All willpower crumbles under the seductive powers of the Colonel in director Sam Coleman’s irresistible new “Can’t Resist” campaign for KFC and Ogilvy Johannesburg. Produced by South Africa's Patriot Films, the tantalizingly dark and moody spots portray the very moment when we give into our deepest desires, in this case KFC.
The campaign tells the stories of frustration, desire, resistance and finally letting go. Using a long take approach largely free of technique and editing, Coleman explores the journey from the first moment of seduction all the way to surrender. With no dialogue, the spots are about the character’s inner struggle and in the red glow of the ever-present Colonel, the witchy atmosphere is underscored by a rendition of Nina Simone’s “I Put a Spell on You.”
In this spot titled “Boot” (meaning the trunk of a vehicle), we see a woman place a bucket of KFC chicken in the boot of her car/SUV during what looks like a rainy night. She closes the trunk and we see the KFC bucket standing in solitude. Soon she returns, opens the trunk, grabs the bucket, pulls off the lid and devours a drumstick in the pouring rain.
For “Boot” and the other commercials in the package, Coleman elicits evocative performances in ostensibly small uninterrupted moments, while crafting a strong visual world. Elegantly drawing the audience in through his choice of angles, he captures the instant the characters become powerless to the finger lickin’ indulgence.
Coleman said, “The challenge was to show the exact moment when resistance caves in and the characters succumb to KFC. In a sense, that then made the moments before and after equally important. Allowing the actor to be caught in that moment before they give in, and letting that build up, seemed to be where the good stuff would be. I opted to let the tension build as much as possible and let each character interpret their own ‘breakdown’ without cutting.”
CreditsClient KFC South Africa Agency Ogilvy Johannesburg Kabelo Moshapaio, chief creative officer; Peter Little, executive creative director; Safaraaz Sindhi, creative partner; Chantelle Dos Santos, creative director; Rob Hart, sr. art director; Naledi Manama, art director; Andre Vrodoljak, Abas Rashid, sr. copywriters; Tsakane Mogale, sr. TV producer; Natalie Choate, production manager. Production Company Patriot Films, Cape Town Sam Coleman, director; Zayd Halim, exec producer; Tess Tambourlas, sr. producer; Kelly Ryan, production manager; Tania Onyems, production coordinator; Pierre De Villiers, DP; Carey Lagoe, 1st AD; Keenan McAdam, art director; Marilyn Shorten, food stylist; Sam Mdluli, KFC chef; Catherine De Reuck, wardrobe stylist; Carla Fourie, hair & makeup. Postproduction Priest Matthew Swanepoel, editor. Color/Online Refinery Cape Town Kyle Stroebel, colorist; Nathan Anderson, online. Sound Sterling Sound Lorens Persson, engineer. Music Cover track: “I Put a Spell on You” by Adona Andrews. Marc Algranti Music, music clearance
Director Gia Coppola Teams With Mejuri For “A New York Minute”; 1st Episode Takes Us To The Grocery Store
Mejuri, known for turning fine jewelry into an everyday luxury, has partnered with director Gia Coppola (The Last Show Girl, Palo Alto) and The Directors Bureau in Los Angeles, for the first time reimagining the brand’s story as episodic content. In a series of microfilms, co-created by Coppola and premiering following New York Fashion Week, Mejuri eschewed a typical celebrity campaign and cast us as voyeurs to a group of aspiring young women--real people, not actors--at the crossroads of their adult lives against the backdrop of New York City.
Titled “A New York Minute,” the series features five real-life friends, who include one perfectly imperfect heroine named Emma. The women celebrate ordinary moments and interactions which reveal, sometimes retrospectively, the extraordinary within the mundane. Adjacent to the brand’s own community, the 30-something year old cast includes Laura Love (Emma), Rebecca Ressler, Natalie Vall-Freed and Rozzi Crane. Mejuri’s jewelry makes an appearance as the best supporting actor.
“When I met with Gia and The Directors Bureau team, there was instant creative and personal chemistry and a natural alignment on the desire to push and blur the lines between marketing, storytelling, and the construct of what a ‘campaign’ could be,” said Jacob Jordan, chief brand officer, Mejuri. “Gia was able to push that idea into something that truly feels new and artful, with a realism and relatability that almost feels jarring. Gia was such a perfect collaborator and partner, someone I had complete trust in to be a catalyst for Mejuri’s values of celebrating women as their truest selves. I can’t wait for us to continue to tell the next chapters of this story.”
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