There were obstacles from the start, and as production on the ad progressed, things didn’t get any easier. But watching the end result, you’d never guess. In more ways than one, Budweiser’s "Submarine" is the bomb.
The :60, which breaks this month, was created by DDB Chicago and directed by David McNally of bicoastal Omaha Pictures. It opens on a shot inside a submarine, where a sailor mans a periscope. Spying a threat, he commands: "Surface contact. Dive!" Cut to stock footage of a destroyer traversing the high seas, while inside the sub the crew responds to the alert. The engine is shut down and the sub descends as the captain whispers, "Shhh."
Another exterior shot of the destroyer segues to a scene inside the ship, where a sailor monitors the sonar. In the sub, the only sound is the "ping … ping" from the destroyer’s sonar. However, the calm is disrupted when a sailor notices a bottle of Budweiser rolling ominously across a table. Panic sets in as the sailor dives for the bottle, catching it inches before it hits the floor. But the crew isn’t in the clear yet.
It dawns on the Bud catcher just what he is holding. Again, fear sweeps through the sub and the sailors plead with their mate to resist temptation. It’s a tough call. But the sailor shrugs and twists the cap. Upon hearing the sound of the bottle being opened, the sailor on the destroyer smiles wryly. Cut to the Bud logo and tag ("This Bud’s for you"), which rocks as if shaken by the inevitable explosion. We next see the sub crew in a raft, but all is not lost. Two cases of Budweiser surface.
McNally was keen on the ad from the start. "It was very smart," he said. "I prefer comedic things that are not written to be performance-based, but written [so that] you let the actors play it straight and the comedy comes out of the situation."
Earlier in the creative process, however, a few issues delayed production. According to DDB executive producer Greg Popp, the problem was politics: "The concern was, who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? And what era is this?" Some wondered what message would be conveyed if the guys who drink Budweiser get blown up. The setting was also cause for debate. Popp said Budweiser hasn’t had great success with period pieces, but the alternative—a contemporary ad—had its flaws because the Cold War isn’t so cold anymore. Said Popp: "The stuff you think about when you’re advertising beer is insane."
Ultimately, client and agency opted for ambiguity. The sailors have no distinct nationality, nor is the setting specified.
Once the ad was green-lit, there was the task of finding a set. An exhaustive search ended at 20th Century Props, North Hollywood, Calif., where a sub was being stored in the parking lot. The set was reportedly built for Down Periscope, a ’96 film directed by David S. Ward that starred Kelsey Grammer. To avoid costly moving fees, the "Submarine" production was set up on the lot, where it shot for two days.
DP Neil Shapiro was faced with the challenge of creating a dark and dramatic atmosphere in tight quarters that were neither dark nor dramatic. Said McNally: "[The sub] was painted a weird color. We were a little dismayed at first." In filming the ad, very little light was used. For instance, a single hand-held fluorescent tube lit the close-up shots of the sub captain.
The final scene was lensed from a barge about a mile off the coast of San Pedro, Calif. "It looks simple," said DDB associate creative director/copywriter Patrick Knoll, "but I now know why Waterworld went over budget." Five crew members got seasick, and it took longer than expected for divers to secure the raft and beer cases with cables. (Former DDB associate creative director/art director Andy Anema developed the ad with Knoll, but moved over to Fallon McElligott, Minneapolis, prior to production.)
The final hurdle concerned the stock footage. Popp credits editor David Baxter of Toronto-based Panic & Bob Editing with saving the day. The agency had just about resolved to use some expensive footage from the ’81 German film by Wolfgang Petersen, Das Boot (The Boat). At the last minute, and after a worldwide search, film from Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, became available. Still, the piece required attention. Flags were removed in post. Also, the piece was shot in letterbox, unlike the rest of the ad. Baxter explained that compositor Joel Saunders of Axyz, Toronto, cloned images of the water and sky to fill out the picture.
Omaha executive producer Diane McArter praised the performances in the ad. "I think they really stand out," she said. "The cast was great, and David did a wonderful job directing them." McNally also noted the acting, as well as the fact that the cast consists of "faces you don’t see all the time." (Andy Traines, who at the time was an executive producer at Omaha, also worked on the project; he has since joined bicoastal Anonymous.)
"Submarine" marks a reunion in that most of the agency, production, post and music/ sound design credits go to the same people involved in last year’s "Lobster" for Budweiser. (One noteworthy exception is the DP; "Lobster" was shot by John Schwartzman.) "Lobster" debuted on the Super Bowl and was a SHOOT Top Spot (2/5/99, p. 14). Similarly, "Submarine" was slated to debut on this year’s Super Bowl. Popp said various factors resulted in the ad’s delay, among them a shortage of :60 slots.
"Lobster" has proved gainful in other ways. Word is that the ad prompted producer Jerry Bruckheimer to contact McNally. The director is currently wrapping the Bruckheimer-produced feature Coyote Ugly, which will be released in August. McNally is currently in preproduction on his second film for Bruckheimer, Down and Under.
