Each time a new gadget craze sweeps the Internet, there's a high probability that the movers and shakers in the advertising world will be among its earliest (and most enthusiastic) adopters ⎯ especially if the brand name "Apple" is attached. When the tech giant released its interactive iPad tablet in May, developers and producers working in the ad space immediately began to explore its implications on filmmaking.

Santa Monica-based production company Tool of North America responded to the release of the iPad by producing "Touching Stories," a series of four interactive live action shorts that allow viewers to touch, move, shake and turn the screen to seemingly control the outcome of each story. Available as a free downloadable app from the iTunes store in June, the film series launched with an exclusive behind-the-scenes feature on Fast Company magazine's website.

"Touching Stories" leverages the interactivity of the iPad to expand the ways a film director is able to tell a story, but the concept also has implications in the realm of branded consumer experiences. With that in mind, Tool turned to its longtime PR company TRUST to get the attention of a very specific audience during the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival: the top creative minds in advertising.