There is no quicker way to end up in the doghouse than by purchasing your wife or girlfriend a practical gift as opposed to a romantic present, and that’s exactly what happens to a husband in “Beware of the Doghouse.”
As we see in the humorous short, which is a key component of a viral marketing campaign for JCPenney that was created by N.Y.’s Saatchi & Saatchi and directed by Bryan Buckley of Hungry Man, a man named Sidney (played by Phil Burke) gives his wife (Catherine Locadi) a present for their anniversary. It is a dual-bag vacuum cleaner.
“Dual-bag. This is the best vacuum cleaner you’ll ever have, Baby,” he tells her with all sincerity.
And it’s off to the doghouse for Sidney. We later learn that he could have avoided such a fate by visiting The Jewelry Store inside JCPenney and buying his wife a diamond necklace.
Now what man couldn’t relate to the “getting in hot water for giving a bad gift” scenario? Women, too, for that matter. Even women who don’t necessarily think a diamond is a girl’s best friend (and a lot of us don’t) likely have been disappointed by the men in their lives who are incapable of giving more meaningful gifts.
“We felt like the doghouse was a universal idea,” Saatchi creative director/art director Jason Musante agreed. “Whether you’re a man or woman, you can relate to either giving a bad gift or being the unfortunate recipient.”
The intention of the spot wasn’t to make men looking like bumbling fools, Saatchi creative director/copywriter Josh Rubin, noted. “Instead, we wanted to make guys look like what they really are–well meaning but often misguided on how to buy a romantic gift. Men tend to use logic rather than emotion.”
That’s why they end up in the doghouse, which isn’t a pleasant place. In fact, as it is depicted in “Beware of the Doghouse,” it is a place where men spend their days folding laundry. “If I had to pick a hell, folding laundry would be it,” Buckley shared.
Meanwhile, their only sustenance is quiche that they must eat out of dog bowls, washed down with chai lattes.
It isn’t easy to get out of the doghouse, although Sidney learns from his doghouse mentor Donny (Stephen Beach) that there was a man who did get out of the doghouse–he bought his wife a diamond necklace.
At the end of the short, viewers are informed that they can learn how to stay out of the doghouse by visiting BewareOfTheDoghouse.com. A super at the bottom of the screen reveals that this film was “brought to you by The Jewelry Store inside JCPenney.”
House arrest While the concept for “Beware of the Doghouse” was a funny, relatable one that Buckley was immediately interested in, he also loved the idea of being able to visualize the doghouse.
“We had to be careful because JCPenney didn’t want it to be prison per se, and I wanted it to be something that was surreal,” Buckley explained. “I thought it needed to be this really surreal world where things are just kind of upside down. Whatever structure they were in, I wanted it to be otherworldly or just odd and not a literal translation where you’re inside of a barn or something.”
Buckley eventually found the perfect location. It was an old fort on Staten Island. But just a couple of days before the shoot was to begin, The Department of Homeland Security nixed the location because the ING New York City Marathon was coming up, and this location was close to the beginning of the race.
Thankfully, another fort in a Queens naval yard, which previously had been closed to the production, was made available. Switching locations turned out to be a great thing, Buckley said, because the Queens location was a much better one. Buckley and his crew, including DP Adam Beckman, actually shot the spot in a series of massive torpedo-holding rooms that had been used in World War II.
Bugaboo
Before anything could be shot, the space had to be cleaned. Turns out that the walls were covered with tens of thousands of insects. The bugs came creeping back in during the shoot, Buckley said, pointing out that you can probably spot a few if you look at the film carefully.
Aside from a few unwelcome creepy crawlies, the two-day shoot went well. Shooting HD allowed the crew to move on to each set-up quickly.
While the director and the creative team had spent a couple of weeks working on the script, writing up until the last minute, there was also room for improvisation. For example, during the shoot, it was Rubin, Buckley said, who came up with having all of the guys call the young husband who foolishly bought his wife a dual-bag vacuum “dual-bag.”
That was a great touch. Chris Franklin of Big Sky Edit cut the short. Buckley praised Franklin for putting it together in just two days. “The coverage was there, but it was very thin coverage. We had just enough to get by, but he was able to find the moments. He just sees things.”
“Beware of the Doghouse” runs 4:43, considerably longer than your average viral video, which tends to run about three minutes. “Our goal was to make this feel like a short film with a three-act story arc rather than a spot or even a typical viral video. At 4:43, we worried that it would be too long,” Musante acknowledged. “But, so far, people are willing to invest their time in the film and the campaign.”
