"French Dictionary," a new spot for the Low Rise line of jeans by Levi Strauss & Co., has a car chase, a love story, an underwater scene and even some character development-all in 60 seconds. The ad, New York agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty’s (BBH), first U.S. outing for Levi’s since winning the account earlier this year, comes off more like a short film than a commercial. Director Ivan Zacharias, out of Smuggler, New York, and Stink, London (U.S. and European representation, respectively), lends his talents to further smudge an already blurry line between advertisement and entertainment.
Principal actors in this spot were Gael Garcia Bernal and Blue Blanco. The SAG/AFTRA Commercials Contract Standing Committee has granted a waiver to allow commercials to be available for viewing on SHOOTonline.com. The spots cannot be copied, downloaded or emailed.
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CLIENT
Levi Strauss Co./Low Rise Jeans.
PRODUCTION CO.
Stink, London.
Ivan Zacharias, director; Jan Velicky, DP; Daniel Bergman, executive producer; Nick Landon, producer; Catherine Gordon, production manager; Adam Howe, stylist. Shot on location in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Smuggler, New York.
Patrick Milling Smith and Brian Carmody, executive producers.
AGENCY
Bartle Bogle Hegarty, New York.
Thomas Hayo, group creative director; Peter Rosch, copywriter; John Hobbs, art director; Mary Cheney, executive producer/producer.
EDITORIAL
Final Cut, New York.
Filip Malasek, editor; Jenny Golden, assistant editor; Alexis Wiscomb, producer.
POST/VISUAL EFFECTS
The Mill, New York.
Angus Kneale, online editor/Flame artist; Richard Decarteret, assistant Flame artist; Alistair Thompson, producer.
Company 3, New York.
Tim Masick, colorist.
AUDIO POST
Sound Lounge, New York.
Philip Loeb, mixer/engineer.
SOUND DESIGN
Human, New York.
Morgan Visconti, Gareth Williams and Drazen Bosnjak, sound designers; Marc Altshuler, executive producer.
