft, Sega, EA.

Their work has been featured in books, magazines and websites such as Pictoplasma’s Characters in Motion vol.3, Digital Arts, Promo News, Motionographer, Videos Antville, Computer Arts, Computerlove and IdN.

Watch an Interview with Ben & Julia here: