By Carolyn Giardina
The serial comic strip "Spy vs. Spy" from MAD magazine, in which two hapless spies try to foil each other, is the inspiration behind "Helicopter," one of four highly creative new spots out of BBDO New York for Mountain Dew. A second spot in the campaign, "Hallway," is also currently airing; the other two ads have yet to run. "[The campaign is] rooted in ‘Spy vs. Spy,’ " explained executive creative director/copywriter/art director Bill Bruce. "The guys go after each other; [but in these spots,] Mountain Dew is the desired prize. The desire was to go back to the early sixties feel and look of the comic. It seemed to have this dark, perverse, odd sense of humor about it."
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 e-mailed.
SHOOTOnline subscribers may read this week’s Top Spot of the Week in full by accessing the Current Issue in the Members Area.
CLIENT
PepsiCo/Mountain Dew.
PRODUCTION CO.
Traktor, Santa Monica, Calif.
Traktor, director; Bill Pope, DP; Jim Bouvet, executive producer/line producer; Tom Hartman, production designer. Shot at Sony Pictures Studios, Culver City, Calif.
AGENCY
BBDO New York.
Ted Sann, chief creative officer; Bill Bruce, executive creative director/ copywriter/art director; Doris Cassar, copywriter/art director; Hyatt Choate, executive producer; Loren Parkins, executive music producer.
EDITORIAL
Nomad Editing Company, Santa Monica.
Tom Muldoon, editor.
POST
Company 3, Santa Monica.
Stefan Sonnenfeld, colorist; Missy Papageorge, producer.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Method, Santa Monica.
Alex Frisch, visual effects supervisor; Cedric Nicholas, Andrew Eksner, Russell Fell and Alex Kolasinski, visual effects artists; Hatem Benabdallah, James LeBloch and Jeremy Butler, 3-D artists; Laurent Ledru, 3-D creative supervisor; Gil Baron, 3-D technical supervisor; Brandon Sanders, Katrina Salicrup and Mike Vaglienty, junior visual effects artists; Neysa Horsburgh, visual effects executive producer; Sue Troyan, visual effects producer.
Stan Winston Studio, Van Nuys, Calif.
Alan Scott, producer; Shane Mahan and Chris Swift, model designers.
AUDIO POST
Sound Lounge, New York.
Tom Jucarone, mixer.
SOUND DESIGN
Nomad Editing Company.
Francois Blaignan, sound designer.
MSQ Acquires Creative Agency SPCSHP
Next generation independent creative, technology and media company MSQ has acquired New York-based creative agency SPCSHP. The acquisition more than doubles London-based MSQโs presence in the U.S., increasing annual revenues in North America to $100MM and accelerating its ability to deliver agile, multi-disciplinary solutions that fuses together data, tech and creativity to build effective brand momentum for its clients. Terms of the SPCSHP deal were not disclosed.
MSQโs ambitious international investment strategy to grow organically and through acquisition is backed by private equity groups One Equity Partners and LDC as it creates hubs of scale in North America, the UK and Europe.
Previously known as Big Spaceship, SPCSHP is an independent digital creative agency known for its innovative digital marketing strategies and solutions. With this acquisition, SPCSHP gains access to MSQโs global network of best in class agencies, allowing it to provide a broader set of marketing solutions to its roster of Fortune 100 brands and better position itself for growth. Founder and chairman Michael Lebowitz and CEO Ranae Heuer will continue to lead SPCSHP as part of MSQโs U.S. team, with SPCSHPโs 140 colleagues joining MSQโs 1,200 colleagues operating across 13 global offices.
โSPCSHP is a shining light in the U.S., and its success is of huge credit to Michael, Ranae and the team. They have consistently delivered innovative creative work, executing integrated campaigns for their long-standing brand partners to a wide audience,โ said MSQ global CEO Peter Reid. โThe agencyโs increasing scopes of work and recent wins are a testament to their value in the industry, and weโre delighted to have them as part of our group.โ
Founded... Read More