A big yellow school bus is about to pull away from a curb when it suddenly stops in the middle of an intersection, blocking a lane full of cars. The drivers of the automobiles honk their horns incessantly but the bus doesn’t budge.
For a fleeting moment, you assume the bus is having mechanical problems. However, the traffic jam has actually resulted from a passenger on the bus, a student who is looking to solve a more significant problem.
The bus door opens to reveal the young man, who has convinced the bus driver to stop the bus. He screams out to a nearby apartment building, "We’ve got school! I see you in the window, man."
The youngster then presses down firmly on the bus horn, which blares loudly, adding to the commotion, as the exasperated bus driver looks on. Finally we see who the student is yelling at: a teenager who looks out the apartment window, realizing he can’t hide anymore.
A supered message against a dark background appears; it reads, "Whatever it takes, don’t let your friends drop out." Accompanying this are small logos at the bottom of the screen for The Ad Council and the U.S. Army.
The spot then returns to the intersection where we see both youngsters getting on the bus. The first kid says to his friend, "I’m not letting you waste your life like that."
"Bus" was one of two spots in the campaign directed by David Gordon Green of bicoastal/international Chelsea Pictures for J. Walter Thompson, New York. The other PSA, "Megaphone," shows a girl using the device to get the attention of another would-be hooky player.
Allison Amon, Steve Wax and Lisa Mehling executive produced for Chelsea, with Lisa Ruffler serving as producer. The spot was shot on location in Brooklyn, N.Y., by DP Terry Stacey.
The agency creative team consisted of creative directors Ed Evangelista and Chris D’Rozario, art director Adam Pierno, copywriter Chris Baier and producer Jennifer Guliner.
"Bus" was edited by Julie Drazen of Ohio Edit, New York, with Ed Coleman serving as assistant editor, Stacey Suplizio as executive producer and Erica Thompson as producer.
Online editor was Thor Raxlen of Chelsea Digital, New York. Colorist was Milan Boncich of Moving Images, New York. Audio mixer was Paul Weiss of Sound Lounge, New York. Sound designer was Marshall Grupp of Marshall Grupp Sound Design & Music, New York.
Byron Heame, Bob O’Neil and Brent Meyer were the principal actors in this spot. The SAG/AFTRA Commercials Contract Standing Committee has granted a waiver to allow commercials to be available for viewing on SHOOTonline.com. The spots cannot be copied, downloaded or e-mailed.
