Consider this a slice of mundane life with a cherry on top–make that three cherries. Three guys in cherry costumes are spending a morning at home in the kitchen. One is seated at a table eating cereal, another is right next to him reading a newspaper and doing its crossword puzzle. The third is at the refrigerator, presumably to put some cream in his coffee; he carries his cupful of java to the table and as soon as he sits down, putting the three cherries in a row, coins rain down on them.
Adding to the humor is the guys for the most part continue to go about their breakfast business as if nothing out of the ordinary is happening. For example, our first cherry guy keeps on spooning cereal into his mouth. He doesn’t react to the free falling coins until one lands on his spoon. A tagline identifies the sponsor, New Buffalo, Mich.-based Four Winds Casino, which provides needed context for viewers regarding the gag.
Titled “Breakfast,” the TV spot is one of three in a Four Winds Casino campaign directed by Trevor Cornish of TWC, Santa Monica, for Chicago ad agency Two By Four. The Two By Four ensemble consisted of creative directors Dan Consiglio and David Stevenson, art director Dave Wilson, copywriters Jeremy Simmons and Matt Kappmeyer and producer Kelly Lose Giardino.
Adrenaline rush
“Every director gets this little adrenaline rush 10 seconds before opening a new script in terms of anticipation–will it be great, good or mediocre? The second script I read in the package was for ‘Breakfast’ and that was the spot I did the campaign for,” recalled Cornish. “I already was dialing my executive producer’s number when I saw it. The concept was simple and smart–which is saying a lot for a storyline with a bunch of guys in fruit costumes. That kind of scenario usually elicits descriptions like ‘quirky’ and ‘goofy.’ But this was much more. It was a clever idea that comes together for the viewer with the end tag. Up until then, you’re curious as a viewer but it’s like looking at a picture upside down. The end tag flips it right side up and you see the why behind what you’ve just witnessed.”
Cornish added that casting was key in that the guys in the cherry costumes had definite personalities. For instance, the cherry that went to the fridge was still in his pajamas and turns out to be the one who triggers the jackpot torrent of coins. By contrast, the newspaper-reading cherry is wearing a white collared, pinstripe t-shirt, the character described by Cornish as the Moe of Three Stooges fame who has to put up with two even bigger screw-ups.
And the cherry guy mindlessly munching on cereal is, said Cornish, “about four seconds behind everyone else in becoming aware of what’s going on.”
At first, the concept called for the cherry characters to speak more–but Cornish noted that their not speaking did greater justice to the concept, sort of a less is more dynamic that helped to heighten the comedy. Also departing from the initial game plan was the decision to go with 30-second versions of the campaign spots, which were originally slated to be :15s. “The client was open to :30s but wasn’t going to commit to the longer spots until they saw them,” related Cornish. “So we shot :15s and :30s and happily the client was sold on the :30s.”
Stateside inroads
Cornish is well established in the Canadian and European ad markets. He directs spots via Spy Films, Toronto, which has also been home to several of his European assignments. He is poised to make his mark in American advertising, having gained initial notice with a Gold Pencil at The One Show for “Vending Machine,” a spot promoting the Canadian Football League’s B.C. Lions. Produced by Spy for Rethink Advertising, Vancouver, B.C., the spot led to his coming aboard TWC a couple of years ago after having been with Twist Films, Minneapolis.
And the awards show beat goes on for Cornish whose promo spots for French TV action/suspense channel 13eme Rue out of BETC Euro RSCG, Paris, were shortlisted at Cannes in ’06, with one of the ads, “Biathlon,” garnering silver at the Eurobest Awards.
“American agencies have started to seek me out more, with TWC helping to build my career,” related Cornish. “The experience with Two By Four was incredibly collaborative while at the same time the creatives there gave me the room to do what I need to do, not only during the production process but also the edit.”
