We open on a dog being taken for a walk in the park by his master. The canine sniffs at a discarded plastic water bottle nestled in the grass.
We hear a voice. But whose? The dog’s?
No, it’s the bottle’s. "Well, that was pretty uneventful," gripes the empty water container: "Sat around in a refrigerator for three weeks, and now it’s over."
The dog has left, and suddenly the bottle is impaled by a stick wielded by a man cleaning up the area. "Ow!" yelps the bottle.
"I mean, where was the fun? Where was the love?" it continues as it’s dropped into a recycling bin. A recycling center odyssey ensues—awash in light and accompanied by transforming music—as our bottle and thousands of other containers are transported via a conveyer belt to new identities.
Next, we see a swimsuit-clad woman open her gym locker. "Whoa—that was weird!" exclaims the bottle’s voice. But where’s the bottle?
The attractive woman is a lifeguard and she’s holding a buoy close to her bosom. "I’m a lifeguard buoy? I’m her lifeguard buoy," celebrates the former water bottle.
A closing tag reads: "Recycle. It’s good for the bottle. It’s good for the can." Beneath this slogan is a line identifying the spot’s sponsor—the California Department of Conservation—accompanied by a toll-free phone number and Web site address (www.bottlesandcans.com).
The offbeat premise was conceived by a creative team at Phoenix-based agency Riester-Robb Advertising, consisting of creative director Dave Robb, art director Ben Dveirin, copywriter Rick Utzinger and producer Louise Parker-Trengrove.
David Jellison from bicoastal Tool of North America directed the spot. His Tool support team included executive producer Dierdre Harrington, head of production Jennifer Siegel and producer Denise Ricchietti. The DP was Gale Tattersall, who just signed for spot directing chores at Dark Light Pictures, Hollywood.
"Beach" was edited by Jeff Wishengrad of MWP Editorial, Santa Monica. Henry online editor was Mark Dennison of Mixin Pixls, Santa Monica. Mike Pethel of Company 3, Santa Monica, was the colorist. Audio mixer was John Bolen of Eleven, Santa Monica.
Venice, Calif.-based Machine Head did the music and sound design. The ensemble there included creative director Stephen Dewey, sound designer Mike Johnson, music composers Chris Neilman and Mark Kilian, and producers Shari Christensen and Gabrielle Hughes.
