We don’t hear much about the genre of tabletop or about tabletop directors anymore, and that’s a shame. Because at its heart, tabletop is the purest form of advertising.
Years ago I switched from directing documentaries to shooting tabletop, inspired by such wizards as Elbert Budin, Santiago Suarez, Bruce Nadel, Gary Sato and Peter Elliot. Remember Budin’s classic spots for Gerber baby food? How about Bruce Nadel’s gumball spots for Nutrasweet? Gary Sato’s beer pours for Budweiser and his bouncing vegetables for Taco Bell? Or Peter Elliot’s Jell-O campaigns? Great work, great creative, and all these spots utilized tabletop to tell the story.
From the mid-90’s up until the present, ad agencies opted for humor as the best way to tell a story. Sometimes using comedy to sell a product is the way to go. Sometimes it only serves to confuse consumers.
We’ve all heard about surveys in which people queried just minutes after viewing a comedy spot can’t remember if the ad was for Coke or Pepsi.
Meanwhile, tabletop campaigns became less about story and more about coupons. While I wish agency creatives would once again seize upon tabletop as a storytelling tool, I don’t live in an ivory tower. I understand why they take different approaches. Still, I get motivated and excited by the fact that tabletop remains a great way to sell a product.
Directors from other genres can talk all day about creating thirty seconds of perfection, but tabletop directors really can’t have an “off” day. Usually the product is front and center for the entire duration of the spot. With tabletop, there’s nowhere to hide.
It’s very precise work, part art and part discipline. The director must showcase the product in such a way that inspires consumers to take immediate action.
Simply put, if I don’t create an ad that makes viewers pick up the keys and head for the door, I’ve failed. Tabletop demands immediate, real-world results. If sales don’t go up, the agency doesn’t come back. That’s what makes directing tabletop so exciting, knowing that you have to move people to action.
Tabletop is a celebration of what’s being sold, an approach to advertising that should always hold a strong place in the industry.