By MILLIE TAKAKI
It’s the stuff that nightmares are made of-in gripping black and white. A car winds down a road during a relentless nighttime storm, replete with thunder, lightning and dark, threatening time-lapse clouds. Finally some refuge from the downpour is found but an ominous feeling persists for the shelter is none other than the infamous Bates Motel, with the "vacancy" sign lit up. The car pulls into the motel parking lot, its driver unaware of the imminent danger.
While Anthony Perkins is nowhere in sight, one can’t help but feel a Psycho-esque chill as the car’s driver is revealed to be a woman. We see her dripping wet high heels make their way from the car to the motel. Yet no one’s minding the store. She taps repeatedly on a front-desk bell, hoping to get someone to help her so that she can check in. However, it seems she instead might be on the verge of checking out as the background music builds to a climactic, piercing pitch and we see a dark shadow-apparently of a man-cast its way into the scene. A door opens and the woman lets out a horrific scream at the top of her lungs.
We then see a mild-mannered, middle-aged male hotel clerk offer an apologetic explanation. "Sorry," he says. "We just don’t take American Express." A deranged look fills the woman’s face. She then walks back out into the torrential rain and we hear her mutter, "Too bad. I was dying for a shower."
A voiceover interjects: "Visa is accepted at millions more places than American Express. So why take chances?"
Supered over the stormy night scene is the familiar slogan: "Visa. It’s everywhere you want to be."
The spec spot-entitled "Bates Motel"-was directed, shot and edited by Joseph Kahn of bicoastal spot/music video house Holiday. The concept came from senior creative director/writer Jimmy Siegel and creative director/art director Rick Hanson of Visa’s agency, BBDO New York. In searching for a spec piece that would showcase director Kahn’s story-telling prowess, Holiday managing director Carol Case contacted BBDO. When Siegel showed her the "Bates Motel" concept which Visa hadn’t picked up, Case saw it as the opportunity she had been seeking to demonstrate the spot sensibilities of Kahn who’s best known for his music-clip endeavors.
Kahn was backed by a Holiday team that included executive producer Lanette Phillips, head of production Eriks Krumins, producer Danyi Deats and production manager Lisa Wieneke.
Jason Frank of Encore Santa Monica (now Riot) was online editor. Audio mixer/sound de-signer was Chris Cirino of Zona Playa, Santa Monica. Brian Linse-who at the time was with 525 Studios, Santa Monica-served as telecine artist.
"Bates Motel" employed the original music from the Psycho soundtrack composed by Bernard Herrmann.
Jury Presidents Named For The One Show 2025
The One Club for Creativity has announced the global creatives from around the world who will serve as jury presidents for The One Show 2025.
These creatives will lead judging for each discipline, and have a vote on the work.
Confirmed One Show 2025 Jury presidents, by discipline, are as follows:
--Brand-Side/In-House: David Lee, CCO, Squarespace, New York
--Branded Entertainment: Malcolm Poynton, Global CCO, Cheil Worldwide, London
--Creative Use of Data, Creative Use of Technology: Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, CCO, FCB Canada, Toronto
--Cultural Driver: Bianca Guimaraes, partner, ECD, Mischief, New York
--Design: Liza Enebeis, creative director, partner, Studio Dumbar/DEPT®, Rotterdam
--Direct Marketing: Vicki Maguire, CCO, Havas London
--Film & Video: Javier Campopiano, global CCO, McCann Worldgroup & McCann Global, Madrid
--Gaming: Taj Reid, global chief experience officer, US CCO, Edelman, New York
--Integrated, Experiential & Immersive: Chris Beresford-Hill, worldwide CCO, BBDO New York
--Fusion Pencil: Walter T. Geer III, CCO, Innovation North America, VML, New York
--Green Pencil: Barbara Humphries, ECD, The Monkeys, Sydney
--Health & Wellness, Pharma: Wendy Lund, chief client officer, WPP, New York
--IP & Product Design: Ronald Ng, global CCO, MRM, New York
--Moving Image Craft & Production: Irene Kugelmann, chief creative officer, DDB Group of Companies Germany, Berlin
--Music & Sound Craft: Joel Simon, CCO, JSM Music, New York
--Out of Home, Print & Promotional: Kainaz Karmakar, CCO, Ogilvy India, Mumbai
--Public Relations: Patricia Ávila, regional director for Latin America, Ágora, São Paulo
--Radio... Read More