Hasta La Creative!

As a camera pans over a collection of VolvoXC60 parts seemingly suspended in midair, a voiceover explains the company’s new Safe + Secure Coverage Plan, under which the legendary automaker commits to absorbing the cost of repairing and maintaining its vehicles’ 4,800 parts for five years. To symbolically reinforce both the safety of the autos and the freedom inherent in such a program, a gang of ski-, bike- and surfboard-wielding drivers and passengers stand within the hovering Volvo frame, as the narrator chimes, “…so you can take care of more important things in life, like living it.”

The original version of the ad aired in the 1990s and is one of the most iconic and memorable beauty spots of the era and is still remembered today. The remake is part of campaign re-launching two of Herbal Essences’ most popular lines from the same era (the Smooth and Shine Collections) with Sonzero tapped to give it a hip, modern twist. “I haven’t been this excited about a project in a long time,” Sonzero says. “The mojo on the shoot was fantastic. It was great collaborating with Atelier Creative Director Kristin Moore-Gantz and Producer David Schiavone—good people, great vibes, real pros.”

The gorgeous Nicole Scherzinger, who was named Herbal Essences Global Brand Ambassador last year, was the ideal choice to reinvent one of advertising’s most iconic taglines. “Nicole is so hot!” Sonzero offers. “She was perfectly cast for this role. She is stunning and has a mischief factor that is totally charming. I had no idea that she trained for the opera.”

“It was a unique project—reviving a retro classic—and Jim rocked it,” adds Moore-Gantz, atelier SVP Global Creative Director. “Jim’s respect for Nicole and his renowned beauty shooting finesse illuminated Nicole’s humorous side and her striking beauty.”

Sonzero shot the spot at Air Hollywood, a Pacoima, California shooting stage that specializes in airplane sets. The director’s crew modified an existing mock-up of a passenger compartment with an upscale, modern and fun look. “We spruced up the interior with colored Plexiglas panels and resurfaced the galley with stainless steel,” Sonzero recalls. “We also used colored lighting to give the interior a clubby feel.”

“Jim and Nicole were a fun pair to watch working on set,” notes Moore-Gantz. “They are both pros and both have a great sense of humor. It made shooting gorgeous Herbal hair in an airplane bathroom, so beautiful!”

Sonzero employed Thomas Kloss as director of photography and used Alexa and Phantom cameras to capture shots.

The documentary and PSA feature real service people who have returned home with serious physical and mental injuries, including amputations, traumatic brain injuries and PTSD. In the documentary, soldiers and their family members discuss how they were hurt and some of the obstacles that they face in resuming civilian lives. The documentary debuted at the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s fifth annual Stand up for Heroes fundraising event in New York City. The PSA was nationally broadcast on CBS and has screened in more than 2000 movie theaters nationwide.

Stoff and a small crew spent six days in San Antonio and New York interviewing and shooting more than 20 service members and their families. In San Antonio, Stoff shot at the Returning Heroes Home, a rehabilitation center funded through private donations. In New York, he met with service people at a veterans housing development in Fordham Village, New York University and other locations.

“It was one of the most moving experiences of my life,” says Stoff. “Taking part in this project was also a deeply emotional experience for these guys. They didn’t hold anything back from the camera; they let it all out.”

Stoff, who has worked on a number of advertising campaigns for the U.S. Marine Corps, said that his aim was to capture the soldiers’ stories in as simple and direct a way as possible. “You talk to someone who is a triple amputee and listen as he explains how he goes hunting with a compound bow, pulling the string back with his teeth—it’s incredibly moving,” he notes. “The term is often used lightly, but they really are heroes.”

A Common Thread is located at 4081 Redwood Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90066. For more information, call 310.823.7300 or visit http://www.acommonthread.tv

Begun last year, all of the ads in campaign have employed a documentary approach to show how Kraft food products are woven into the lives of real people, but these latest spots take the concept to a new and deeper level. One spot features the Villeres, a couple with four young daughters who have built a rambling garden next to their home where they raise chickens and grow fresh fruits and vegetables. Two other spots introduce the Trotters, an exuberant family of do-it-yourselfers who whip up a sumptuous back porch barbecue for their friends.

The stories presented by the spots are uplifting, insightful and sincere. And the connection to Kraft is made with a light touch. In the Villere spot, mom blends Kraft’s Philadelphia Cream Cheese into an omelette she is preparing.

Gleie created these intimate human dramas in a thoughtful and restrained manner that runs counter to conventional advertising. In selecting his subjects, the director avoided casting agents, relying instead on word-of-mouth sources to locate families whose lifestyles and values coincided with the Kraft brand. Then, working with a small crew, he spent a week shooting them in their own homes and doing things they normally do.

“In most commercials, everything is planned out in great detail,” Geie says, “but in this case, we begin by letting go. We step back and observe. In the process of finding these families in New Orleans, the scripts and the ideas developed. It took new turns every day. So, it was really about keeping an open mind.”

