How many American directors can say that a spot they directed was seen simultaneously by one billion people around the globe? One—Edouard Nammour. The director, who is represented by bicoastal/international Cylo (formerly bicoastal Atherton), helmed the two-minute branding effort "Goodbye/Hello" for Ford Motor Company that aired at the same time on television stations around the globe. When the spot broke on Nov. 1, 1999, it aired on 40 broadcast and cable networks in the U.S. alone, in what has been described as an unprecedented worldwide roadblock.
The spot, via J. Walter Thompson Detroit, Southfield, Mich., features a montage of images of people from around the globe reflecting on what it means to say hello and goodbye. Charlotte Church, the 13-year-old Welsh soprano, sings the spot’s spirited theme song, "Just Wave Hello."
Asked what he felt when he found out he got the job, Nammour says, "Terror. Absolute nail biting, how are we going to do it, terror," he says. "It was the best day of my life and the most frightening day of my life."
Nammour, and a worldwide production crew that numbered about 700, shot for over three months in nine countries, including Argentina, China, Australia and Germany. Nammour says he went into the project knowing exactly what he had to do, thanks to a thoroughly-conceived concept by JWT’s senior partner/international creative director Ted Powell.
The director’s challenge was to paint an authentic picture of each nation that was featured. "We wanted to be truthful and authentic about the particulars of each culture and really pay tribute to each—in other words, not to do Americanized, picture-postcard, clichéd representations of the world," he explains.
"In Japan, our inclination was to shoot a fabulous piece of architecture combined with a traditional Japanese character," he continues. But after conducting thorough research into the history and traditions of Japan, the plan was scrapped. "Unfortunately, the architecture and the character emanated from two different branches of Japanese religious tradition—Shinto vs. Buddhist—and you just don’t do that."
It was also crucial that the spot feature real people. "In the spot, when you see gauchos, those are real gauchos." Nammour credits casting director Lisa Fincannon with finding more than 800 people to star in the production. Unfortunately, not all of the people and locations appeared in the final cut. "It was heartbreaking, the material that ended up on the cutting room floor—in large measure because we had fallen in love with the images we created, but also because we had fallen in love with the people that were portrayed in those images," says Nammour. When the project was completed, the director reflects, "it was the closest I’ll ever come to postpartum depression."
Nammour did tune in to see the spot when it first aired. "I watched with my sweater pulled over my head. I was watching through the weave of my sweater," he says. "It was like standing naked in front of a billion people. I think that was the second most terrifying part of the entire process."
Nammour says he received enthusiastic and positive responses from everyone except his mother. "Honey, I saw your show. It was so fast!" was her review.
"I think ["Goodbye/Hello"] is the high watermark of what I’ve done in commercials and in film. I’m more proud of that than I think I am of anything else I’ve done," Nammour says.
STORYTELLER
Nammour’s skill is in taking a soft-sell approach to advertising. For example, "The Dream," directed by Nammour out of his Canadian roost, Spy Films, Toronto, for the CIBC dividend platinum Visa card via Padulo Advertising, Toronto, depicts people’s dreams, including a college graduation, coming true, thanks to the Visa card, which you don’t see until the end of the spot.
Tide’s "Mom At 40," out of Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, centers on a mother and her young daughter, who was born after the mom turned 40. The black-and-white spot shows the two enjoying the simple things in life. At one point, the little girl is jumping up and down on her bed. Later, we see the two walking hand in hand. The Tide spot is also noteworthy in the way it was shot. Nammour tucked the camera inside a doghouse to capture the little girl peering into it. He placed a piece of sandblasted glass in front of the camera lens to slightly blur the image of the girl jumping on the bed.
A painter and sculptor, Nammour studied art at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio. Upon graduation, he wanted to learn about filmmaking and took a job with director Michael Grasso (now with bicoastal Omaha Pictures). At the time, Grasso had a production company in Sacramento, Calif., where "I was the chief cook and bottle washer, coffee maker, toilet cleaner, storyboarder, production assistant and grip person." Nammour says he couldn’t have had a better mentor than Grasso: "If there is anybody who I learned the possibilities of directing from, it’s Michael. The amount of talent that guy has in his little finger is crazy."
When Grasso moved his company to New York, Nammour moved with him. In the late ’80s, Nammour left to partner in a music company, 505 Productions, New York. It wasn’t long before Nammour found another mentor in Tim Miller, who was head of on-air promotion at NBC at the time. (Miller now heads up Tim Miller Entertainment, New York.) Miller gave him his first shot at directing, hiring Nammour to create a promo for the network.
Nammour was hooked on directing, and eventually joined Moir Films, New York, where he stayed for about a year, before signing with Pelorus Pictures—which later became Atherton and is now Cylo—in ’91. (In addition to his directing duties, Nammour was recently named executive creative director of new media at Cylo.)
Nammour is amazed at how far he has come. He says that he is now being afforded the opportunity to contribute his creative input before a spot goes into production. "I’m just getting scripts and not storyboards on jobs I’m bidding now—which is incredibly liberating and a very interesting way of working, because you’re asked to connect the dots and help shape the thing from square one. You can’t ask for more than that."c
