A banking executive, who’s seated at his desk, looks into the camera and makes a pledge: “At First Bank, we do not clone or endorse the cloning of U.S. currency. It would be against international law and a breach of banking ethics.” He affirms that the $50 you receive for opening a free checking account “is real money and has not been duplicated in a covert genetics laboratory.”
The only problem is that as he makes his impassioned promise, the banker is holding a sheep with two heads, and you can’t help but notice that there are two nameplates on his desk, both carrying the moniker Peter Sinclair.
The banker, presumably Mr. Sinclair, reiterates that the money issued by his financial institution is clean and original. “Get $50 that has never been cloned.”
However, the camera pulls back to reveal a second Peter Sinclair, who looks exactly like the original banker, sitting off to the side.
So much for bank promises. This atypical ad with a bank poking fun at the veracity of bankers during tenuous economic times was conceived by TDA Advertising & Design in Boulder for Colorado’s First Bank.
Brendan Hearne directed “Cloning” via bicoastal/international @radical.media, with visual effects from Framestore, New York.
The TDA ensemble included agency partner/creative director Jonathan Schoenberg, founder/creative director Thomas Dooley, copywriter Joe Nafziger, art director Neal Desai and producer Susan Fisher.
Frank Scherma, Jim Bouvet and Gregg Carlesimo exec produced for @radical, with Cathy Dunn serving as head of production, Diane Castrup as producer and Taylor Steadman as production supervisor. The DP was David Wilson. Phil Elins was assistant director.
Editor was Heidi Black of The Whitehouse, Santa Monica
Marshall Plante of The Syndicate, Santa Monica, was colorist.
The Framestore coterie of talent included senior Flame Artist Raul Ortego, VFX shoot supervisor Eric Rosenfeld, exec producer James Razzall and VFX assistant Sabrina Tenore.
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More