Exchanging marriage vows can be a huge gamble in today’s society. And this spot takes that literally as we open on a wedding ceremony in mid-stream, with the would-be bride saying, "I do."
The presiding chaplain then asks, "And do you, Harvey, take Heather to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
The groom hesitates, leaving an opening for his best man and ushers. One buddy urges him to "fold." Another disagrees, advising, "You gotta call." Also assuming the role of a kibitzer at a card game is yet another groom attendant who anticipates, "He’s going to call."
Meanwhile, the women in the bridal party offer their own assessment of the game at hand. "He’s bluffing," declares one. "I knew it!" another bridesmaid exclaims.
Finally, a man sitting six pews back in the audience breaks the logjam. "Go for it," he declares. This seems to bolster the groom’s courage and he announces, "I call." The bride beams with delight as the holy bond of matrimony takes hold.
The chaplain gives the groom some positive feedback on his performance; he offers hearty congratulations in the form of the phrase, "Nice hand." A super then appears that simply reads, "Go Big."
An end tag identifies the sponsor, World Poker Exchange, followed by a Web site address, WorldPX.com, and the motto, "Play the world."
"Go Big" is one of two spots in a campaign promoting the online gambling site. The commercials were directed by The Goetz Brothers, a.k.a. Kevin and Michael, of bicoastal production company The Joneses. The second spot, "Make Your Own Decisions," tells the story of a guy who ends up being run over by a truck, thus paying the ultimate price for taking his friend’s bravado advice.
Executive producer on The Joneses-produced job was Mel Gragido, with Beth Aranda serving as line producer. The DP was Guillermo Navarro.
The Goetz Brothers and Gragido were also creatives on the campaign via their shingle, G3, which is based in Los Angeles. Gragido, Kevin Goetz and Michael Goetz were hybrid creative directors/art directors/copywriters. Gragido additionally took on the roles of producer and account director.
Explaining the rationale for the campaign, particularly "Go Big," was Michael Goetz who said, "Every commercial we’d ever seen about poker took place around a card table. So we thought it would be fun to go outside the casino. Because poker is often compared to life, we began thinking of ways of applying poker to real life situations."
Peter Tarter of Lux, Santa Monica, edited, with Tatiana Derovanessian serving as executive producer, and Megan Welsh as post producer. Mike Cosola of Encore Hollywood was the colorist. Audio post mixer was Eric Ryan of RavensWork, Venice, Calif. Lux’s Tarter also handled sound design.
Ryan Sawtelle, Alison Haslip, Brent Keast, Mel Gragido, Candy Miller, David Schneider, Rob Mainord, Matt Donoghue, Tim Keenan, Steve Aylsworth, Ryan L. Morelli, Carla Commagere, Beth Reiter, Michelle Glazov, Stephanie Quayle, Jennifer Rossi, Katie Costello and Don Desfor were the principal actors in this spot.
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