McCann NY developed this Fios spot that depicts a family that lives in a “half house.” And although you might think it odd that they live that way, the commercial–directed by Kevin Thomas of Thomas Thomas Films–reveals that they have a secret: their half house has full Internet because they have Fios.
To make the ad, director Thomas scouted small houses all over New York, and quickly concluded that shooting inside them would prove too restrictive to get the elegant shots he was imagining.
So although an actual half width house was used for the exterior, with a little help from postproduction house Method, it was necessary to construct the inside of the half house from scratch at Silvercup Studios. Production designer Bradley Thordarson, famous for his work with OK GO (among others), designed and built the house from scratch. The upstairs and downstairs were built separately. The agency and production team researched space-saving tricks that people use in small spaces and also created some quirky new ones. For example, a small elbow hole in the bathroom to ease the brushing of teeth. Two of the rooms shared a sofa that went through the wall and, from a certain camera angle, they created the appearance of a real life split screen.
All the effects with the half house were practical. No post effects were used to create them. All the walls were able to slide to enable different camera angles.
Client Verizon Fios Agency McCann NY Sean Bryan, Tom Murphy, co-chief creative officers; Chris Mitton, Caprice Yu, executive creative directors; Sherrod Melvin, Jeremy Pippenger, group creative directors; Rick Cohen, sr. art director; Peter Sherer, copywriter; Michele Ferone, director of Verizon broadcast production; Lauren Bauder, integrated producer. Production Thomas Thomas Films Kevin Thomas, director. Editorial Mackcut Dave Koza, editor. Postproduction/Graphics Method Marko Forker, VFX supervisor. Music Song Of The Nairobi Trio (Solfeggio) by Robert Maxwell (1953) Color Company 3 Tim Masick, colorist. Audio Sonic Union Paul Weiss, sound engineer. Media Agency VMI/Zenith
Top Spot of the Week: John Lewis’ “The Gifting Hour” Directed By Francois Rousselet For Saatchi & Saatchi UK
The 2024 Christmas ad from John Lewis department stores has arrived. This year’s much anticipated TV commercial, continuing the Xmas tradition of John Lewis, is the two-minute “The Gifting Hour" created by Saatchi & Saatchi UK and directed by Francois Rousselet via production house Riff Raff.
In the ad, the heroine, Sally, has left it a little late to find the right gift for her sister this year and races into a John Lewis store at closing time. Falling through a rack of dresses, she enters a fantastical world. We first see her stumbling out of the wardrobe in the attic of her childhood home and from here we are taken on a whimsical journey through her memories as she searches for the ultimate present, against the clock.
Returning to the store and back to reality she has found the perfect gift, ready and wrapped. Sally then heads outside and has a special moment with her sister who will be the gift’s recipient. As they walk away we see her sister reflected in the John Lewis window as the child from her memories.
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