Two women chat as they hike together in the countryside.
“So Tom’s folks are in town,” says his wife.
“What happened to your big dinner?” asks her friend.
“Tom’s cooking,” she responds.
“By himself?” queries the hiker companion in slight disbelief.
“We got some help,” explains Tom’s spouse.
Cut to the kitchen where Tom is indeed playing chef, mixing some ingredients in a bowl.
“Can I get three eggs,” he asks his unseen helper.
From off camera, three eggs are thrown in his vicinity, each breaking on the kitchen countertop.
Unperturbed, Tom continues, “Oh, I need some butter.”
We then see the hired help: a giant bear (an actual bear named Muckaday) standing in front of an open refrigerator door trying to pull out a tub of butter but to no avail.
Next the bear and Tom are together at the counter. “Will you pass the milk?” asks Tom as the bear nuzzles up to him affectionately.
A voiceover interjects, “Last year, your lottery gave over $50 million to the environment.”
Meanwhile Tom continues to seek assistance from his oversized colleague. “Can I get the butter at some point?”
The counter then collapses under the sheer weight of the bear leaning against it with his paws.
The voiceover then explains why the bear is in the kitchen trying to help out. In reference to the aforementioned Minnesota Lottery money, the voiceover says, “Nature thanks you.”
An end tag carries the Minnesota Lottery logo, accompanied by the slogan, “When you play, nature wins.”
An audio element then adds to the humor. We hear a doorbell ring, to which Tom says to the bear, “Can you get that?”
Larry Shanet, a.k.a. Kranky, directed the spot via Drive Thru Films, Minneapolis, and Shooters International, Toronto, for agency Cole+McVoy, Minneapolis.
Mark Setterholm and Pamela McNamara executive produced, respectively, for Drive Thru and Shooters. Julie Hartley line produced the job, with Jeff Stonehouse serving as DP.
The Cole+McVoy team consisted of chief creative officer John Jarvis, executive creative director Mike Fetrow, group creative director Dave Keepper, copywriter Brian Ritchie, art director Dustin Black, head of broadcast Ramon Nunez and producer Lisa Thotland.
Randy Kramer of Fischer Edit, Minneapolis, cut the spot. Online editor/effects artist was Bob George of Drive Thru Post, Minneapolis. Dave Sweet of Pixel Farm, Minneapolis, was the colorist. Music composer/sound designer/audio mixer was Carl White of BWN Music, Minneapolis.
Review: Director Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked”
It's the ultimate celebrity redemption tour, two decades in the making. In the annals of pop culture, few characters have undergone an image makeover quite like the Wicked Witch of the West.
Oh, she may have been vengeful and scary in "The Wizard of Oz." But something changed — like, REALLY changed — on the way from the yellow brick road to the Great White Way. Since 2003, crowds have packed nightly into "Wicked" at Broadway's Gershwin Theatre to cheer as the green-skinned, misunderstood Elphaba rises up on her broomstick to belt "Defying Gravity," that enduring girl-power anthem.
How many people have seen "Wicked"? Rudimentary math suggests more than 15 million on Broadway alone. And now we have "Wicked" the movie, director Jon M. Chu's lavish, faithful, impeccably crafted (and nearly three-hour) ode to this origin story of Elphaba and her (eventual) bestie — Glinda, the very good and very blonde. Welcome to Hollywood, ladies.
Before we get to what this movie does well (Those big numbers! Those costumes!), just a couple thornier issues to ponder. Will this "Wicked," powered by a soulful Cynthia Erivo (owner of one of the best singing voices on the planet) and a sprightly, comedic, hair-tossing Ariana Grande, turn even musical theater haters into lovers?
Tricky question. Some people just don't buy into the musical thing, and they should be allowed to live freely amongst us. But if people breaking into song delights rather than flummoxes you, if elaborate dance numbers in village squares and fantastical nightclubs and emerald-hued cities make perfect sense to you, and especially if you already love "Wicked," well then, you will likely love this film. If it feels like they made the best "Wicked" movie money could buy — well, it's... Read More