A small town bank promoting small business loans is doing it in a small way–through lemonade stands. Umpqua Bank, which operates 144 branches in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, is providing lemonade stands to children in eight bank markets and promoting it with a viral film that focuses on a seven-year-old boy’s quest to start a lemonade stand.
‘Lemonaire’ “is a perfect metaphor for the business that brings the idea to life in a fun way,” said Jim Haven, creative director at advertising agency, Creature/Seattle, which created the film that was produced by Teak Motion Visuals/San Francisco.
The five-and-a-half minute film follows the exploits of the young boy, who comes up with the idea of opening the lemonade stand and visits the bank to get it financed before he starts his business. The film is shot inside and outside the boy’s home and at the bank, where a friendly banker approves the loan.
“It illustrates the idea in a way that can be more emotional,” Haven said. “People think of small business loans as not that exciting to talk about, but the film talks about the business through the metaphor of the lemonade stand. The entertainment pays them back for spending time listening to what you have to say.”
Creature worked with Teak to cast the film, selecting Elliott Carr to play the boy, whom Haven said “was one of the most professional actors I’ve ever worked with.”
The film was shot in the Fabulous Forties neighborhood in Sacramento, a leafy suburb that provided an exceptional locale for the lemonade stand.
Dave Laden, an independent director who works for Teak, said the film was shot with a Panasonic HVX2000 camera and recorded to disc. “There were 100 different set ups for the two-day shoot, lots of moving parts, three locations and lots of characters, so it was fast and furious,” he said.
“We could have shot it on film but we had budget constraints,” he said. The camera he used was ideal for the small screen and gave it a filmic look, he noted.
Greg Martinez, executive producer and owner of Teak, said, “The biggest part was keeping it charming. The director does quirky ads and this was a different project for him. It had to be more charming.”
The film began playing at www.Lemonaire.com on June 14 and it also plays at YouTube. It’s the first time the bank has used a film in its advertising. It runs as part of a campaign that also includes radio, direct mail and point-of-sale.
Influx of Talent At DAVID New York Includes The Creative Director Duo Of Erin Evon and Jason Burke
Global creative agency DAVID has made seven creative hires in its New York office. Coming aboard are the creative director duo of Erin Evon and Jason Burke; associate creative directors Kelsey Miller, Tori Mortenson and Maris DiTullio; sr. copywriter Adam Goffstein; and sr. art director Victoria Rocha.
All will report to Daniel Lobaton, North America, chief creative officer, and André Toledo, chief creative officer.
Creative directors Evon and Burke have teamed on campaigns for Goldfish, Snyder’s of Hanover, Tide, Shopify, Samsung and Uber Eats. They’ve been working together for seven years at such NY agencies as R/GA and Saatchi & Saatchi. While at the latter, Evon was one of the creative behind “It’s a Tide Ad,” the Procter & Gamble Super Bowl takeover that at the Cannes Fest scored a Film Grand Prix, Titanium Cannes Lion and Creative Effectiveness Gold Lion as well as a Grand Effie.
Associate creative directors Miller and Mortenson were most recently at Mekanism working for Jose Cuervo and Quaker Oats. DiTullio had been an associate creative director at Deutsch LA where she worked on Taco Bell. Prior to Deutsch LA, she worked at Crispin Porter+Bogusky on Domino’s, and RPA on Apartments.com.
Sr. copywriter Goffstein served previously at The Martin Agency and MullenLowe Boston, working for brands like Buffalo Wild Wings and Busch Light. Rocha contributed to award-winning campaigns like Michelob Ultra’s “Dreamcaster” and Spotify’s “Spreadbeats.”
The seven new team members join the existing NY contingent in their newly opened office space at the iconic Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
“Talent is at the core of who DAVID is,” said Lobaton. “We are a first name agency so... Read More