This :30 opens on a man and his armada of miniature toy soldiers. He picks up his orange tabby from behind some furniture and sets her in the middle of the battlefield. Little plastic men and their equipment cover the living room floor. "Oh no, Banzai Cat is attacking the village!" shrieks the guy, who—at least chronologically—is an adult. The feline has a glittering foil military/super hero helmet perched atop her head.
Indeed, the war games have begun. "Mighty Banzai Cat is stalking before the final kill!" narrates our pet owner, who then assumes the voice of a toy soldier talking to another colleague in arms. "We’ll never get out of here alive if he sees us," cries the panicked combatant.
The cat rolls over playfully on the carpeted battleground. A pair of toy soldiers carts away a wounded comrade on a stretcher. "Medic! Medic!" yells the pussycat’s "daddy" as he manipulates his toys. "Is this the end of civilization? Mighty Banzai Cat waits no more!" shouts the man, rolling a toy tank over the kitty, who, chewing contentedly on a miniature caisson, is pretty much oblivious to the "action" around her.
The cat swishes her tail, knocking over more soldiers and infantry resources. "No! With one flick of the tail, it’s all over," wails the guy, who’s clearly lost in his fantasy. Alerting us that the bombers have arrived, he swoops a toy plane over the cat. A sane voiceover then interjects, "Think of all the fun you can have with an adopted pet."
The spot is tagged with the message, "Contact your local shelter or pet adoption center," and a Web site: www.bestfriennds.org.
The PSA promotes the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, a southern Utah-based international animal welfare organization, which operates the nation’s largest "no-kill" shelter for domestic animals. Southern California ad artisans Michael Collado and Bill Hornstein served as writer and art director, respectively, on the freelance job, which was directed and edited by Glenn Martin, a staff cutter at Nomad Editing Company, Santa Monica. Martin worked on this and another Sanctuary spot, which were produced by Hollywood-based Porter Film Company (now Tombo). Robert Nackman served as head of production, with Marol Butcher producing. DP was David DuBois. Both PSAs began running in select markets this month, through a grant from the Kenneth A. Scott Charitable Trust.
Jim Bohn of Venice, Calif.-based Sea Level was online editor. Steve Rodriguez of Company 3, Santa Monica, was colorist. Audio mixer was John Bolen of Santa Monica-based Eleven. François Blaignan of Nomad was the sound designer.
Both PSAs began running in select markets this month, through a grant from the Kenneth A. Scott Charitable Trust.
