Anthropomorphic Chihuahua Fun Continues In Ongoing TBWA/Chiat/Day Campaign.
CLIENT
Taco Bell.
PRODUCTION CO.
Partizan Midi Minuit, bicoastal/international. Traktor, director; Andrzej Sekula, DP; Richard Ulfvengren and Ole Sanders, executive producers. Shot at Raleigh Studios, Manhattan Beach, Calif.
AGENCY
TBWA/Chiat/Day, Playa del Rey, Calif. Chuck Bennett and Clay Williams, creative directors; Chris Ribeiro, copywriter; Darren Johnson, art director; Richard O’Neill, executive producer; Cheryl Childers, producer; Karen Scott, assistant producer; Damien Stevens, freelance producer.
EDITORIAL
Lost Planet, Santa Monica. Lee Cowen, editor.
POST
Company 3, Santa Monica. Michael Pethel, colorist.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Sight Effects, Venice, Calif. Melissa Davies, executive producer; Darcie Tang, producer; Chris Stevens and Scott Polen, Flame artists; Dave Neuberger, Henry artist. In-Sight Pix, Venice. Nicole Tidwell, producer; Andrew Orloff and Rick Sevy, CGI animators.
AUDIO POST
POP Sound, Santa Monica. Loren Silber, mixer.
MUSIC
Asche & Spencer, Minneapolis and Venice. Thad Spencer, arranger.
BY KATHY DeSALVO
Gidget, the past year’s most famous Chihuahua (and most fascinating, according to People magazine), makes another appearance in a Taco Bell spot created by TBWA/Chiat/Day, Playa del Rey, Calif. "Serenade," directed by Traktor out of bicoastal/international Partizan Midi Minuit, casts the charming pooch as a balladeer.
The spot, which broke Dec. 28, opens with a shot of a Cuban-style courtyard complex under a starry night, the strains of "Chances Are" (performed by Los Lobos lead singer David Hidalgo) floating through the air. Of course, it’s Gidget, crooning the tune from a balcony. Cut to a beautiful Latina leaning on the ledge of her own balcony. Hearing the music, she looks across from the courtyard and spots the dog, who seems to be serenading her. She appears moved by this gesture, and, motioning to herself, she mouths, "Me?"
The romantic moment is ruined as the camera, mimicking the dog’s eye movement, quickly pans right, shifting from the woman over to the apartment next to her and the true target of the dog’s serenade: a fat man sitting in front of his TV, eating a Taco Bell Mexican pizza. The guy, in close-up, sits in profile and, moving his eyes and then turning his head, looks over at Gidget. His deadpan expression never changes as he realizes he’s under intense canine surveillance. "Fall in love with a Mexican pizza all over again," the voiceover says. "Now just 99 cents when you buy a large drink; that’s a buck off."
Chuck Bennett, creative director on the campaign, said the challenge of the Taco Bell advertising has been to come up with "what’s next" for the Chihuahua. "It’s a very simple campaign, in which the dog’s sole purpose in life is to get Taco Bell food," said Bennett. "It’s kind of this ‘point A to point B’ journey-what is that journey? The dog uses his power, and, this time, he’s serenading someone to get their food."
Bennett noted that, having decided to use "Chances Are," the creative team-including creative director Clay Williams, art director Darren Johnson and copywriter Chris Ribeiro-did not want the song performed by an immediately identifiable singer. "We wanted people, when they heard the song, to go, ‘That’s the dog singing,’ as opposed to, ‘That’s Johnny Mathis,’ " explained Bennett. After rejecting Julio Iglesias as too recognizable, they ultimately went with Los Lobos’ Hidalgo. The song was arranged by Thad Spencer, creative director at Asche & Spencer, Minneapolis and Venice, Calif.
"It was a wonderful session with David [Hidalgo]," said Spencer. "We supported him with strings and a nylon guitar. I think the whole thing has a very enchanting, funny, surreal feel."
The agency tapped Swedish directing collective Traktor to helm "Serenade" (along with four other as-yet-unaired Taco Bell spots) after Rocky Morton of Hollywood-based Morton Jankel Zander-director of all the previous ads in the campaign-was unavailable, said Bennett. Traktor had recently completed a package of Energizer spots for TBWA/Chiat/Day, and this assignment proved enjoyable for them, said Richard Ulfvengren, Traktor co-executive producer on the spot.
