Subtlety is hardly synonymous with casino advertising. Bright neon lights, spinning slots, rolling dice, vocal high rollers, glitzy shows—some flashing flesh—and splashy depictions of the resort lifestyle are among the elements found in typical promo fare for this product category.
However, dramatically deviating from this norm is a four-spot campaign for Spirit Mountain Casino, directed by Tim Godsall of bicoastal Epoch Films for agency Borders Perrin Norrander, Portland, Ore. This ad package shows how unrelated sights can trigger thoughts in the human brain, in this case elevating a subconscious desire to a top-of-mind priority.
In "Bathroom," a visit to the public lavatory does just that for a guy approaching the sink to wash his hands. In the mirror in front of him, he notices a janitor tidying up. The man’s eyes drift to the name tag sewn on the janitor’s uniform, just above his shirt pocket: "Jack."
Why that is worthy of being placed in the camera’s view is not readily apparent—that is, until the washroom visitor reaches for the liquid soap dispenser. As he puts his hand underneath the dispenser to pump some soap, he notices the brand name on the metal apparatus, "Ace Custodial Supply."
Suddenly, it all adds up, literally—an ace and a Jack total 21, which is Blackjack nirvana. Without the benefit of a deck of cards, our washroom gambler has figuratively struck it big.
The spot transitions to a supered rhetorical query in white letters across a black background: "Blackjack On The Brain?" Next up is a supered logo for the Grand Rond, Ore.-based Spirit Mountain Casino, accompanied by its Web site address (spiritmountain.com).
Similar subliminal messages can be found in "Gas Station," "Dry Cleaner" and "Break Room." In the latter, a woman is seated in front of a snack vending machine. She’s mesmerized by the snack dispenser, inserting dollar bills and pressing button after button in varied combinations (C3, B5), each corresponding to packaged food, be it a micro-waveable burrito or a candy bar. She seems to have no interest in the food itself, just the machinations of the vending machine. "Slots On The Brain?" asks a parting super.
Meanwhile in "Dry Cleaner," the entrepreneur of that business operates the giant rig upon which a succession of laundered clothes is hung. He, too, seems unduly fascinated by this endeavor, as we see alternating flashes of black and red garments flash before him. The supered question: "Roulette On The Brain?"
And at a full-service gas station pump, a customer watches the numbers roll by which tell him how much it’s going to cost to fill up the tank. Again, this gent is fixated on the proceedings. The payoff is when the pump stops at $7.77. With the row of three 7s representing the quasi-jackpot, the final question is "Slots On The Brain?"
The creative ensemble at Borders Perrin Norrander consisted of creative director Terry Schneider, copywriters Mike Ward and Troy Asplund, art directors Diane Magid and Joel Nendel, and producer Karen Coster.
Director Godsall’s support team at Epoch included executive producer Jerry Solomon and line producer Dina Oberley. Pieter Vermeer was the DP.
Kevin D’Haeze and Mike Quinn of Mission Control, Portland, served as offline editor and online editor/Flame artist, respectively. Colorist was Bruce Boreland of DownStream digital, Portland. Audio mixer/sound designer was Eric Stolberg of Digital One, Portland. Music was composed by Tom Bode of Grinning Carrot, Portland.
