We open in a train station crowded with people. As a train arrives, a man is visibly hot and bothered. He pops a Halls lozenge into his mouth, which has an instantaneous cooling effect.
Immediately he is hit on the side of his face by a snowball, thrown by a polar bear. A second snowball also makes facial impact as the man and bear then gravitate towards each other. A catchy musical beat ensues as they start to dance and cavort about, giving each other a high five, shimmying back to back against each other, and then engaging in a big heartfelt embrace.
The spot then cuts to three women who look on and laugh. But they’re not laughing at the polar bear and the man, but only at the latter as the camera reveals what the women see–the guy dancing and hugging, all the while by himself. Indeed there’s been a polar eclipse right before our eyes as the bear has disappeared–and in fact was never there as the man’s imagination got carried away due to the cooling Halls mentho-lyptus lozenge.
Titled “Polar Blast,” the spot was directed by Ram Madhvani of Equinox Films, Mumbai, for Contract Advertising, Mumbai. (Madhvani is handled worldwide–except for India–by greatguns in Venice, Calif, London and Bangkok.)
“Having the man and the polar bear at a train station was a great idea,” related Madhvani. “The challenge was figuring out exactly how they should interact there. The agency guys and I discussed it and at first the plan was to give the interaction a kind of romantic overtone. But the client said that wasn’t energetic enough to appeal to the younger demographic we wanted to connect with.”
Necessity being the mother of invention, the need for “energetic” spawned the creation of what Madhvani laughingly refers to as the “shiver dance.” “Our hope is that it will soon compete with the moon walk,” quipped the director, describing the “shiver dance” as “how you would move if you had ice down the back of your shirt…That dance with the man and the bear shimmying against each other back to back helped to make the spot zany, and popular.”.
Madhvani complimented animatronic bear operator Matt Brady for his tireless work. “Matt told me this job was one of the few in which the director talked to him,” related Madhvani. “Usually the director communicates to him through the first a.d. He appreciated that we struck up a rapport. I appreciated it as well.”
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