"We think it’s great fun to be a part of these ongoing campaigns [Energizer and Taco Bell]," said Ulfvengren. "Hopefully, we can take it a step further."
In one respect, "Serenade" takes that step: It utilized advancements in technology that allowed the camera to move as the dog was shown with its mouth moving (previously, technology required only locked-off shots). "It’s great," assessed Bennett. "The dog can be running and singing, or we can do a camera move while the dog is talking."
In-Sight Pix, Venice, provided the CG nighttime skies and the backgrounds, and Sight Effects handled compositing of various live-action elements-for instance, a hand-holding couple and a woman riding a bike were composited into the opening wide shot of the courtyard (which was actually a half-scale miniature). The shot of the woman on her balcony, filmed with her in a cherry picker, was also composited.
Bennett said it was also gratifying to return to the little world the agency had first envisioned for the Taco Bell campaign. "For the very first work we’d done on the Chihuahua campaign," recalled Bennett, "we’d written a bit of a manifesto, a brief that described where this whole thing takes place, kind of describing it as a ‘salsa-powered’ neighborhood. It’s this world that’s sort of Cuban, sort of Latin. It’s kind of romantic in that way, definitely very Havana-inspired. We got away from it when we went into some of the promotions. It was really nice to give that brief to someone and have them interpret and revitalize that neighborhood and get the dog back there."
Postique Freezes
Time For Silverado
CLIENT
General Motors Corp./Chevy Trucks/Silverado.
PRODUCTION CO.
Steve & Linda Horn Inc., New York. Steve Horn, director/DP; Alayne Baxter, executive producer. Shot on location.
AGENCY
Campbell-Ewald, Warren, Mich. Jim Gilmore, producer; Bill Ludwig, chief creative officer; Joe Puhy, executive creative director; Jim Gorman, executive creative director; Rich Weinert, associate creative director/art director; Kathy Speck, associate creative director/copywriter.
EDITORIAL
Griot Editorial, Southfield, Mich. Stewart Shevin, editor; Michelle Friedman, assistant editor.
POST
Company 3, Santa Monica. Michael Pethel, colorist. GTN, Southfield. Al Minetola, online editor; Tom Martin, colorist.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Digital Domain, Venice, Calif. Erik Nash, visual effects supervisor; Gabby Evans, executive producer; Holly Port, producer; Paul Kirsch, compositor supervisor; Perri Wainwright, compositor. GTN. Rich Bobo, Dave Peyton and Alan Simonelli, compositors. Postique, Southfield. Bobby Hougham, compositor.
AUDIO POST
GTN. Dave Collie, engineer.
SOUND DESIGN
Machine Head, Venice. Stephen Dewey, sound designer; Nicole Perry, producer.
THE SPOTS
Two new :30s in the ongoing "Like a Rock" campaign-"Cowboy" and "Foundry"-use "frozen images" to show how the mere presence of the Silverado stops the earth and makes time stand still.
Spots broke in October.
Com/track Visits
Walgreen For MSSB
CLIENT
Walgreen Co.
PRODUCTION CO.
"Sources," "Tale of 1,000 Pharmacies," "Roads" and "All of the People" produced by Atlas Pictures, Santa Monica. Toby Phillips, director/DP; Sharn Stinson-Ure, executive producer; Jeff Tannebring, producer. "Photo Montage" produced by R/GA Digital Studios, New York. John DiRe, director; Rufus Sandfer, DP; Rick Wagonheim, executive producer; Emily Martin-Ritchie, producer. Shot on location.
AGENCY
McConnaughy Stein Schmidt Brown, Chicago. Tom McConnaughy, chairman/chief creative officer; Jim Schmidt, executive VP/creative director; Diane Jackson, producer; Joe Stuart, art director; Tohru Oyasu, copywriter.
STOCK FOOTAGE
"Photo Montage" footage supplied by The Image Bank, New York, and Eastman Kodak, Rochester, N.Y.
EDITORIAL
"Sources," "Tale of 1,000 Pharmacies," "Roads" and "All of the People" edited at The Lookinglass Company, Chicago. Marcelle Feldt, editor; Colleen Denbow, assistant editor. "Photo Montage" edited at R/GA Digital Studios. Brendan Werner, editor.
