This unnerving spot shows us the face, literally, of pancreatic cancer–a man who’s a backseat passenger in a car driven by his victim.
The passenger identifies the driver as Dan and then himself as “Dan’s pancreatic cancer.”
He goes on to say, “Dan has no idea I’m here. Two months from now, he’ll see his doctor about a stomach ache. Three months after that, he’ll be dead.”
This ride won’t be the last for our grim reaper passenger. He looks out the car’s side window into a rainy night and informs us that he has “35,000 other people to kill this year.”
A supered message then asks us to help stop the most lethal cancer there is–pancreatic cancer. A tag carries the website address curePC.org and the identities of the PSA’s sponsors, The Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, and Cablevision.
Jeremy Russell of tight, Santa Monica, directed the spot for Gardner Nelson + Partners, New York.
Of the passenger, Russell said, “I remember when that guy came in to audition, he didn’t even have to say anything and he would have gotten the job. I always thought casting would be the most important part of this spot and that turned out to be true.” Russell noted that there was a definite vibe between the two men in the car. “I had them in there for about an hour and I had asked them not to talk to each other at all. I don’t think they’d even met.”
The strategy worked like a charm, allowing the interaction between the men on screen to read as cold and impersonal.
Another element underscoring the spot’s somber tone was the rain. (The job was shot in New York.)
“We had a rig attached to the car that created the rain effect for the majority of the spot,” said Russell. “When it came time to shoot the exteriors of the moving car, it started to rain for real. Perfect timing.”
The agency team consisted of creative director Tom Nelson, copywriter Chris Baier, art director James Groom and producer Gillian Blain.
Jack Donnelly was the DP. Editor was Tom Schachte of Bluerock, New York.
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