Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho has spawned nightmares to this day about taking a shower. And in some respects, this :30 titled “Bathtub” carries the same effect but with the added dimension of conveying a poignant public service message in the process.
We open on a teenage girl on the phone. Wearing a bathrobe, she talks to a friend, relating, “Yeah, my parents think I’m sleeping at your house. I’m just jumping in the shower.”
The girl then gets off the phone and heads for the bathroom. We see her under the showerhead, the water running. But then she looks down and suddenly a horrified expression comes across her face. We see some blood flowing in the tub basin and going down the drain. Then her eyes and the camera take us to the far end of the basin. The girl screams as we see what she sees–herself laying limp and helpless, her face cut and scarred. This victimized girl musters enough strength to twice utter, “Don’t do it.”
Indeed the girl we saw at the outset of this spot was able to see a glimpse of herself in the future–if she tried crystal methamphetamine, leading to addiction. The harshly lit, frenetic scene of this distraught girl strung out on crystal meth is chilling–and hopefully will have a chilling effect on anyone even remotely thinking about turning on to crystal meth.
An end tag carries the slogan, “Meth. Not even once,” accompanied by the Montana Meth logo and a Web site address, NotEvenOnce.com. The site contains info on crystal meth, how it affects the mind and body, and what steps can be taken to break the cycle of addiction–a cycle that can be put into motion with just a single use. Indeed casual one-time experimentation isn’t an option because it can result in a lasting, debilitating, self-destructive addiction.
“Bathtub” is one of four similarly themed spots in a campaign for the Montana Meth project, a privately funded group formed to keep crystal meth curiosity at bay.
The package of ads, which has been airing only in Montana, was directed by Tony Kaye of bicoastal Supply & Demand for Venables, Bell & Partners, San Francisco.
Dana Garman executive produced for Supply & Demand, with Tina Nakane serving as line producer.
Venables, Bell & Partners’ creative team on “Bathtub” consisted of creative directors Paul Venables and Greg Bell, art director Tavia Holmes, copywriter Aaron Stern and producer Stacey Higgins.
The spots were edited by Geoff Hounsell of bicoastal Lost Planet. Online editor/Fire artist was Jim Bohn of Sea Level, Venice, Calif., with Jacques Bleu serving as online producer. Colorist was Stefan Sonnenfeld of Company 3, Santa Monica. Audio post mixers were John Bolen and Chris Hildrew of Play, Santa Monica.
Matt Lydecker and Steffen Schubert of Sea Level were 2-D artist and CG artist, respectively. Celest Gilbert exec produced for Sea Level.
Sound designers were Play’s Bolen and Lost Planet’s Hounsell. The actress in “Bathtub” was Annie Burgstede.