The man who walked around the world.

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For reasons I can’t entirely explain I find nothing quite as exciting as a good long take, whether its a trip through Russian history, or some college kids making a lip dub.

You can add to that mixed bag this masterful new commercial for Johnnie Walker, featuring actor Robert Carlyle delivering a five minute monologue about the history of the famous whiskey while walking through the Scottish countryside captured in one continuous take on the 40th attempt.

One for the ladies, one for the fellas.

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Gem from the Nine Network, and 7mate from the Seven Network both launched over the weekend, although not in that order.

Long before digital multichannelling got too interesting in Australia I pondered how the commercial networks would approach the tricky task of extending their brands to multiple channels. Channel 4 have done a great job naming their portfolio of channels under the “4″ brand, while the UKTV group have adopted individual brands for each of their many channels.

These two approaches are currently playing out in Australia, with the Seven Network now extending its brand name and logo to 7two and 7mate, while Channel Nine has launched Go! and Gem. Personally I think the impending launch of Eleven is the best branding we’ve seen on a commercial multichannel yet, but that said I’m pretty hot for any branding Channel Ten comes up with.

As for this weekend Gem looks pretty and is a nice start, although perhaps something you might see on an inflight channel, 7mate on the other hand is less a brand and more of a punchline, so lets just say neither of them bowled me over.

Everything’s the same except the name.

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British network Virgin 1 launched in 2007 as the flagship general entertainment channel of the newly rebranded Virgin Media (formerly NTL Telewest).

However with Virgin Media offloading its channel group to British Sky Broadcasting earlier this year, the new owners decided to ditch the Virgin brand (perhaps understandably from their point of view) and relaunch it as simply Channel One.

Before, after and during videos above.

Enter the Lissajous.

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Encapsulating the scope and relevance of the national broadcaster is the goal of this new brand campaign, and having people jump into the embrace of the ABC’s famous lissajous is the approach they’ve taken.

Beautifully produced and visually distinct these new spots have the unenviable challenge of trying to represent an organisation with as much history and depth as the ABC, something any thirty second promo will struggle to achieve.

Created by Sydney agency Moon.

An American Breakfast.

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Breakfast television was invented in the United States, and continues to frustrate, entertain, inform and provide moving wallpaper to millions everyday.

Three network broadcasts dominate the genre, and all three are broadcast from New York City. The Today Show from NBC defined the genre in 1952, followed by Good Morning America from ABC in 1975 and the latest attempt from CBS in the form of the Early Show in 1999.

I’m still waiting for Aaron Sorkin to dramatize the world of morning television, but until then I guess we’ll have to keep tuning into the real thing.

The first hour of ABC News 24.

newswipe

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The long awaited ABC News 24 has launched. Download the first hour of broadcast and watch as Australia was introduced to its first free-to-air news channel.

ABC News aligns branding ahead of ’24′ launch.

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Along with the launch of Australia’s first free-to-air news channel tonight, the ABC is also rolling out a new look across all its news services.

Our first look at the new branding in action is tonight with the national bulletin at 7pm, just 30 minutes ahead of the channels official launch.

Alas the new theme isn’t the Pendulum remix as hoped.

Subscription television sampler from Tactic.

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Sydney based broadcast design outfit Tactic have been busy filling the screens of Australian subscription television channels with some great promos lately.

From the canvas to comedy, and crime to classics this diverse bunch of work is a great sample of the local creativity and the local industry.

Our first look at ABC News 24.

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The ABC attempted to launch a 24 hour news channel some fifteen years ago back in 1995. It was called TNC and it was going to be a subscription television offering.

Flash forward to 2010 and the imminent launch of ABC News 24 will fulfill a long standing goal for the broadcaster, and introduce Australian audiences to its first free-to-air news channel.

This 3-minute teaser started playing a few days ago on channel 24, with the launch expected to be as soon as next week. Check back for full coverage post-launch.

A fresh coat of awesome from Dulux.

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Elaborate, ambitious, dramatic and passionate are some of the words I find myself using when describing something that really impresses me.

Directed by Adam Berg, this beautiful commercial for Dulux ticks all those boxes.