Sometimes it’s not good to listen to your inner voice—particularly if the voice is that of your business alter ego. Two men—actually the same man composited together on Flame by artist Gary Goldstein of Slingshot Post, New York—walk side by side through the expansive countryside of North Carolina. The hiker is peaceful, clothed in nature gear, while the man accompanying him, a neurotic businessman in a dark suit, yaks on endlessly about the office.
While the businessman talks incessantly, the hiker silently revels in his breathtaking surroundings. "Do you believe that meeting on Tuesday—Johnson going on like that and management just eats it all up," complains the businessman.
The hiker doesn’t respond, preferring to enjoy the rolling green pastures. Next, the two men make their way through a forest, the businessman having trouble keeping up with the hiker. A chirping bird prompts the businessman to ask urgently, "Did you hear that? I think that’s our cell phone." The hiker wisely ignores his frenzied counterpart and marches forward.
As the pair passes a gorgeous waterfall—and the gap between the two men grows—the businessman continues, "Shouldn’t we head back to the office a day earlier? Work is piling up at our desk now."
Eventually, the hiker reaches the top of a beautiful hill. "We should really check our voicemail," we hear his alter ego say faintly from somewhere far behind. Without his pesky companion, the hiker is finally free to enjoy his vacation. He takes a deep breath, smiles and continues on his way.
A super appears on screen, which simply reads, "Experience North Carolina." The message is accompanied by a parting Web site address: visitnc.com.
"Hiker" was conceived by a creative team at Loeffler Ketchum Mountjoy (LKM), Charlotte, N.C., for client the North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development. The :30 was directed by Brian Aldrich, who at the time was with bicoastal Coppos. He has since joined bicoastal/international Believe Media.
The LKM ensemble consisted of executive VP/creative director Jim Mountjoy, art director Doug Pedersen, copywriter Lee Remias and freelance producer Sally Mefford.
Aldrich’s support team at Coppos included president/executive producer Michael Appel, managing director Joanne Ferraro, executive producer Alexandra Chamberlain and line producer Tim Kerrison. The DP was Guillermo Navarro.
Editor was Billy Senia of Slingshot Post; assistant editor was Charles Divak. The rest of the Slingshot contingent consisted of visual effect supervisor Bill Denahy, effects artist Goldstein, designer James Coulson and executive producer Sally Kapsalis.
Colorist was Scott Burch of Nice Shoes, New York. Audio post mixer was Kevin Halpin of Sacred Noise, New York.
Sound design also came out of Sacred Noise. Sound designers were David Gennaro and Ravi Krishnaswami. Michael Montes was creative director at Sacred Noise, Jeff Rosner was executive producer and Jason Menkes served as producer.
Andrew Donnelly was the principal actor in this spot. 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.
