We open on a construction site where three male workers are taking a break–the one in the center is munching on a sandwich. Next, we see that same man operating a jackhammer, all the while gyrating and vibrating on the job, stopping a moment to pull up his jeans.
Then he’s helping to unload heavy bags of cement powder from a truck. He catches a bag tossed to him by a fellow worker and lays it down. He then stops to hoist up his pants–which are slipping even further down from his waist–and misses the next tossed bag which falls hard onto the ground, producing a large puff of white cement powder.
As the spot moves to another vignette, we begin to sense that time is subtly passing–perhaps several weeks, if not longer–from one scenario to the next. Our construction worker protagonist is now paired with another guy. Each man is holding either end of a large pane of glass for a window and carrying it through the site. Our guy is gripping the pane with one hand as he uses the other to pull up his now even looser pants.
Later he’s at the jackhammer again. A rear view shows the hammer’s rapid fire action is causing his pants to fall down to about his knees, revealing a not so stylish pair of boxer shorts.
Moving on, our industrious worker is next seen pushing a wheelbarrow while pulling his pants, now at nearly ankle level, back up over a different pair of boxers. The spot then cuts to a homey kitchen where our lead worker is fixing his lunch. His wife is in the background. He looks at the label on a loaf of Nimble bread and realizes why his pants keep slipping.
Then we’re thrust back out to the construction site where the man is carrying a porcelain toilet, which he drops upon tripping when his pants fall down to his feet. The toilet breaks into pieces.
Upon returning to the kitchen, we hear a voiceover intervene, “New Nimble–the low-calorie bread that tastes so good, you’ll never guess.”
Titled “Builder,” the commercial was directed by Sam Cadman via Rogue Films, London, for DDB London. (Cadman is represented stateside by bicoastal Tool of North America.) The DDB ensemble consisted of creative director Jo Wenley, copywriter Grant Parker, art director Jamie Leonard and producer Natalie Powell.
The passage of months in the commercial is conveyed in a most understated manner, starting with a snowy background and ending in the sunshine. We also see the construction steadily yet almost incidentally progress. At the beginning new soil is being broken by the jackhammer. As the spots concludes, we see the worker trying to carry a fixture, in this case a toilet, into what we presume is a close-to-being finished home.
“We just used the scenes’ backgrounds and circumstances to communicate that months were passing,” related Cadman. “Our main focus was on creating funny moments–that’s what came out of my first meeting with [DDB’s] Grant [Parker] and Jo [Wenley]. We worked to come up with those things that builders have to do over and over again which would become more difficult the looser their trousers became. I could see a different director going for a more stylistic study of the passage of time. But the agency creatives and I agreed that our focus should instead be on the different snapshot moments ultimately being funny.”
In that vein, Cadman said he didn’t want to get too locked down in a shot-by-shot chronological passage of time, which might tie the creative hands of editor Adam Spivey of Speade, London. “Adam has great sensibilities and I wanted to give him options from which to choose the truly funniest, most genuine moments. I’m keen to let the editor take the rushes and do what’s best for the story…Adam brought an objective perspective to what we shot and it turns out that he contributed quite a lot. For instance, we originally were going to end the spot in the kitchen. But he came up with halfway through the kitchen scene breaking in with a return to the construction site to show the worker falling and then the toilet bowl being smashed into bits. That really helped to nail the message.”
One planned scene–having the construction worker climbing up a ladder while carrying bricks–didn’t come to pass, related Cadman. The U.K.’s Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) deemed such a scenario to be too dangerous, representing a breach of public health and safety.
Charlie Crompton executive produced “Builder” for Rogue Films, with Alice Rowbotham serving as producer. The spot was shot on location on the outskirts of London by DP Alex Melman.
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