If a Washington Senators fan hadn’t made a deal with the devil to help his baseball team win the American League pennant, Damn Yankees wouldn’t have been much of a movie—or, for that matter, a Broadway musical.
Fast-forward 40-plus years, change the sport to football, and you’ll find that taking the moral stand not to ally with the devil can at least lead to an entertaining commercial. In this :30 promoting the upcoming season for the National Football League’s Seattle Seahawks, Lucifer himself—played comically by Eugene Levy—tries to tempt the team’s star defensive end, Michael Sinclair.
While Sinclair sorts through the clothes in his locker after a workout, the devil—casually seated on a proximate bench—asks whether he’s thought about "my offer."
"I told you, I’m not interested," Sinclair responds with ease.
"You sell me your soul and I guarantee the Seahawks a Super Bowl," promises Levy, whose head-to-toe red suit boasts horns and a tail.
"We don’t need your help," states Sinclair.
"Oh, I know: ‘Cause ESPN said you had the best draft in the league. And, then, ya know, you signed guys like Chad Eaton," the devil counters with disdain. "You can’t get past Oakland without me, my friend."
"Sorry, man, can’t do it," replies Sinclair.
So the devil sweetens the pot: "What if I throw in a DVD player?"
The locker room scene gives way to a supered message against a blue background, which simply reads: "We like our chances." Then the Seahawks logo appears, accompanied by a toll-free phone number for season ticket info.
We return to the locker room, where in conclusion the devil stresses that the DVD machine "plays CDs, too."
Titled "Locker Room," this spot was conceived by a team at Publicis In The West, Seattle, consisting of president/chief creative officer/art director Kevin Kehoe, copywriter Jim Lemaitre and producer Adam Oliver.
The ad was one of four in the campaign directed by Hank Perlman of bicoastal/international hungry man. Hungry man’s executive producers on the job were Steve Orent and Dan Duffy, with Lesley Chilcott producing. "Locker Room" was lensed by DP Scott Henriksen.
The commercial was edited by David Chechel of FilmCore, Santa Monica, who also served as sound designer. Therese Hunsberger produced for FilmCore. Libor Zednicek and Dave Hussey of Santa Monica-based Company 3 were online editor and colorist, respectively. Audio mixer was Loren Silber of POP Sound, Santa Monica.
