“From the overall concept of an airport lounge, to the depth of the content and the efficient and creative use of Flash, this site did an incredible job of paying attention to details.” —juror Sasha Kurtz

“Like the clean, crisp, fluid moving images, the navigation is easy to understand and makes it easy to learn more about the product.” —juror Dan Mavromatis

Overview: Visitors come for the rum and leave intoxicated with interesting historical facts from the rum capital of the world. This site immediately launches its target audience into vacation mode; using the airport as the point of departure for tropical holidays where rum cocktails are served. Appropriate combination of background music and airport sounds enhances the experience.

• Features overviews of rum history and production techniques
• Assets are evenly divided across 200 SWFs making download time smooth and consistent
• Users can create online invitations to their own rum party
• 10 weeks, 13 people

Comments by Pedro Ortiz:
“After a discussion regarding the substitution of tequila for rum when ordering cocktails, my client asked our waiter for ‘a margarita with rum.’ The perplexed waiter countered with a question, ‘Would you like tequila and rum in your margarita, or just rum?’

“This project presented several challenges, the first of which is educating the public about rum’s versatility, flavor varieties, manufacturing process and history. We had to demonstrate how rum is a more flavorful alternative to tequila, gin or vodka and communicate that there’s a ‘rum drink’ for every style, taste or occasion while also making it entertaining and engaging.

“We also had to present rum as a single product, without emphasizing, or distinguishing between, the various types or manufacturers that exist. This called for a product concept that could unify and represent all brands, while also keeping them independent.

“We based our concept on the excitement of travel. It sparked a lot of ideas that work both off and online and successfully combines the versatility of rum with Puerto Rico—the Rum Capital of the World. Presenting rum in a neutral context gave us the flexibility to play with different creative ideas while keeping the general concept intact. Besides we really liked the airport gate approach to navigation.

“A 9 1/2 week deadline, smack during Christmas season, seemed like a recipe for disaster. However, our client put her faith in us when we told her we could get it done. So, we put together a tightly organized production process that included storyboarding each channel and carefully detailing every Flash behavior. The planning, although extreme, was essential to finishing on time.

“The project ran smoothly from start to finish.”