By SANDRA GARCIA
Ammirati Puris Lintas, New York, recently set out to prove that Burger King’s Double Cheeseburger is the best choice at the drive-thru because it won’t drip in your lap. So they strapped a burger to a crash-test dummy and sent the vehicle flying into a brick wall. The result? The burgers survived! Though they can’t say the same for the car-or the dummies.
"Crash Test," the new Burger King :30, was sort of a real, but not-so-real test. Less than a spoof, but more than a marketing hoax. The client really felt that the Double Cheeseburger is the best eat-in-the-car kind of burger because it doesn’t have a lot of messy toppings-not to mention the cheese serves as a nice, gooey adhesive to keep the burger from falling apart. The agency was convinced, but if you gotta crash a car to convince the public then, by all means, crash a car. At least that’s what Ammirati copywriter David Rosen thought anyway. "If you think about it, you have this burger that they say doesn’t get messy in the car, now prove it to me. So, we said alright, we’ll give you the ultimate proof: crash test!" explained Rosen, who contends that the spot is not really a spoof because the concept truly goes along with what the client is trying to sell.
With the support of Ammirati creative directors Jonathan Mandell and Marrcus Jaacson, Rosen and art directors Scott Bassen and Michele Raso-who are all new to the agency and the Burger King account-set out to do something completely different with Burger King’s advertising scheme. The resultant spot is a testament to their vision, but the true comedic brilliance lies in how a burger commercial could take itself so seriously.
The spot opens to what looks like a real crash test sight. The atmosphere is cool and industrial. A dramatic aria plays in the background as a serious voiceover recounts the endless tests the yet unstated product has survived. As a black test car speeds ominously towards the wall, you are led to believe you’re watching a real-life crash test, until the wrecked car comes to a startling halt, revealing that the crash dummies are all holding perfectly preserved double cheeseburgers. The voiceover: "Developed for passenger safety, the double cheeseburger is designed to never get messy, protecting you, and your family … a valuable safety option from Burger King."
"It was a fine line to walk because you knew for it to be funny, it had to be serious," said Rosen. That’s why the agency picked director Marcus Nispel of bicoastal RSA USA, who has directed several car commercials-serious ones. "I don’t really do food or packaged goods, but I think that at one time burger advertising was really great and I thought this one picked up on that tradition conceptually, so I saw it as a rare and good opportunity," said Nispel.
With several Mercedes, Audi and Lexus spots under his belt, Nispel went to work dressing the set, an old warehouse located in Southgate, Calif., to look like a high-tech testing facility. "Actual crash sites where they do these tests are a bit bland and I wanted this to look good but to still have it look like something Mercedes or Volvo would do," said Nispel. The two cars used, which were acquired from a junkyard, were painted black and marked with yellow and black decals. Nispel set up six or seven cameras, including three lipstick cameras located inside the car, to capture the crash from every possible angle. The heads of the crash test dummies were replaced with ones that had subtle smirks. Finally, it was time to crash the car.
The first run didn’t go so well. In fact, according to Rosen, the car nearly blew up, sending one dummy’s head flying off. "I was like, um, do we have another car because I think that was a little too violent," said Rosen. Fortunately for all involved, the second crash went smoothly and Nispel was able to get the whole thing in that take. "Marcus figured out how to shoot everything in camera so we didn’t have to composite burgers into scenes afterwards. I mean, the burgers really survived the crash," said Ammirati art director Bassen.
Nispel admitted he had more fun with the edit-which was done at Red Car, Santa Monica-than at the actual shoot. "When you do something like a car crash, there is so much prep time and so little shooting, and you don’t really know what you have until you cut it together in the editing room," related Nispel. The film was put through a color correction process to create a cool, blue look, giving the spot a contemporary feel. At the same time, all the shots of the actual burgers were cast in warmer tones to make them look super tasty.
If there was one thing to be learned from the whole experience, both Nispel and the others agreed: You should really wear your seatbelt. According to Nispel, after the crash the dashboard, the steering wheel and windshield were all completely destroyed.
"Crash Test" began airing nationally Feb. 2. Double Cheeseburgers can be obtained at your nearest Burger King location. This was only a test. Do not try this at home.
Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. Explore Generations, 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 — 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 — premiering Monday and co-starring Essence Atkins and Tetona Jackson — smartly leaves places in the script where father and son can let... Read More