CLIENT
XO Communications.
PRODUCTION CO.
Anonymous, Culver City, Calif.
David Kellogg, director; Peter Collister, DP; Andy Traines, executive producer; Phil Rose, producer. Shot on location in Vancouver, B.C.
AGENCY
McKinney & Silver, Raleigh, N.C.
David Baldwin, executive creative director; Liz Paradise, group creative director; Regina Brizzolara, executive producer; Ann Faxon, producer; John Guynn, copywriter; Tony Simmons, art director.
EDITORIAL
Nomad Editing Company,
Santa Monica.
Tom Muldoon, editor, and Matt Dunlap, assistant editor, "Tommy" and "Phone Center"; Glenn Martin, editor, and Dave Anderson, assistant editor, "Press Conference" and "3 Month Guarantee."
POST
HD West, Santa Monica.
Steve Rodriguez, colorist.
R!OT, Santa Monica.
Brian Robinson, online editor.
VISUAL EFFECTS
A52, Los Angeles.
Dan Sumpter, animation artist.
AUDIO POST
POP Sound, Santa Monica.
Loren Silber, mixer.
MUSIC
Elias Associates, bicoastal.
Jonathan Elias, composer; Dana Bauer, executive producer.
THE SPOTS
Four :30s promote XO Communications as the "can do" telecommunications provider. Each ad follows the humorous exploits of Charles Gaines, a fictitious CEO of competing company MegaTelco. In "Phone Center," Gaines learns that XO has customer service agents available around the clock. He states that he feels his company should, too, as the ad cuts to MegaTelco’s customer service operation center at 3:47 a.m., where a Goth-dressed man is doing his nails and taking calls. "Thank you for calling MegaTelco," he says. "This is Balkazar, Prince of Misery and apprentice to evil. May I help you?" "Press Conference" features Gaines at a podium, ranting about XO’s superior services. He states that his company can’t beat XO’s technology, but can beat their name. He unveils the letters "B.O." In "Tommy," Gaines recalls, "This great kid, Tommy. Sharp as a tack." Tommy was sent into the board of directors to tell them his plan of voice, data and Web services for one flat rate just like XO’s. The camera cuts to a group of elderly board members who literally toss Tommy out of the boardroom. "I wonder where Tommy works now," ponders Gaines. And in "3 Month Guarantee," Gaines is surrounded by customer service representatives. They are standing by as he offers a three-month guarantee stating that MegaTelco will switch unsatisfied users back to their former providers for free. As he states MegaTelco’s phone number, every phone in the center begins to ring, and Gaines’ offer is drowned out by angry customer calls. Each ad ends with the tagline, "They can’t. We do. Reinventing voice, data and Web for business. XO. Not just talk."
"Press Conference" aired Sept. 25; "Tommy," "3 Month Guarantee" and "Phone Center" broke Oct. 2.
