An SUV winds it way down a road at night that takes it through a forest area. Suddenly we hear the sound of screeching brakes and a thud as the vehicle hits something in its path.
Turns out it’s a naked man who’s stunned and dazed but has enough wherewithal to get to his feet and flee off into the woods. He reunites with two other naked friends who disappear into the brush.
A cut to inside the SUV reveals the driver and passenger in the front seat: Two deer. The driver turns to his companion and says, “It’s like they want to get hit.” We see a dented bumper as the SUV starts up and drives away.
A voiceover simply asks, “Need a body shop?”
This is followed by the supered name of Blake’s Auto Body, listing its various Northern California locations (San Rafael, Novato, Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park).
However, the spot can be for any auto body shop–literally, as its producer, Jessen Productions, San Francisco, is syndicating it to various markets via its PreFab Ads (www.prefabads.com) marketing arm. Titled “Naked Deer,” the commercial–for which a new version was recently released–has been licensed to some 30 independent auto body shops across the United States for local usage.
This licensing biz was born in ’96 when Jessen created, produced and directed “Sledgehammer” for Blake’s Auto Body. The spot depicted a woman out to gain revenge on her ex-hubby as she drives into a golf course parking lot and finds a hot red Mustang. She proceeds to put a sledgehammer to the classic car, bashing it repeatedly. At that point an identical red Mustang drives up alongside her, driven by her estranged spouse. Indeed she is in need of a good body shop as a voiceover intervenes, extolling the virtues of Blake’s.
“Sledgehammer” won assorted awards including an International Broadcasting Awards (IBA) Spike Trophy, Silver recognition from London’s Midsummer Festival, getting short listed at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and gaining finalist status in the Clio competition. The commercial ultimately was syndicated to 140 markets throughout the U.S. And “Sledgehammer” was also shown in cinema theaters in Germany.
Spot precedent
This is the eighth such spot writer/producer/director Chuck Jessen has licensed to the auto collision industry over the years, But “Naked Deer” marks the first time he has turned to someone other than himself to write and direct.
Setting the precedent was Jessen’s longtime friend Jarl Olsen who wrote and directed this “deer in the headlights” storyline. At the time Olsen was freelancing. He has since come aboard agency Carmichael Lynch in Minneapolis as a staff creative. Jessen served as executive producer and assistant director on “Naked Deer.” DP Vance Piper shot “Naked Deer” on 35mm film in a wooded section of Ridgeway Road on Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, Calif. Rivkah Beth Meadows was production manager on the job. Eric Fox of MorbX, Grass Valley, Calif., was prop master, getting two previously mounted deer heads to look as though they were talking.
The “Naked Deer” footage was transferred by Spy Post, San Francisco. The offline edit was handled by Doug Werby of Ballistic Pictures, Berkeley, Calif.; Emaginate in San Rafael handled both online and visual effects. The audio was recorded and mixed by Ursa Minor Studios, also of San Rafael.
The naked man was played by San Francisco actor Joshua Garcia, with actors Kipp Glass and Melanee Nelson playing the naked friends in the woods. No naked people were harmed in the filming of this commercial, quipped Jessen.
Continuing the grind
Jessen has made a business not only of creating, directing and syndicating spots but also helming and writing spots for longstanding clients. For example, he recently completed a :30 for DenTek Oral Care in which we see a woman grinding her teeth as she sleeps. The spot then cuts to animated teeth screaming in pain as they grind. Then after the woman inserts the DenTek NightGuard, the teeth are shown in complete tranquility, snoozing and snoring away.
Titled “Teeth Guys,” the spot debuted this month on such cable networks as FX, Discovery Health, SciFi Network and TV Land. “Teeth Guys” is the eighth commercial that Jessen has written, directed and produced for DenTek in recent years. Furthermore, Jessen has decided to more aggressively pursue commercials and plans to soon secure a lineup of reps to handle him as a director. And at press time, Jessen had finalized financing for his first feature film, which he has written and is attached to direct.