Gleie says that the respect he and his crew showed to their subjects is reflected in the naturalism and emotional power of the finished spots. “Everyone on the crew was moved by these people and how inviting they were,” he notes. “We felt like we were making new friends.”

Derek Haas has seen a lot of slickly-produced trailers full of pyrotechnics, special effects, and sexy women. They are often part of the marketing campaigns for the films whose screenplays he’s written, films that include 3:10 to Yuma and Wanted. But it’s unusual for one of his spy novels to get the Hollywood treatment.

Yet, a trailer for The Right Hand, Haas’ new book due out in November, looks very much like a preview for a summer blockbuster. A silhouetted figure in a perfectly tailored suit appears in an ominous, nighttime setting. There are guns, bomb blasts, roaring motorcycles and a naked woman with a Medusa’s crown of snakes. Dynamic images flood the screen at heart-pounding speed. A sonorous voice-over refers to “covert operations outside the boundaries of reality.”

This dazzling trailer was produced by Chicago-based Filmworkers. Matt Egan, director of the company’s in-house production unit, concepted, directed and edited the trailer. Additional post-production support (color grading, editorial finishing and other services) was completed by Filmworkers and 3-D animation was supplied by its affiliate, the production studio Vitamin. Egan shot the live action elements on a special effects stage at Resolution Digital Studios.

“The book is very cinematic—it reads like a James Bond or Bourne novel—and we felt it could benefit from a trailer with the emotional intensity of trailers for that type of movie,” Egan explains. “I use a lot of visual metaphors to represent the complexity and suspense of the novel, such as graphical mazes for the plot twists and turns, and the Medusa character who represents a sense of foreboding and parallels the book’s female lead, who is both attractive and dangerous.”

Haas, for one, is impressed with the results. “It’s the best book trailer I’ve ever seen,” he said. “And the response is overwhelming. Entertainment Weekly launched it on their website and everyone is ecstatic. It’s certainly going to drive sales.”

Cost is one reason that trailers are a relative rarity in book publishing, but Filmworkers is hoping to change that. As a boutique option with a huge pool of talent and resources at its disposal, Filmworkers provides soup-to-nuts creative and production services and does so far more efficiently than is possible through traditional production channels.

“Filmworkers can develop, write, design and execute media using in-house resources alone,” explains Bill Ryan, co-founder (with Filmworkers president Reid Brody) of the independent film production company 2DS. Ryan introduced Haas to Filmworkers. “In today’s media landscape, it is possible to promote a book the same way that you promote a movie, so I think there is a lot of potential for the new model Filmworkers has created.”

Filmworkers is located at 232 E. Ohio St. Penthouse, Chicago, IL 60611. For more information, call (312) 664-9333 or visit www.filmworkers.com.

The campaign, which includes broadcast, print and web components, was designed, produced and finished entirely by Vitamin’s in-house creative team. The broadcast spots feature relatable moments in day-to-day life showing how there is a Pilot Pen to fit everyone’s needs. A songwriter, for example, uses the FriXion erasable gel ink pen to completely erase lyrics, and then smoothly rewrite them after learning that his girlfriend has dumped him. The lyrics and whimsical drawings represent the singer’s thoughts and emotions, and spring to life like doodles on blank paper. (All of the animation is hand drawn by artists using the appropriate Pilot Pen.) The Pilot campaign tagline is “Power to the Pen.”

The print and web components employ a similar style and theme, associating Pilot Pens with the unique personalities and lifestyles of individual people. The web campaign centers on an interactive website, www.powertothepen.com, that invites consumers to submit blog entries and photos of “masterpieces” created with Pilot Pens.

“Everyone has different needs and it was important to showcase this idea,” explains Vitamin creative director Danny DelPurgatorio. “We wanted to illustrate how people use pens in their daily routine, all the while keeping things upbeat and fun.”

DelPurgatorio says that having all the work originate from one studio offered creative and practical advantages. “The campaign’s creative stems from one design. We established a look upfront and from there we were able to apply those sensibilities across multiple platforms.” He observes that “It resulted in a seamless production from start to finish. This is what we do best.”

For the live action portion of the broadcast spots, Vitamin cast and shot the spot with DelPurgatorio directing. A still shoot for the print and web components was handled simultaneously so clients could oversee aspects of both productions at the same time. Design, animation (2D and 3D), visual effects, editing and sound mixing were all done at Vitamin’s Chicago studio.

DelPurgatorio said that the creative benefitted from a rich collaboration that developed between Vitamin, Bright Red and Pilot. “We had a lot of fun working with the agency creatives and the team from Pilot,” he says. “They worked with us from design through execution. The energy was great.”
Vitamin is located at 232 East Ohio Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611. For more information, call 312.664.6683 or visit www.vitaminpictures.tv