Legends of Mythology to Inspire Epic Creations

A pantheon of mythological gods is leading the Alcan Composites USA campaign to inspire legendary creations on an epic scale from graphic designers, who’ve long relied upon the proven performance of the company’s Fome-Cor®, Sintra®, Gator® and Dibond® graphic display boards. Alcan Composites’ Legends of Mythology marketing communications campaign has been designed to visually inspire designers by powerfully representing each product line’s attributes through a mythological figure.

“Alcan Composites has earned a long-standing reputation in the graphic display industry for producing legendarily reliable substrates and has challenged designers to create their own legendary graphic displays in its previous ‘Legends’ marketing communications campaign,” said Joseph N. Masters, marketing manager, graphic display, Alcan Composites USA. “The Legends of Mythology campaign extension is designed to remind graphic designers and fabricators of the powerful role these products can play in creating legendary displays. Bold images of mythological gods -- including Neptune, Ra, Medusa and Thor -- represent the unique attributes of each of our lines of Fome-Cor®, Sintra®, Gatorfoam® and Dibond® graphic display boards.”



Fome-Cor board's depth is depicted by Roman god Neptune rising out of the ocean depths.

Those mythological images include:

Fome-Cor® and Neptune. Illustrations of the Roman god of the sea often depict Neptune rising out of the depths of the ocean. This concept of “depth” is exemplified by Fome-Cor board because it is uniquely embossable; varying surface levels can be die-cut into the board to produce 3-D effects as well as closed edges that will stay closed permanently. Fome-Cor board consists of extruded polystyrene foam bonded between various high-quality papers that feature a smooth surface for direct digital- and screen-printing applications or mounting.

Sintra® and Ra. Egyptian sun-god Ra personifies the attributes of Sintra Bright White, which is print-optimized to feature the brightest, whitest surface available to produce eye-popping graphics in both direct screen-printing and digital-printing applications. Sintra is a lightweight-yet-rigid expanded PVC material that cuts cleanly, can be direct printed, and accepts vinyl graphics.

Gatorfoam® and Medusa. In Greek mythology, Medusa possessed the power to turn into stone anyone that she gazed upon. Similarly, that kind of rigidity is possessed by Gatorfoam, the original heavy-duty graphic display board that consists of polystyrene foam bonded between two layers of wood-fiber veneer laminate. This unique construction makes Gatorfoam rigid yet lightweight and warp-resistant; its surface also is exceptionally smooth and strong.

Dibond® and Thor. Thor, the strongest of the Norse gods, was believed to control thunder, with lightning flashing whenever he threw his hammer. That kind of superior strength is exemplified by Dibond, a rigid, durable aluminum composite material consisting of two pre-painted sheets of .012-inch aluminum bonded to a solid polyethylene core. Dibond, the flattest panel on the market, offers a superior surface for mounting vinyl graphics and displaying digital and screen-printed graphics.

Alcan Composites’ Legends of Mythology will be represented in a series of bold advertisements, a new product brochure, trade-show exhibit booth graphics and tabletop diorama, a sales kit featuring product samples printed as scrolls, and on the company’s updated web site at www.AlcanCompositesUSA.com.

The Legends of Mythology marketing communications campaign was designed by Charlotte, N.C.-based Luquire George Andrews (LGA), a leader in integrated marketing communications in the Southeast for 25 years.

“We were asked by Alcan Composites to extend the ‘Legends’ campaign with a series of cohesive visuals that support the big picture of choosing the right graphic display board,” said Philip Tate, senior vice president, LGA.

“The Legends of Mythology concept was developed after reviewing several different types of legends,” said Todd Aldridge, group creative director, LGA. “Ultimately, the mythological gods were chosen as the best way to link the powerful attributes of Alcan Composites’ graphic display boards with the legend.”

Each legendary deity was portrayed by a model posed and photographed for digital inclusion in a scene that could be created from Alcan Composites’ graphic display boards. For example, the actor portraying Neptune was positioned as though he were emerging from a sea of Fome-Cor board waves. For each mythological god, West Coast-based photo illustrators Sullivan & Lane digitally created settings and backdrop graphics, which were then combined with the model shots in various layers to add lifelike dimensionality to the final images.

“This layered effect was key to creating point-of-purchase mock-ups to show designers and fabricators how Alcan Composites’ substrates can be used to create compelling communication pieces,” according to Masters, who said these digitally combined images also will appear in advertising and marketing collateral pieces.

“Pulling these visuals off really makes this campaign compelling,” said Aldridge. “We’ve created an environment where myths could live within the product.”

The Legends of Mythology campaign officially kicks off in September with new advertisements. The Alcan Composites’ exhibit booth will be updated with these images for its display at the Specialty Printing & Imaging Technology 2009 SGIA Expo in New Orleans Oct. 7-9, including a tabletop diorama depicting the set created from Fome-Cor board for Neptune. A short fabrication video will be screened at the booth for show-goers “to see how the legend comes to life,” said Tate.

For more information about Alcan Composites USA graphic display boards, call (800) 626-3365 or email info.usa@alcan.com. Visit us on the web at www.AlcanCompositesUSA.com.

Alcan Composites USA Inc. specializes in the manufacturing of leading substrates for the graphic display market in North America and South America. With manufacturing facilities in Benton, Ky., Statesville, N.C., and Glasgow, Ky., and sales and marketing offices in Mooresville, N.C., our industry leading brands include: Fome-Cor®, Sintra®, Gator® and Dibond®. For more information, please visit: www.AlcanCompositesUSA.com.

About Alcan Composites
Alcan Composites, a division of Rio Tinto Alcan Engineered Products employs 2,700 employees in 21 locations in Europe, the Americas and Asia. It is active in manufacturing and commercializing lightweight products for architecture, visual communication, transportation, industrial and wind energy markets. Its well-known brands ALUCOBOND®, DIBOND®, FOREX®/SINTRA®, GATOR®, KAPA®, FOME-COR®, ALUCORE®, AIREX® and BALTEK® are the category leaders in the markets served. For more information, visit www.alcancomposites.com.


About Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminum, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa.

® Fome-Cor, Sintra, Gator and Dibond are registered trademarks of Alcan Composites USA.

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