The lion’s share of spec spots are made to help establish new talent in the marketplace. But in a departure from that norm, “Mountain Men” reacquaints us with a pair of industry vets–director/DP Peter Moss and former Campbell-Ewald, Detroit, exec VP/executive creative director Joe Puhy–who recently joined to form a directorial team, Puhy/Moss, available through Santa Monica-based Plum Productions.
The spot shows us two rugged outdoorsmen camping out in the pristine wilderness. One is seated in a Chevy Colorado truck, vigorously flossing his teeth. The other emerges from a tent and goes about his campsite business. The guy in the truck finishes his oral hygiene and places the piece of used floss on the rear view mirror. He then leaves the truck, to be replaced seconds later by his buddy who grabs the dangling floss and proceeds to clean his teeth and gums.
A voiceover relates, “Mountain men know how to stretch a dollar. That’s why Mountain Men drive the fuel efficient Chevy Colorado.”
The spec piece was based on a concept by art director Tom Cerroni and copywriter Joe Godard of Campbell-Ewald.
Moss said of Puhy, “He pushed me in different ways, which is refreshing. As a creative, Joe is very in tune with the younger market and adept at wit and comedy. I come from a background in beauty, sweeping landscapes and more classical looks. I think the integration of our two sensibilities makes for a dynamic collaboration.”
Moss is currently prepping for his feature directing debut, Dingo Dreaming, which is slated to shoot in New York and Australia this fall. He was a partner and director/DP at the former commercial production house Petermann/Moss Films from 1993 to ’03. Among his many accolades are directing awards from such competitions as the New York Film Festival and the London International Film Festival. Moss also has extensive feature experience, having served as camera operator on such noted Australian films as Breaker Morant and My Brilliant Career.
Puhy is best known for his work on Chevrolet while at Campbell-Ewald, serving in such capacities over the years as art director, producer, TV director, creative director and exec creative director. His creative fare includes the famed, longstanding “Like a Rock” campaign for Chevy Trucks. Earlier in his career he was a creative at Young & Rubicam’s Detroit and Paris offices.
In early ’06, Puhy exited Campbell-Ewald to pursue a career as a director and producer. On the former score, he teamed with Moss, whose directorial credits include commercials for such clients as Sears, Gillette, Miller Beer, Shell, Anheuser Busch, Avis, Esso and Toyota.
Chuck Sloan executive produced “Mountain Men” for Plum Productions, with Brett Marx serving as line producer. (Sloan is president of Plum.) Moss was DP on the job.
Steve MacCorkle of Rival Editorial, Santa Monica, edited the spot. Bill Fortney exec produced for Rival. Colorist was Mike Pethel of Company 3, Santa Monica. Audio post mixer was Jeff Payne of Eleven, Santa Monica.
Sound designer was John De Stefano at bicoastal Elias Arts. Jimmy Haun of Elias was music composer.
Principal actors were Troy Donnell and Mick De Lint.
Supreme Court Seems Likely To Uphold A Law That Could Force TikTok To Shut Down On Jan. 19
The Supreme Court on Friday seemed likely to uphold a law that would ban TikTok in the United States beginning Jan. 19 unless the popular social media program is sold by its China-based parent company.
Hearing arguments in a momentous clash of free speech and national security concerns, the justices seemed persuaded by arguments that the national security threat posed by the company's connections to China override concerns about restricting the speech either of TikTok or its 170 million users in the United States.
Early in arguments that lasted more than two and a half hours, Chief Justice John Roberts identified his main concern: TikTok's ownership by China-based ByteDance and the parent company's requirement to cooperate with the Chinese government's intelligence operations.
If left in place, the law passed by bipartisan majorities in Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in April will require TikTok to "go dark" on Jan. 19, lawyer Noel Francisco told the justices on behalf of TikTok.
At the very least, Francisco urged, the justices should enter a temporary pause that would allow TikTok to keep operating. "We might be in a different world again" after President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Trump, who has 14.7 million followers on TikTok, also has called for the deadline to be pushed back to give him time to negotiate a "political resolution." Francisco served as Trump's solicitor general in his first presidential term.
But it was not clear whether any justices would choose such a course. And only Justice Neil Gorsuch sounded like he would side with TikTok to find that the ban violates the Constitution.
Gorsuch labeled arguments advanced by the Biden administration' in defense of the law a... Read More