Norman Vincent Peale got it right many moons ago when he praised the power of positive thinking. And that credo is put to music as we see and hear a man singing about looking on the bright side no matter what.
And the “no matter what” is seemingly everywhere as he comes out of an office building holding his personal belongings in a box, having presumably just been fired. He’s holding the box upside down and the contents spill out. But he doesn’t care as he keeps on crooning his encouraging song about positive thinking, leaving the contents of his desk scattered on the sidewalk.
He even manages to make a charitable gesture, throwing a coin into a man’s coffee cup. The only problem is that the man isn’t a panhandler and his cup is full of brew.
Still our singing protagonist moves on, walking through a town littered with stores holding going-out-of-business sales, and empty retail/business space for rent or lease. He grabs a newspaper from another gent and opens it up to reveal a headline (“Shares Tumble”) reflecting economic gloom.
Undaunted, our cheery singer continues on his jaunt, folding the newspaper in origami-style fashion to create a bouquet of flowers which he hands to a young lady standing by a storefront entrance.
He then proceeds to his parked car, a Volkswagen Passat, removing a parking ticket from the windshield. Still, he remains merry, hops into the car and begins his drive, entering a tunnel. Singing all the while, he passes a butcher’s truck from which the heads of several lambs stick out. Even though they’re on the way to their slaughter, the lambs happily bob their heads to the tune being sung by the Passat driver.
Finally the Passat speeds towards the light at the end of the tunnel, followed by an end tag that reads, “One Thing You Can Be Sure Of,” a slogan which gives way to the VW Passat logo.
Noam Murro directed “Positive Thinking” via Biscuit@Independent, London, for agency DDB London.
The DDB team included executive creative director Jeremy Craigen, creative director/copywriter Dave Henderson, creative director/art director Richard Denney and producer Natalie Powell.
Shawn Lacy was senior exec producer for Biscuit with Richard Packer and Colleen O’Donnell serving as exec producers for Independent. Producers were Jay Veal and Jason Scanlon. The DP was Steve Keith Roach.
Effects house was Framestore, London.
Editor was Tim Thornton-Allan of Marshall Street Editors, London.
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