Joe Pernice directed this Pepsi spot for agency VaynerMedia featuring music from The Weeknd who will be the featured star in the upcoming Super Bowl LV Halftime Show. The ad promotes Pepsi’s limited edition Halftime Show cans.
With what’s going on in the world today, the Super Bowl and Super Bowl parties are going to be a bit different this year. The challenge was determining how to show a group of friends having fun at a party, while keeping the gathering small and safe. Knowing that the backdrop of this spot would be a great score (The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights”), the thought was to incorporate elements of a music video and Halftime Show performance in this spot–cue lighting shift, lens flares, dolly moves and fun transitions.
“We had a lot of fun shooting this,” said Pernice. “I worked with the creative team last year on Busch Beer’s Daytona 500 campaign [#Pit4Busch, which won a Silver Sports Clio] so we all work really well together. I’ve been shooting a lot of dialogue driven comedy, so this spot gave me the opportunity to incorporate a unique visual style with my sense of humor. Kudos to our DP, Tom Petersen, and his team for doing an amazing job giving this spot the feeling of a music video we’d see from The Weeknd.”
Pernice directed the “Halftime Show Can” spot freelance via VaynerProductions, which is VaynerMedia’s internal arm. He continues, though, to direct through and be represented by production house HunterPark. Pernice is an alum of SHOOT’s 2015 New Directors Showcase.