What would you do if a young businessman approached you on a busy city street corner and offered you a wad of cash, no strings attached? You’d take it, right? “Not so,” says Executive Producer, Patrick Donnelly, of Chicago’s Company C Productions.
It was a social experiment created by advertising agency Euro RSCG for Western Union’s comedic viral campaign, “There’s A Better Way To Give The Gift Of Cash.” For two days Company C Director Alex Fendrich, two Directors of Photography and a series of hidden cameras filmed Comedian Michael Govier as he attempted to hand out cash to unsuspecting people at a variety of Chicago cityscapes including Wicker Park, Chicago’s Financial District, Daley Plaza, and Michigan Avenue’s “Miracle Mile.”
While filming in the Financial District, a somewhat baffled, high-level city prosecutor sent the police over to investigate the person handing out the cash. When confronted by the police, Michael Govier stayed in character explaining to the officer that he just has too much cash and wants to get rid of it.
“It was a lot of fun”, said Govier, “Even the UPS guy didn’t take the money, so I pestered him to deliver it to someone, anyone”. No chance. Unlike the majority of people including the Cops and the UPS guy, some Chicagoans took the money. “I got a bunch of hugs and hand shakes, every now and then someone would take all the money out of my hand, then ask for more. So I’d give ’em more. A lot of people just kept saying ‘No Way, No Way, there’s no such thing as free money’, then they’d walk away.”
The spot was shot with a series of beefed up HVX-200’s, button spy cameras, and handheld DVRs. To pull of this less than conventional style shoot, Company C converted a mobile home into a digital tech center complete with laptops, monitors, hard drives, and digital technicians. There was constant downloading and reviewing of footage from P2 Cards and flash drives, allowing the ability to monitor the shoot in real time.
Already in its second day on the web, it has been featured on Youtube’s most viewed page and showcased on Fox Morning News and Chicago’s WGN. View at: Youtube.com/givethegiftofcash
Credits:
Euro RSCG, Chicago
Monica Wilkins, Executive Producer
Mariana Perin, Producer
Anders Da Silva, Creative Director
Curtis Green, Senior Copywriter
Company C Productions, www.companyC.tv
Patrick Donnelly, Executive Producer
Alex Fendrich, Director
Tom Cicura, Director of Photography
Brian Babarik, Director of Photography
Editorial: Company C / Tom Cicura
Company C is Located at 2323 W. Fulton Street, Chicago, IL 60612
For more information, call (312) 952-3091 or visit www.companyC.tv.
KEYWORDS: Company C Productions www.companyC.tv.Director Alex Fendrich Executive Producer Patrick Donnelly Euro RSCG Western Union Hilarious funny Viral Web Video Best Chicago Production Commercial Funny comedy comedic The Best
