By BY MILLIE TAKAKI
WIZJA-TV, Poland’s first digital, direct-to-home, satellite television service, is spawning a generation of control freaks-remote control, that is, with addicted viewers going to great lengths to make sure they get to select their favorite programs, from comedy to drama, sports to children’s fare, documentary to animation.
This struggle for control of the television set is the underlying premise behind a humorous campaign directed by Billy Kent through BFCS Ltd., London, and Crash Films, Santa Monica, for J. Walter Thompson, London.
In one of the spots, "Fans," a group of rabid sports fans is in a bar watching a televised game-presumably soccer-much to the dismay of a woman seated on a bar-stool. In fact, she’s so annoyed, she turns to the man beside her, a rather large man whose eyes are glued to the TV, and whales him upside the head. He looks toward her, wondering who cold-cocked him. She motions with her head to an unsuspecting, innocent chap behind her-and all hell breaks loose. What starts as a skirmish quickly turns into a barroom brawl, enabling the woman to switch the channel to a romantic soap opera while the sports louts knock one another senseless. We see the woman shedding tears over the melodrama on the telly, and the spot ends with a tag of multiple TV screens, representing the many programing choices offered by WIZJA-TV.
Similarly, in "Stop It," an attractive, amorous woman is pawing a heavyset, dorky-looking man in an apartment. But to his way of thinking, she’s merely keeping him from the true object of his affection: a TV set tuned to WIZJA. He leaves the room for a moment to make a phone call and then returns to the couch, where the woman continues trying to put him in the mood. Then the doorbell rings and the woman opens the door to find several scantily clad, hunky, exotic male dancers, who begin flexing their muscles for her. With her romantic attentions diverted, our couch potato gets to focus on his WIZJA.
Other spots in the series also showcase just how far people will go to get their WIZJA: In one instance, boys paint dots on their faces to feign contagious diseases, thus scaring away a group of girls who were monopolizing the TV.
The creative artisans at J. Walter Thompson included creative director Ian Peck, art director/copywriter Bartek Rams and producer Eira Ellis.
Kent’s support team included producer Helen Hayden at BFCS and exec. producers Gary Ward and Bill Fortney from Crash. The campaign was shot on location in Los Angeles by DP Ramsey Nickell. (One spot, "Identikit," was filmed at Universal Studios, Universal City, Calif.)
Editor was Lance Pereira of Graying & Balding, Santa Monica. (Pereira has since moved over to Jigsaw, Santa Monica.) Visual effects/online editor was Peter Mayor of The Finish Line, Santa Monica. Composer was Brian Banks of Audio Banks, Santa Monica.
The client was Entertainment Inc., the parent company of Polska Telewizja Kablowa, which launched the WIZJA-TV service last year.
Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. Explore Generations, Old School vs. New School, In “Poppa’s House”
Boundaries between work and family don't just blur in the new CBS sitcom "Poppa's House" starring father-and-son comedy duo Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. They shatter.
"It's wonderful to come to work every day and see him and some of his kids and my sister and my brother and nieces and nephews. They all work on this show. They all contribute," says the senior Wayans. "I don't think there are words to express how joyful I am."
Wayans plays the titular Poppa, a curmudgeonly radio DJ who's more than comfortable doing it his way, while Wayans Jr. plays his son, Damon, a budding filmmaker who's stuck in a job he hates.
"My character, Pop, is just an old school guy who's kind of stuck in his ways," says Wayans, who starred in "In Living Color" and "My Wife and Kids."
Pop yearns for the days when a handshake was a binding contract and Michael Jordan didn't complain if he got fouled on the court. Pop laughs at the younger generation's participation trophies.
"It's old school versus new school and them teaching each other lessons from both sides," says Wayans Jr., who played Coach in the Fox sitcom "New Girl."
"They (the characters) bring the best out in each other and they're resistant initially. But then throughout the episode they have revelations and these revelations help them become better people," he adds.
The two have worked together before — dad made an appearance on son's "Happy Endings" and "Happy Together," while son was a writer and guest star on dad's "My Wife and Kids." But this is the first time they have headlined a series together.
The half-hour comedy — premiering Monday and co-starring Essence Atkins and Tetona Jackson — smartly leaves places in the script where father and son can let... Read More