A woman seated at her desk looks through her office’s glass wall to see a man in a dark business suit approaching the office receptionist. The woman glances with trepidation at the guy, who begins an exchange with the receptionist.
"May I help you?" asks the female receptionist.
"I’d like to see Helen Jones," responds the man.
"Who may I say is here for her?"
"I am—Heart Attack. We need to meet. I’ve left her several messages."
Meanwhile the woman in the office, who’s clearly Helen Jones, an African-American, stops her typing as flashbacks of her heart attack warning signs—which include shoulder pains, fatigue and neck stiffness—overtake her.
Returning to the present situation, Jones cowers under her desk as the receptionist says to the unwanted visitor, "She’s out for the day. Would you like to leave another message?"
Mr. Heart Attack replies, "No, I’ve got her number."
Next a super appears, which reads: "When a heart attack comes, will you recognize it?"
The spot then closes with the American Heart Association logo, accompanied by the slogan "Learn and Live" and a Web site address (www.americanheart.org).
Titled "Mr. Heart Attack/Office," this :30 is part of a two-spot campaign directed by Danny Boyle of philsfilms, Venice, Calif., for SWG&M Advertising, Austin, Texas. The other :30, "Mr. Heart Attack/Home," shows this same Grim Reaper-type character making an unwelcome house call on a Hispanic man. That man too hides as his wife lies that he is out of town on business. The commercials debuted in the Texas markets of Amarillo and Lubbock. However, there’s the possibility that the campaign could be used by other American Heart Association affiliates in different parts of the country.
"Mr. Heart Attack/Office" targets African-American women to help make them aware of a heart attack’s warning signs. "Mr. Heart Attack/Home" has two versions—one in English, the other in Spanish—which are both designed to reach the Hispanic market. Again, the message is that people must not ignore symptoms that could suggest heart trouble.
The SWG&M creative team consisted of executive creative director Scott McAfee, creative director Jose Marrero, copywriter Ravi Costa and producer Julie Faust.
James Kadonoff executive produced for philsfilms. The DP was Omer Ganai.
Tim Anderson of King Cut, Venice, edited the spots. Aaron Neitz was the assistant editor. King Cut’s Philip Ineno served as visual effects/Flame artist. Tamsin Prigge executive produced for King Cut. Colorist was Siggy Ferstl of R!OT, Santa Monica. Audio mixer was Chris Canning of RavensWork, Venice.
Stephan Altman and Zach Corbell of Mo-phonics, Venice, served as music composer and sound designer, respectively. Michael Frick executive produced and Shelly Fisher produced for Mo-phonics.
