The prospect of a bank spot with no people, only furniture, hardly sounds creatively stimulating. But in a gestalt that is far greater than the sum of its parts, this Regions Bank commercial tells the story of a young law student, his rise professionally and the progression of his personal life, creating a portrait not only of him but his family over the years.
Directed by Steve Beck of Rhythm + Hues Commercial Studios (R+H), Los Angeles, the :30 entitled “Chairs,” part of a seven-spot campaign, simply consists of stop motion animation of furniture, primarily chairs, that fill up and empty various rooms to signify stages in life.
A law student, Clarence, starts investing early with Regions Bank as the spot opens on his modestly furnished, somewhat unkempt law school dorm room. From there, the furniture changes to an office, which reflects the first job he landed at a top law firm. After his office, we see the seating arrangement at a wedding reception as Clarence has married Rebecca. Next is the living room of the happy couple’s first house, a nursery signifying the birth of a baby–actually, twins, as the nursery fills up a bit more before our eyes. The spot then takes us through time to see the dining room of their home, with more seats being added one by one to signify a growing extended family, grandkids and so on. An executive suite conveys that our attorney has indeed moved up the ranks to partner status at the firm. Finally the furniture clutter diminishes as we see a retired, married couple’s living room with easy chairs for two.
At no time do we ever see Clarence, Rebecca or any other person for that matter. All we see is their “Chairs.” An end tag carries the Regions Bank logo, accompanied by the slogan, “Personalized service for every stage of your life.”
The agency for Regions Bank-Miami (with headquarters in Birmingham, Ala.) is Coral Gables, Fla.-based Creative On Demand. The ad shop creative team included partners/creative directors Priscilla Cortizas and Daniel Marrero, senior copywriter Andres Arlia, producer Patty Rodriguez, executive director of marketing Emmie Vazquez and integrated marketing manager Jose Quijano.
“‘Chairs’ was a unique opportunity to tell very typical portrait-style stories in a very atypical way,” said director Beck. The spot was shot by Al “Tiko” Pavoni in Hollywood, Fla., and combined green screen, digital stills and Flame compositing.
Paul Babb executive produced for R+H. Kat Dillon was head of production, live action, with Joel Zimmerman serving as producer.
The spot was edited by Diego Enriquez of Miami Edit, Miami, and Jay Lizarraga of R+H. Online editor was R+H’s Steve Wellington.
The R+H team on the post/effects side included: Lisa White, head of production, commercial digital; post producer Jon Derovan, lead Flame artist Eric DeHaven, Flame artist Hilary Sperling, roto artist Sheri Cruz, and 2D artisans Nathan Brunskill and Jenny McGee.
Audio engineer was Steve Johnston of Outpost Audio, Miami.
Kamala Harris Receives Chairman’s Prize At NAACP Image Awards
Former Vice President Kamala Harris stepped on the NAACP Image Awards stage Saturday night with a sobering message, calling the civil rights organization a pillar of the Black community and urging people to stay resilient and hold onto their faith during the tenure of President Donald Trump.
"While we have no illusions about what we are up against in this chapter in our American story, this chapter will be written not simply by whoever occupies the oval office nor by the wealthiest among us," Harris said after receiving the NAACP's Chairman's Award. "The American story will be written by you. Written by us. By we the people."
The 56th annual Image Awards was held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in the Los Angeles area.
Harris, defeated by Trump in last year's presidential election, was the first woman and the first person of color to serve as vice president. She had previously been a U.S. senator from California and the state's attorney general.
In her first major public appearance since leaving office, Harris did not reference her election loss or Trump's actions since entering the Oval Office, although Trump mocked her earlier in the day at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Harris spoke about eternal vigilance, the price of liberty, staying alert, seeking the truth and America's future.
"Some see the flames on our horizons, the rising waters in our cities, the shadows gathering over our democracy and ask 'What do we do now?'" Harris said. "But we know exactly what to do, because we have done it before. And we will do it again. We use our power. We organize, mobilize. We educate. We advocate. Our power has never come from having an easy path."
Other winners of the Chairman's prize have included former... Read More