'UNREAL' Commercials Nominated for National Awards
by Staff
November 5, 2007
DALLAS, (christiansunite.com) -- The National Religious Broadcasters Association (NRB) announced this week that Dallas-based NeedHim Ministries has received three nominations for their 2008 Annual Media Awards. National Religious Broadcasters Association is an international association of Christian communicators with more than 1400 member organizations representing millions of viewers, listeners, and readers. The awards will be presented March 8-11, 2008 during the annual NRB Convention and Expo at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, Nashville, TN.Nominated for Radio Program of the Year-Short Form, and Best Television Commercial, the "UNREAL" campaign features ten spots each focused on one of the 10 Commandments. The radio commercials are voiced by men and women who tell of feeling "unreal" because of choices they have made in their lives, but learning that they can become "real" by placing their faith in Jesus Christ. The television spots begin with Rotoscope animation of characters that transition into real men and women during their testimonies of faith and forgiveness. According to the NRB, the commercials were determined to be "compelling, and entertaining while demonstrating an authentic Christian faith." To view the commercials, go to: www.needhimresources.net/m/unreal-tv.php.
Rotoscoping is an animation technique by which animators trace over live-action film movement, frame by frame. The technique was invented in 1914 by Max Fleischer who used it for his series "Out of the Inkwell." Walt Disney and his team of animators employed the technique for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Cinderella (1950). More recently, digital animators utilize the process with onion-skin and motion-tracking software.
Also nominated for the Impact Award, the NRB called NeedHim Ministries a "ministry that uniquely impacts its market and beyond through its activities, programs, and events, extending far beyond the standard accomplishments of the Christian media industry." Upon learning of the nominations, Drew Dickens, NeedHim Ministries President/CEO, responded "We are quite humbled to be nominated for so many awards but only as an opportunity to show God's blessing on His work at Need Him. It's been amazing to sense God's leading in the creative process for these 'Unreal' evangelism spots. With the all of the attention lately on the applicability of the Ten Commandments, we feel that the Lord truly led us to develop this campaign and are eager to see what He does with them."
NeedHim Ministries began in 1996 as a partnership with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Campus Crusade for Christ, Moody Bible, and several other evangelical ministries. NeedHim Ministries was created to provide an evangelism response strategy to enable anyone to speak live with a trained volunteer about how to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. More than 1200 radio and television stations, billboards, and newspapers across the United States promote the special call-in number, 888-NeedHIM, and website needhim.org.
