In the :60 "Testimonial (Bob Dole)," the venerable ex-presidential candidate declares he has always spoken frankly, "no matter what the subject." Well, yes, we remember that Viagra commercial. Here Bob Dole romps on the beach with a photogenic golden retriever—just like the contented, athletic people in ads for prescription medications. "I’m eager," says Dole, "to tell you about a product that put real joy back into my life." The dog races along the sand, panting as the man continues, "It helps me feel youthful, vigorous and, most importantlyfl" waves crash on the shore in anticipation: "Vital again." Ahh. Dole’s speech builds to a climax: "What is this amazing product?" In a long shot, two women jog towards the reinvigorated Dole. "My faithful little blue friend. …" No, not that one: He’s talking about Pepsi.
Then we cut to the interior of a shop, where a man intones soothingly, "Are the revitalizing effects of Pepsi-Cola right for you? Check with your local convenience-store counter clerk. …" as a warning appears on the screen: "Use only as directed." Finally, we are treated to another image of a newly energized Dole: This time he’s turning a back flip on the beach as the female joggers approach. "I feel like a kid again," Dole declares.
The spoof of Dole’s own Viagra spot comes courtesy of BBDO New York senior executive creative director/copywriter Michael Patti and senior executive creative director/art director Don Schneider. The spot premiered during the Super Bowl. The idea for "Testimonial" developed, Patti told SHOOT, when "we were changing the line from ‘The Joy of Cola’ to ‘The Joy of Pepsi,’ and we started discussing things that would actually bring joy to your life. We hit on the idea that Pepsi’s can is blue, and it puts joy in your life, and so does Viagra. So we thought, ‘Can we do a parody spot that would prove that?’ "
In addition to hawking Pfizer’s Viagra ("Courage," via healthcare advertising agency Cline, Davis & Mann, New York), Dole has promoted cheese (the Dairy Management’s "Election" via DDB Chicago) and Visa ("Bob Dole," through BBDO New York). But Patti and Schneider did not immediately think of recruiting the former senator as a spokesperson. According to Patti, "The initial idea was to use Hugh Hefner," another famed Viagra user…."But then [chief creative officer] Ted Sann said, ‘Why don’t you parody the Bob Dole spot?’"
For the beach sequence, Schneider took his visual cues from the images ubiquitous to the pharmaceutical ads currently flooding the airwaves. "We’ve all seen those healthcare ads, and we all have them ingrained in our heads: the crashing surf, guy throwing a stick to the golden retrievers, and walking in a cardigan sweater. … We took that imagery and used it for our own purposes."
Next was the music. Patti explained, "We called Rani Vaz, our music director, and we described the tone of the spot. Ten minutes later she came in here with a piece by Jon Ehrlich [of bicoastal Jeco]. It helped sell the concept. We thought the music was absolutely perfect for the schmaltziness of the spot."
Pepsi veteran Joe Pytka of Venice, Calif.-based PYTKA directed the spot. He commented, "I’ve known the guys [Patti and Schneider] forever, so nothing that they do surprises me. When they sent me the script, it was a no-brainerflas funny as can be, the spoof of the public service-style Viagra spot." But in the Pepsi commercial, the metaphors were deliberately overstated. For example, "I shot the golden retriever by itself, as a symbol of vitality and exuberance, and all that silly stuff." Pytka chuckled. "We just tried to make it as bad as we could. I don’t think anyone can do a commercial like that again for a healthcare product."
The spot’s look also owes something to visual effects artist Charles Quinn of Quiet Man, New York. Quinn noted, "A lot of the Inferno and compositing work was subtle photorealistic effectsflcolor corrections to accentuate the look of the spot."
Crew Cuts editor Sabrina Huffman is another Pepsi vet. Huffman drew attention to the scenery and long dissolves to accentuate the healthcare-ad look of the spot. Pauses were also important. Huffman observed: "There was a big pause before ‘my faithful little blue friend,’ and an even bigger one after"—just prior to the phrase " ‘an ice cold Pepsi-Cola.’ Even just changing the pause a little bit has a huge impact."
Pytka stressed that although Dole is not an actor, "He is an experienced public speaker….I think we did three takes of his dialogue." Pytka was careful to preserve the spot’s lighthearted tone: "We were very concerned that the spoof not be mean-spirited. It depended on Bob Dole’s goodwill and participation." Luckily, this was not a problem, said the director. "He’s a trooper. It’s nice to have him back in the public eyefleven though I am a Democrat."
