Intent on catching their flight, busy executives rush their rental car to the airport. But what initially appears to be a typical Hertz or Avis spot turns out instead to be promoting something very different.
The four execs get out of the automobile, one methodically unloading baggage from the trunk, another untangling a nearby industrial-sized vacuum cleaner. It’s as if they comprise a crackerjack cleanup crew. One man looks under the vehicle’s hood, checking the motor oil level. A female executive gingerly wipes the windshield, staining her suit. Another man, clipboard in hand, diligently inspects the car’s exterior for dings. Inside, cleaning, the fourth exec discovers a little dividend—a dollar bill—lodged in the crevice of the back seat, and surreptitiously tucks the greenback into his business suit coat pocket. Digging for more hidden treasure, he comes up with a less desirable object: a withered apple core. The day takes another downturn as the woman grapples unsuccessfully with a pressure water hose, spritzing a colleague.
Suddenly appearing as a crystal-clear reflection in the car’s clean windshield is an airplane in flight. Looking skyward, the execs are hit by a sobering realization: Their plane has just taken off.
The absence of the rental company’s employees due to workplace injury has provoked this missed connection. A voiceover explains that "when people can’t get back on the job, we all feel it"—including the execs who suddenly have to assume car wash and maintenance duties. A supered tagline reads, "Workers’ Compensation/Helping people return to work."
"Rental Car" is one of three :30s in this State Compensation Insurance Fund campaign, directed by John Dolan of bicoastal Anonymous Content for San Francisco ad agency Gardner Geary Coll. Dolan’s Anonymous support team included executive producer Andy Traines, head of production Cassie Hewlen and producer John Benet. The DP was Neil Shapiro.
The agency ensemble consisted of creative director John Coll, art director Craig Silverman, copywriter Naomi Maloney and producer Annie Uzdavinis.
The campaign—which broke in California on March 31—was edited by Bob Frisk of Phoenix Editorial, San Francisco. The Phoenix crew included executive producer Lisa Hinman, producer Jonathan Hinman, assistant editor Molly Conway, graphic artist Matt Silverman, and Smoke online/effects editor John Crossley. Bob Festa of R!OT, Santa Monica, served as colorist. Audio mixer was Eric Eckstein of One Union Recording Studios, San Francisco. Composer/sound designer was Andy Newell of Ripe Sound, San Rafael, Calif.
