Normally, a birthday party setting is bright and festive. And this spec spot certainly starts out that way. But it takes a decidedly darker turn once the candles on the cake are blown out.
Seated at the head of the dining room table, a birthday girl is surrounded by her family—her parents, brother and grandmother. Wearing party hats, they sing her a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday." Then, with the cake and its glowing candles before her, the girl thinks hard for a moment before deciding upon a wish. She blows out the candles—and, one by one, her grandma, mom, dad and brother slump over in their chairs.
Presumably dead—or at least unconscious—these people aren’t going to be getting a slice of birthday cake. And therein lies the point. With an evil look in her eye, the birthday girl pulls the cake toward her in delight.
A super simply reads, "You won’t want to share." This is followed by the Carvel Ice Cream Cake logo and the sounds of a lone fork clinking against a dish.
The spec "Birthday Girl" was directed by Larry Shanet, a.k.a. Kranky, who is repped by X-Ray Productions, a division of Crossroads Films, bicoastal and Chicago. Shanet’s bicoastal Kranky Productions produced the ad with assistance from Corser Communications, Los Angeles. Producer was JP Patterson. Associate producer was Nancy Walters. The spot was shot on location in Studio City, Calif., by DP Blain Brown.
The :30 was conceptualized by creative director/art director/copywriter Wayne Best several years ago. (Best recently joined Fallon, New York, as an associate creative director, exiting his staff position at Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners, New York.) Shanet saw the storyboards for the spot a few years back and recently got around to filming the ad as a spec piece.
Shira Ankori and Chris Homel of Red Car, Santa Monica, served as offline and online editor, respectively. Ankori also served as audio post mixer and sound designer. Darryl Merrill of CFI, Hollywood, was the colorist (he has since left that shop), with some additional color correction done by Homel.
