With all the real stories that merit attention but never get it, there’s something sadly nonsensical about a local television newscast devoting a significant chunk of time to a car chase. But in the warped mentality of Nielsen ratings-worshipping news directors, live team coverage of a high-speed chase through city streets with a helicopter capturing all the action is too good a TV event to pass up.
However, this commercial for Midas in Canada takes the nonsense to a new level–in a good, entertainingly humorous way.
We open on newscast coverage of a Canadian police chase in progress during a blizzard. A “breaking news” designation captions the high-speed chase. The only problem is the suspects are in a car stuck in the snow, its wheels spinning deeper and deeper into the packed powder. Just a few feet behind our alleged criminals is a police car, its wheels too spinning fast and furiously while the vehicle doesn’t move.
An aerial shot courtesy of a news copter shows a passenger from the “getaway” car jumping out of the vehicle, getting behind it and trying to push it out of its snowy trap. At the same time, a police officer does the same for the cop car. Meanwhile drivers of both vehicles remain seated behind the wheel, flooring the gas pedals but to no avail.
Then we cut away to those viewing this insanity–a couple of folks in a Midas auto repair waiting room.
A super and an accompanying voiceover asks, “Is your car ready for winter?”
The voiceover goes on to extol the virtues of Midas for tires and all car care needs, noting that a free winter maintenance package is available for those who purchase four tires and installation at any Midas shop.”
An end tag reads, “Be Safe. Trust the Midas Touch.”
Ten-year itch
You’ve heard of the famed seven-year itch. Well Midas waited 10 years before scratching in Canada. This spot titled “Chase” marks Midas’ first original Canadian broadcast campaign in nearly a decade, as well as its first national marketing endeavor specifically promoting its tire products and services.
The :30 “Chase” (for which there is also a :15 version) was directed by Tom De Cerchio via The Garden TV, Toronto, for DDB Canada, Vancouver. (De Cerchio is repped by his own shop stateside, the Santa Monica-based Incubator.)
The DDB team on “Chase” consisted of chief creative officer Alan Russell, creative director Dean Lee, art director/assistant creative director Daryl Gardiner, copywriter Jeff Galbraith and executive producer Sue Bell.
DDB’s CCO Russell noted, “Winter driving unites all Canadians. While not everyone will appreciate what it’s like to be chased by the police, drivers certainly understand and share the frustrations of winter conditions. The campaign’s humorous approach stands out in a snowstorm of automotive service ads by encouraging people to ensure their tires are ready when they need them the most. The Midas message is totally about winter safety and the importance of maintenance, but it’s delivered in a much more entertaining, memorable way.”
Bruce Dawson was the line producer for The Garden TV. The DP was Michael Bonvillian. Editor was John DeVries of School, Toronto.
“Best” pedigree De Cerchio is no stranger to “The Best Work You May Never See” gallery. In fact, he has directed past “Best Work” fare that includes another police car chase–except the suspect driving the getaway car was a fish for Rapala fishing lures out of Carmichael Lynch, Minnneapolis–and an assignment for a Canadian agency, Cincinnati Bell’s “Museum” out of Gee, Jeffery & Partners, Toronto.
Over the years, De Cerchio helmed three “Best Work” public service spots–“Wolf,” “Remote” and “Dinner Party”–for the Minnesota Partnership For Action Against Tobacco out of Clarity Coverdale Fury, Minneapolis.
And his first “Best Work”-recognized spot was the PSA titled “Tray” for Food Banks of Northern California via agency Butler, Shine & Stern, Sausalito, Calif.
The common denominator across these “Best Work” entries is humor, sometimes poignant as in the case of “Tray,” at times outlandish as reflected in “Museum” and Rapala’s “Getaway.”
Midas’ “Chase” continues in that comedic tradition established by De Cerchio who launched Incubator in ’02. He made his first mark in the industry as an agency creative, serving as a writer at Chiat/Day, New York, and then the former ad shop Buckley De Cerchio, before embarking on his directorial career in ’93.