POST
"Sources," "Tale of 1,000 Pharmacies," "Roads" and "All of the People" posted at The Filmworkers Club, Chicago. Michael Mazur, colorist; Duy Nguyen, Flame artist/type design; Rob Churchill, online editor. "Photo Montage" posted at R/GA Digital Studios. David Elkins, online editor. The Tape House Editorial Company, New York. John Crowley, colorist.
VISUAL EFFECTS
"Tale of 1,000 Pharmacies" 3-D effects by Vello Virkhaus at The Filmworkers Club. "Photo Montage" animation by Nathalie d’l Gorce and Antoine Tinguely at R/ Greenberg Associates, New York.
AUDIO POST
Chicago Recording Company. Michael Mason, engineer.
MUSIC
Com/track, Chicago. Manny Mendelson, composer/arranger. Recorded at Streeterville Studios, Chicago. Freddy Breitberg, engineer.
THE SPOTS
Five spots use picturesque vignettes, type design and orchestral scores to highlight the services at Walgreen’s. "Sources" focuses on the store’s expanded nutrition center; "Tale of 1,000 Pharmacies" showcases Walgreen’s satellite-linked, coast-to-coast prescription availability; "Roads" spotlights the chain’s numerous 24-hour pharmacy locations; and Walgreen’s photo center is targeted in "All of the People" and "Photo Montage."
Spots broke in November.
POP Sound Hears
Bells For MCI 5¢
CLIENT
MCI WorldCom/MCI 5¢ Sundays.
PRODUCTION CO.
Live action by PYTKA, Venice, Calif. Joe Pytka, director/DP; Suellen Wagner, executive producer; Lisa Winston, producer. Animation by Warner Bros. Classic Animation, Sherman Oaks, Calif. Frank Molieri, director; Kathleen Helppie, senior producer; Steve Donmyer, producer. Shot at Blackhawk Studio, Chicago.
AGENCY
Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer/Euro RSCG, New York. Joe O’Neill, creative director/copywriter; Marcus Kemp, creative director/art director; Andrew Loevenguth, producer.
EDITORIAL
Berwyn Editorial, New York. Nils Johnson, editor; Amy Dubin, assistant editor.
POST/VISUAL EFFECTS
Nice Shoes, New York. Chris Ryan, colorist; Steve McGee, Henry artist; Anne Skopas, producer. POP Television, Santa Monica. Randy Lowder, online editor. VirtualMagic Animation, North Hollywood. Andy Jolliff, technical director; Andrea Romero, executive producer; Ryan Robertson, production manager.
AUDIO POST
Voiceover record and mix completed at POP Sound, Santa Monica. Mark Meyuhas, mixer. Animation voiceover recording completed at The L.A. Studios, Hollywood. George Thompson, engineer.
MUSIC
Big Foote Communications, New York. Louis King, arranger; Ray Foote, producer.
THE SPOT
In "Hear Those Bells," Pepe LePew, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam and Michael Jordan sing about using MCI’s 5¢ Sundays during the holidays as mishaps occur around them.
Spot broke in December.
Case Nydrle Heads To
The Wilds For Toyota
CLIENT
Toyota 4-Runner.
PRODUCTION CO.
Case Nydrle, West Hollywood. Peter Nydrle, director/cameraman; Carol Case, executive producer; Laura Brown, producer; Cassie Hulen, head of production; Steve Woroniecki, production supervisor. Shot on location.
AGENCY
Saatchi & Saatchi LA, Torrance, Calif. Joe McDonagh, executive creative director; Greg Harrison, creative director/art director; Cameron Day, creative director/copywriter; Damon Webster, director of advertising production; Jerry Grant, producer.
EDITORIAL
Inside/Out, Santa Monica. Robert Ivison, editor; Rene Raab, producer.
POST
Company 3, Santa Monica. Stefan Sonnenfeld, colorist. The Finish Line, Santa Monica. James Bygrave, online editor.
AUDIO POST
RavensWork, Venice, Calif. Robert Feist, mixer.
MUSIC
tomandandy, bicoastal. David Grow, composer; Tom Hajdu, creative director; Chris Doyle, executive producer; Marit Burch, producer.
THE SPOT
A driver waiting in line to pay for gas spies a pine air freshener at the check-out register. He then heads to a real forest, where he ties a pine sprig to the rearview mirror of his new 1999 Toyota 4-Runner, in the :30 "Air Freshner."
Spot broke in Octo
