It’s the taxi ride from hell, as a gabby cabbie inflicts the story of his life’s triumphs and tribulations upon a captive passenger. At first, the woman seated in the back of the cab doesn’t mind the small talk.
"That restaurant I’m taking you to—whoa, fancy," says the cab driver.
"Oh yeah," responds the woman.
But that only encourages the taxi driver to keep on going. First, we get a bit of cabbie philosophy: "I always say if it don’t fit between two pieces of bread, it ain’t fit to eat," he relates.
Then he defines his professional role. "Listen, I like to consider myself the middleman, sort of like the veins—the arteries—that drives the blood, which is you, through the heart of the city," he says. "What do you think of that?"
Indeed, our cabbie’s mouth is in overdrive. "You know, I usually work out with weights, but I had to stop because it interferes with my driving," he remarks. "I think legs are very important, especially when you’re sitting all day. I keep my legs in shape." He then offers to pull up his pant leg and show the woman his calf.
"Really," says the woman, sounding completely uninterested. Understandably, she is starting to feel a headache coming on. She turns to look out the side window in an attempt to escape the verbal onslaught, but to no avail.
"I’m not just a driver," the cabbie drones on. "I delivered a baby two days ago, right where you’re sitting."
Finally, a voiceover intervenes: "One Advil. For today’s pain, one is often enough." We see a product shot of a single pill, along with logos for two different kinds of Advil pain reliever.
The spot then returns us to the cab. Mercifully, the woman has gotten out of the car. As we hear the door slam shut, the driver calls out, "Good talking to you!"
Entitled "One Big Talker," this Advil :30 was directed by Bob Rice, a helmer on the roster of Santa Monica-based Plum Productions. Produce Film Co., Toronto, produced the job in conjunction with Plum for Young & Rubicam, Toronto. The spot broke last month in Canada.
The agency ensemble consisted of creative director/art director Leif Nielsen, copywriter Kurt Hagen and producer Christine Stephens.
Madelaine Atkins and Amalie Bruun served as executive producer and producer, respectively, for Produce Film Co. The spot was shot on location in Toronto by DP Pete Warrilow.
Marcus Valentin of School Editing, Toronto, cut the spot. Assistant editor was Kara Blears, with Sarah Brooks producing for School Editing. Online editor was Lee Maund of Soho Post, Toronto. Colorist was Elaine Ford of Toronto-based Notch. And a trio of artisans from Rosnick MacKinnon Webster, Toronto, contributed to the project: audio engineer Jim McBride, composer Vlad Nikolic and producer Kevin Schultz.
