Hasta La Creative!

This commercial takes the concept of artisanal cheese to a whole new level—and it’s not even trying to sell cheese.

In an amusing 30-second spot for Branston Chutney, Mcgarrybowen channels a classic scene from Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But instead of Richard Dreyfuss shaping an alien-inspired, mashed-potato sculpture, it’s some guy who’s not Richard Dreyfuss topping off his own intricately-carved fromage masterpiece, with a cracker and schmear of chutney.

Three new Branston flavors: Mediterranean Tomato, Caramelized Onion and Orchard Fruit, apparently served as muse to the spot’s hero (Extraterrestrials, as far as we know, didn’t enter into the equation).

“Whatever you make, make it special,” the voiceover says. The ad, titled “Chutney Mountain,” certainly embodies that spirit, in a slightly unhinged kind of way. It’s not as sweet as Branston’s “The Apologist” from a few years back, but some viewers might find it less sappy, and possibly more memorable. Of course, there’s also the likelihood everyone who watches it will end up just craving cheese over chutney.

CREDITS

Brand: Branston Chutney
Agency: Mcgarrybowen
Client: Mizkan Europe
Campaign Managers: Lorna Kimberley, Victoria Adams
Executive Creative Directors: Paul Jordan, Angus Macadam
Creative Team: Will Grave, Yury Vorobev
Planning: Kevin Chesters, Nicole Kirkland, Rhonwen Lally
Business Director: Robbie Black
Account Director: Susan Lawlor
Account Manager: Nicole Avery
Producers: Abbi Tarrant, Charlotte Stirrup
Production Co.: Rogue
Director: Sam Brown
Producer: Kate Hitchings
Post-production: The Mill
Audio: GCRS
Media Planning: UM London
Food Stylist: Clare Ferguson

The newly Draft-less FCB worked with Canal+ to create a mockumentary on the famous “Wilhelm scream” entitled “The Woman Who Can’t Watch Movies.”

“The Wilhelm scream,” in case anyone needs a refresher, is the famous stock audio scream recorded by Sheb Wooley and named after the character Private Wilhelm in the 1953 western The Charge of the Feather River, although it was first used in the 1951 film Distant Drums. It saw a resurgence in popularity as a stock sound effect following its use in Star Wars and Indiana Jones. It is now so ubiquitous (it has been dubbed in over 200 films) that it has become something of an in-joke, used in recent years in films by Pixar, the Lord of the Rings triology, and countless other movies. (There are rumors that directors Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino “maintain a bet as to who has used the “Wilhelm scream” more.”)

“The Woman Who Can’t Watch Movies” follows the (supposed) story of Sheb’s widow, Linda Dotson Wooley. Linda complains that she can’t watch movies anymore because she “just can’t bear to hear the sound of Sheb screaming out in pain over and over again.” After introducing Linda and her “condition” — a clever (although kind of sad) way to call attention to the sound effect’s ubiquity — the mockumentary introduces viewers to Canal+’s Scream Bank, “a catalog of donated screams for industry professionals to use in place of Sheb’s.” A few comically-off screams are then shown dubbed into a film, a great display of why the “Wilhelm Scream” has become such a well-worn cliche. The video is a teaser for Leave Wilhelm Alone, an upcoming documentary on the “Wilhelm scream.” Stick around for credits after the jump, and feel free to head on over to Canal+’s site and record a scream of your own. continued…

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