A car starts. Cutting quickly among a Texas license plate, the dusty ground and a length of chain, the black-and-white, high-contrast spot is compelling in its austerity: There are no people, no colors—just the inanimate objects. Nonetheless, it conveys a real menace.
With "Byrd Truck," Carol H. Williams Advertising, Oakland, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) teamed up to urge voters to support hate crimes legislation.
"Byrd Truck" was motivated by the 1998 murder of African-American James Byrd, who was chained to a truck and dragged to his death by racists in Texas. Having aired prior to the Nov. 7 elections, the :30 is straightforward in its language, and the footage accompanying it is a partial reenactment of the crime. The spot is narrated by Byrd’s daughter Rene Mullins, and refers specifically to Texas Governor George W. Bush’s refusal to pass hate crimes legislation. While the text does not specifically endorse a 2000 presidential candidate, the ad urges viewers to votefland to take into account Bush’s stance on hate crimes legislation.
In her voiceover, Mullins recounts the familiar but still horrific story: "On June 7, 1998, in Texas, my father was killed. He was beaten, chained, and he was dragged three miles to his death—all because he was black."
She continues, "So when Governor George W. Bush refused to support hate crimes legislation, it was like my father was killed all over again."
As a phone number appears on the screen, Mullins directs, "Call George W. Bush and tell him to support hate crimes legislation." This is followed by the NAACP, National Voters Fund and Americans For Equality logos. Mullins concludes, "We won’t be dragged away from our future."
The spot developed out of NAACP’s effort to increase voter turnout among African-Americans. According to Carol H. Williams Advertising’s chief creative officer, Carol
H. Williams, "After reviewing some focus interview groups and pulling out some key issues that were very important to African-Americansflof which hate crimes was one—we educated ourselves about hate crimes. They had a huge impact on the African-American market." The staff found that James Byrd’s murder resonated strongly with people. So, reported Williams, "We went to work in putting together a piece, knowing that Rene Mullins was available to do something."
Williams added, "It is not often that one gets to work on a piece of business like that, or create an emotional, impactful, yet factually-based creative piece. … It does what it’s supposed to do, and gets your attention."
The production was on a tight schedule: Freelance director/DP John Simmons had a single day to shoot the spot, and he worked hard to get across the sense of danger that pervades "Byrd Truck." Said Simmons, "I tried to make it as subjective as possible, so that we felt like we were witnessing this event from the standpoint of the victim, as well as from the standpoint of the perpetrators of the crime."
To obtain the proper perspective, Simmons lay down on the dolly with his camera and had himself towed for several feet: "Then the truck would come to a stop, and they’d catch the dolly before I crashed into the back of the truck," he related. "I did it at various frame speeds."
Simmons also decided to focus on the chain, which can symbolize family and community ties, as well as bondage and subjugation. Simmons explained, "We decided that it would be nice to give the chain its own life, so it became a character."
The black-and-white depiction, reminiscent of documentaries, was also important to Simmons: "For some reason, black-and-white always feels more real, at least to me as a cinematographer and a director." The look required a lot of work: "I shot the film in color reversal, a positive film stock," said Simmons. "I shot very high speed stock outdoors, which increased the amount of grain and contrast. Then I processed it as a negative; which gave it that really grainy, high-contrast look after I drained all the color out of it. It just makes it more intense, graphic and, in a sense, more abstract." He added, "It allows the viewer to fill in the spaces: It allows you to create your own color, or lack thereof."
The abstract nature of the spot intensified in the editorial process. According to editor Mitra Tyree of Pomegranit Editorial, San Francisco, "We were trying to create an emotion"—not an easy task with the camera focused on inanimate objects like a chain and a truck. The grainy look that Simmons wanted was key, said Tyree: "It was shot in color, but when we transferred it, it looked extremely grainy. We blew up the images to make it more abstract. Tyree also served as sound designer, and she said that by using car and chain sounds in addition to other elements, the soundtrack for "Byrd Truck" became emotional rather than rhythmic or melodic.
But the drama wasn’t over when the shoot and editing were finished. As soon as the spot hit the airwaves, "Byrd Truck" garnered media interest with its adaptation of an infamous crime. Executive producer Karen Carlson pointed out, "The ad has gotten much more play than the NAACP could ever have afforded [to purchase outright]. Because it’s such a controversial issue, [it] has been on so many of the talk shows—on Fox and CNN and ABC. …"
"Byrd Truck" was not aired nationwide, but could be seen in Atlanta; Cleveland; Louisville, Ky.; Milwaukee; Philadelphia; St. Louis; Detroit; and Little Rock, Ark. It aired on CBS affiliates in Detroit and St. Louis, and on ABC in Little Rock, Ark. The spots aired on UPN, FOX and/or the WB in other cities. Said Carlson, "Even before the media buy, it was airing on news shows."
The Carol H. Williams Advertising team included chief creative officer/writer Carol H. Williams, creative director of new media Kurt Herr, associate creative director Terry Jones and copywriter Rafael Scott. Freelancer Karen Carlson was the agency executive producer. Habiba Productions, Oakland, produced the project. Lope Yap Jr. served as freelance producer. Tyree’s Pomegranit colleagues on the job were assistant editor Serena Warner, designer Michael Schuman and executive producer Jennifer Suttlemyre. Jimi Simmons of Western Images, San Francisco, was the Inferno artist; Varitel Modern Videofilm, San Francisco’s Bob Campbell was the colorist. Mixer Eric Eckstein and recordist Vance Walden of One Union Recording, San Francisco, did the audio post work.
