By KATHY DeSALVO
A new Steel Alliance ad campaign out of GSD&M, Austin, highlights the applications and benefits of using steel. One of the five :15 spots, "Split Second," makes the most compelling argument: your life may depend on it.
Directed by Gerard de Thame, in a production between Gerard de Thame Films, London, and bicoastal HSI Productions, the spot effectively uses a car accident to make the point that steel, one of the strongest materials, can best protect you in a collision. "Split Second" opens with shots of a luxury car driving about on a sunny day, as we hear a music track consisting of ambient piano with an echo effect, scored by Jason Johnson, Primal Scream, Santa Monica. Suddenly the image freezes on an overhead shot of the car and the music abruptly stops, replaced by a single sustained tone that sounds like ambient noise; this subdued underscore helps builds a sense of suspended time. Below the freeze-framed image of the car, this superimposed copy appears: "You have approximately .003 seconds to decide if you want your car to be made of steel. Go." In an instant, the action resumes with a colossal side impact collision. We see another car come down into frame, decimating the original car to bits, accompanied by crash sounds twisted metal, breaking glass and the boom of a Civil War cannonsound designed by Primal Scream’s Reinhard Denke. A voiceover by Angelica Huston intones, "Another strong argument for the new steel. Feel the strength."
Joan Lyons, creative director/ art director at GSD&M, related that this is phase two of the client’s campaign. The initial Steel Alliance advertising (including the :30 "Feel Secure" directed by Geoffrey Barish, then at bicoastal Straw Dogs, now at HSI, SHOOT Top Spot, 5/13/97, p.13) focused on changing people’s broad perceptions of steel. "People tend to think steel is really old, dirty and heavy," said Lyons, "when, in fact, there’s been a lot of advances in the material. It’s actually a lot stronger, cleaner and earth-friendly [now]."
The new spots focus on specific examples of why people should think about using steel or buying products made from it. For "Split Second," which was copywritten by GSD&M’s Tom Campion, the intention was to convey the importance of construction material when car shopping: Is this a steel safety cage? Does it have steel side impact beams? Is the auto body made of steel?
"That half second before you get into an accident is not the time to make that choice," said Lyons, who added the campaign is mainly targeted to women, who make the majority of car purchasing decisions. "We’re trying to remind people that once you make the choice, you’ve made your choice."
GSD&M wanted de Thame because meaning that the copy on the spots was fairly direct and straightforward, the drama needed to come from the visuals, said Lyons, who added, "Visually, Gerard is one of the great ones."
De Thame related he was drawn to the project because the spots were well-conceived ideas. "They were very clear for what they were trying to advertise," said de Thame, "and it was difficult because it was only 15 seconds. And I’ve never done a :15 spot before, so it was a challenge for me. But the spots weren’t overwritten, so I could see off the page that they’d work in 15 seconds."
The spot was filmed in London for budgetary reasons, although de Thame was careful in choosing generic locations not specific to London. The director said a main challenge was getting the cars to impact at the right moment and at the right point on the cars (which had no one in them, due to the extreme force of the crash). With the six cars they had and the help of hydraulic rams (later removed in post), they crashed the cars three times, said de Thame, noting that he worked with an excellent special effects coordinator, Bob Hollow. De Thame and Hollow have a track record of spot collaborations.
In addition to de Thame and his crew, Lyons noted that Primal Scream also rose to the challenge of telling the story in the shorter format. "It’s hard to get a driving piece of music going in 15 seconds," she said, "and also put that little suspended moment in there, as well. They did a good job…and you know how guys like to make big crash sounds."
Coincidentally, SHOOT has been on its own recent collision course. This is the third consecutive Top Spot to feature a car crash; the others being last week’s Seat Belt PSA, "Ice Cream," via Leo Burnett Co., Chicago, and the 2/12/99 selection, Burger King’s "Crash Test" out of Ammirati Puris Lintas, New York.
Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. Explore Generations,ย Old School vs. New School, In “Poppa’s House”
Boundaries between work and family don't just blur in the new CBS sitcom "Poppa's House" starring father-and-son comedy duo Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. They shatter.
"It's wonderful to come to work every day and see him and some of his kids and my sister and my brother and nieces and nephews. They all work on this show. They all contribute," says the senior Wayans. "I don't think there are words to express how joyful I am."
Wayans plays the titular Poppa, a curmudgeonly radio DJ who's more than comfortable doing it his way, while Wayans Jr. plays his son, Damon, a budding filmmaker who's stuck in a job he hates.
"My character, Pop, is just an old school guy who's kind of stuck in his ways," says Wayans, who starred in "In Living Color" and "My Wife and Kids."
Pop yearns for the days when a handshake was a binding contract and Michael Jordan didn't complain if he got fouled on the court. Pop laughs at the younger generation's participation trophies.
"It's old school versus new school and them teaching each other lessons from both sides," says Wayans Jr., who played Coach in the Fox sitcom "New Girl."
"They (the characters) bring the best out in each other and they're resistant initially. But then throughout the episode they have revelations and these revelations help them become better people," he adds.
The two have worked together before โ dad made an appearance on son's "Happy Endings" and "Happy Together," while son was a writer and guest star on dad's "My Wife and Kids." But this is the first time they have headlined a series together.
The half-hour comedy โ premiering Monday and co-starring Essence Atkins and Tetona Jackson โ smartly leaves places in the script where father and son can let... Read More