Meshing advertising and entertainment, the so-called Holy Grail, can wholly fail if the proper balance isn’t maintained. That’s the humorous message conveyed in this European cinema campaign for telecommunications company Orange, directed by Bryan Buckley of bicoastal/international Hungry Man.
In "Spike Lee," we see none other than director Spike Lee in an Orange film commission boardroom meeting. He is pitching his idea for a film to a group of Orange executives whose only prerequisite for good cinema is that it promotes their company brand. Lee’s proposed movie seeks to tell the story of the late great Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play Major League Baseball.
However, the Orange execs don’t perk up to the idea until they realize that Robinson broke the color barrier by becoming a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. "This film is about color," exclaims an Orange board member.
"Yes, he was a black man," responds Lee.
"Well, we’re Orange, so we like that," notes the lead Orange executive.
Another exec asks what the Brooklyn Dodgers’ team colors are, and Lee says blue and white. This causes some consternation among the Orange commissioners—that is, until they decide to rewrite history.
One executive recommends that the script be changed, making Robinson a player with the Giants, because that team’s colors are black and orange. And instead of Brooklyn, another exec suggests that Orange County should be the team’s city. The Orange board members congratulate one another on these suggestions—now this is a film worth funding!
Lee notes that these changes are contrary to history, and that the film should accurately depict the importance of Robinson’s struggle. The movie, says Lee, should "tell the world" that some causes are worth fighting for—at which point an Orange chief exec suggests that the story line should, instead, "text the world."
A company board member throws Lee an orange-and-black baseball cap with the Orange logo featured on it. Lee walks off in disgust as the oblivious Orange execs continue to pat themselves on the back for their moviemaking insights.
The spot ends with a supered message specifically targeting in-theater audience members. Appearing against a dark backdrop, the super simply reads: "Don’t let a mobile phone ruin your movie. Please switch it off." Accompanying the supered message is the Orange logo.
Other spots in the campaign include similarly themed pitch meetings with other movie industry notables. For example, actor Roy Scheider champions a black-and-white film noir only to have the Orange board insist that the movie be shot in color. And actress/writer Carrie Fisher pitches a gothic period piece in which written love letters nurture a romance, but the Orange board wants to alter that story line so that the protagonists express their feelings via text messaging on their cellular phones. When Fisher explains how that would be incongruous with the 19th century, the Orange execs pause for a moment, then immediately remedy the problem by changing the time frame to the 21st century. An exasperated Fisher then exits the boardroom.
These European cinema commercials asking moviegoers to be considerate—and in the process promoting self-deprecating good will for Orange—were conceived by London ad agency Mother.
Stephen Orent and Dan Duffy executive produced for Hungry Man, with Kevin Byrne serving as line producer. The DP was Adam Beckman.
The campaign was edited by Andrea MacArthur of Peep Show, London. (MacArthur is repped stateside via bicoastal Cosmo Street.) Colorist was Seamus O’Kane of VTR, London. Audio mixer/sound designer was James Saunders of Jungle, London.
