Discovery 'awesome world' campaign

1 May 2009

The Skinny
To mark its 15th year in the region, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific (DNAP) revealed a new logo for its flagship network Discovery Channel, at the same time launching a refreshed on-air brand campaign across the Asia-Pacific.
"The on-air campaign continues from the infectious 'The World is Just Awesome' campaign which celebrates everything positive the world has to offer. The brand spot gives viewers a personal connection with Discovery by offering a humorous, but sincere side to the brand," said Karen Cheah, vice president, creative services, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific.

The spot uses an old children's song called 'I Love the Mountains', best remembered for its infectious "boom de ah da" chorus. The song's lyrics were rewritten to better reflect Discovery's personalities and passions.

"This new campaign celebrates everything positive the world has to offer. We are a brand that celebrates the many wondrous aspects of the world around us. In study after study in Asia, we have seen that this view of the world is shared by many Asian television viewers, who over the last 14 years have turned to Discovery Channel to satisfy this innate curiosity and wonder. The spot is unashamedly optimistic, is truly infectious and we believe, has the ability to reach out to both existing fans of Discovery Channel and new viewers," said Vikram Channa, vice president, content, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific.
The Production
Boston-based Viewpoint Creative developed the revitalised brand mark that continues to leverage the equity of its signature 'globe.' By linking the globe into the "D" of Discovery, Viewpoint fused the world and brand.
Royale was tasked with refining the Discovery Channel logo, which had undergone a design overhaul recently. The studio re-worked the network's signature globe icon, giving it dimension and finessing the typography.
The comprehensive package for the Discovery Channel includes branding elements, IDs, show menus, transitions, and lower thirds, as well as a generic toolkit of graphics and animation.

The stylised earth, contemporary colour palette and fresh typography all combine to bring the mark more in line with Discovery as the global communications company. The mark can also separate the "D-globe" as a single entity, in order to create a unique and dynamic icon. The spot was directed by executive producer Warren Souto, liaising remotely from Singapore with four different camera crews in Malaysia, India, Taiwan and Australia.
The Post
The challenge was to make the rebrand more engaging to viewers by turning it into an on-air event. Two weeks prior to the on-air change, teasers went out featuring discovery channel personalities – such as Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs, Bear Grylls from Man vs Wild, and Adam and Jamie from The Mythbusters – interacting with the new logo. The personalities had been shot on green screen and composited on Smoke.
On the day of the rebrand, the top of every hour featured newly created idents that depicted specially selected scenes from programmes or awe-inspiring iconic events from across the region. The theme of these idents continues from Discovery Channel's "The World Is Just Awesome" campaign that was launched last year.
In this spot, the music was the "star". An Asia-Pacific image spot was created using the catchy "boom de ah da" melody, played using Asian musical instruments. The spot was off-lined on Avid Express, telecined on da Vinci 2kplus and polished on Smoke. Credits
Title: The World is Just Awesome
Client: Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific (DNAP)
Creative Credit: Dan Bragg
(Vice-President, Creative)
Creative Credit: 72andSunny
Brand mark design: Viewpoint Creative
Directed by: Warren Souto (Executive Producer)