Theo Cooper on ‘The Creators’, Vice and Intel’s new collaboration
Striking a blow for geek-chic 2010 style, processing giants Intel have teamed up with Vice Magazine to launch ‘The Creators’ an ambitious multi channel project that aims to connect international artists, with their use of technology as a common thread. Whilst remaining resolutely 21st century in their celebration of said technology the inspiration for the project comes from the smoky cafes and Salons of 1920s Paris, filtered through the mind of Spike Jonze who came up with the idea at a dinner with Vice’s Shane Smith.
Critically the project is off to a good start but while it delivers a polished content experience it remains to be seen whether or not they will grasp the opportunity to go further and facilitate collaboration and new work in the way some other platforms have.
For a company that makes microchips Intel’s brand positioning here is a bold move but they pull it off. Making the link between creativity and technology is smart and if not virgin territory, hardly a crowded space. Early indications are that the project has been very well received, and the blogs are on board too but you suspect the Vice name has been very beneficial there.
So far so good then? Well yes, and no. The execution is strong but what is really there for the end user? They are amplifying the work of a number of innovative global artists who are all producing excellent work in their fields but the worry is these artists are often well established. The Creators launched with Mark Ronson, whose video offered little more than a stylized digest of what we know already.
The question is; is he someone we need or want to know more about? Credit where it’s due, he’s an important artist but if you want to read about, listen to or watch Mark Ronson, there are many other places to do it. Yes, there are some less well-known names in the mix but for now they remain in the significant minority. Are Vice and Intel offering more than another well produced magazine site here?
A month in and it is certainly too early to tell but if the current trajectory is maintained then it will feel like some opportunities have been missed. The site promises collaboration but doesn’t really deliver it. Rather than simply promote all these artists why not go further and really facilitate some collaboration? Really stimulate creativity and make interesting new things happen.
Looking at a project like Scion AV from Toyota USA they manage to embed themselves at a grassroots level with artists, labels and promoters across the country. They run festivals, tours and contests in the live space. Online they create compilations, radio shows and release limited edition digital EPs of specially commissioned remixes.
Scion have embedded themselves within a defined cultural space and made it their own with a light enough touch to gain a degree of trust and credibility. All the while they are creating just as many content opportunities as The Creators, but the content co-exists with a wealth of other real world activity, one feeds the other.
Without needing to go in to detail Red Bull clearly do the same with the Music Academy and all the events, radio and associated activity that go with that. The Creators still has time to go down this route and start joining the dots between the artists involved in new and interesting ways but even then will it lack the appeal of a Scion or an RBMA? Whilst not exactly representing the everyman, preferring more niche scenes those two projects generate a huge level of real world brand engagement with real people creating and consuming the music associated with the platforms. With its lofty ambitions of re-creating Parisian Salons ‘The Creators’ feels like runs the risk of alienating those who don’t frequent the worlds or art or music at a high concept, high fashion level.
With a series of excellently programmed events over the summer and a roll out through print, mobile and TV later this year there is clearly much more to come from Vice and Intel’s joint venture and it would be great to see some of the potential realised, to see The Creators really do some creating.
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