By JEREMY LEHRER
There’s nothing more refreshing than a new tack on the traditional car spot. Whether it’s Volkswagen’s "Synchronicity" via Arnold Communications, Boston, or Honda’s "Art Gallery" via Rubin Postaer and Associates, Santa Monica, advertisers who have fresh takes on the automobile spot genre have proven again and again that the subtle sell is more effective in creating a memorable brand presence than a laundry list of a car’s capabilities. In "Lifeboat," a :30 spot for Chevy Blazer via Campbell-Ewald Advertising, Warren, Mich., director Eric Saarinen of Plum Productions, Santa Monica, sails into those waters for the Chevy Blazer.
The spot opens on a shot of an ocean liner skimming through a stormy sea at dusk, the ship’s prow plowing through the turbulent waves. The flags strung from the ship’s lines flap in wind and falling rain, as an ominous gray sky and breaking waves loom around the ship. The ship’s fog horn sounds while the camera begins to sweep along the port side of the ship towards the stern. Leo and Kate are nowhere to be seen. A figure dressed in dark rain gear clambers down a staircase on the ship’s side, holding tightly onto a rain cap. But the parade inside the ship won’t be rained on-despite the dismal seascape, a somewhat melancholy tango which is evidence of a gathering in progress, becomes audible from the ship’s innards. Continuing along the port side promenade, the ship’s lifeboats, covered in blue tarp to keep out water, are revealed. We see one lifeboat, a second, a third, and a fourth. Everything seems to be in order as the camera rotates to reveal the fifth lifeboat. … Er, wait a minute. It’s not a lifeboat at all. It’s a Chevy Blazer. "Chevy Blazer," the narrator intones. "A little security in an insecure world." The spot ends with the tag, "Blazer. Like A Rock," which the narrator imbues with dramatic gravity as the tango music rolls to a close.
The spots are part of a larger campaign that includes the Saarinen-directed "Lighthouse" and "Bathtub." Two other spots in the campaign-"Vault" and "Armor"-were directed by Nick Piper, also of Plum Productions.
The TV campaign evolved out of a currently running print campaign that Campbell-Ewald created for Chevy Blazer. Similar to its TV counterpart, the "Lifeboat" print ad shows the Blazer hanging in the midst of a ship’s lifeboats. Joe Puhy, executive VP/creative director at Campbell Ewald, explained that the idea in both the print and TV version of "Lifeboat" was to associate the Blazer with the lifeboat while at the same time maintaining a lighthearted tone. "The idea of finding metaphors for security and then replacing that metaphor with the truck seemed to be a very smart approach," he noted. "We wanted to make [the spot] very smart, very simple, and have it end with a smile."
Once the creative team decided to do a TV campaign, they did a test of what "Lifeboat" would look like by videotaping a pan across an image of the print ad. "We found that it was too simple," said Puhy. "We needed to bring some drama and realism and more excitement to the party."
Saarinen brought those elements to the spot in his bid for the project, in which he suggested that the ship be moving through inclement weather in a dusk setting. And while he had three options as to how to shoot the footage of the ship-CGI, reduced-scale models, or live-action full scale-Saarinen opted for the real McCoy, and the agency liked that approach.
"It’s a slightly dark, dramatic positioning," Saarinen said of his take on the spot, while concurring that the spot has a lighthearted and witty tone since the Blazer would never really be used as a lifeboat. "It’s like an insurance commercial. You never know when something’s going to happen. If something does happen, this is the car to have."
Putting the spot together was an effects endeavor extraordinaire that involved assembling a variety of elements-both real and computer-generated-to create the finished product. Saarinen worked closely with personnel, including visual effects supervisor Alan Barnett and digital effects supervisor/artist Phil Brennan of Sight Effects, Venice, Calif., to hash out his approach to shooting and compositing the necessary pieces. Saarinen gave extensive kudos to his collaborators at Sight Effects.
To begin with, the full-scale boat shot for the spot was the Queen Mary, a structure that is now used as a hotel and is dry-docked on rocks in Long Beach, Calif. Saarinen did "15 or so" helicopter fly-by shots of the Queen Mary using a Space Cam camera stabilization system operated by Hans Bjerno. (The helicopter was piloted by Craig Hosking, and Saarinen had deep praise for both of his fly-by co-horts). Having elected not to use motion control, Saarinen then shot footage of the Blazer with "rain" falling on it against a green screen, matching the original camera move on the ship by eye when shooting the car. Other elements that Saarinen obtained for the spot included waves and a patchwork of sky that were used by Sight Effects to help build the environment needed to accompany the camera choreography around the boat.
Once Saarinen obtained the various live-action bits, Sight Effects’ Brennan composited all of the elements-the Queen Mary, the Blazer, the waves, and the sky-together in Flame as well as created other intricate nuances such as the falling rain and the smoke that emerges from the ship’s smokestacks. Completing the visual effects for the spot was a grueling and intricate process that had many steps.
"We never try to push in a certain direction unless we’re sure it’s going to work," said Sight Effects’ Barnett of the method used for the spot. "The give and take is figuring out what’s best in each stage once we’ve determined how we’re going to approach it."
With the effects contributing very effectively to the spot’s concept, "Lifeboat" is ultimately a charming piece of car advertising. "It’s one of those viewer-must-participate commercials, which I think is much more interesting than someone telling you about airbags," said Saarinen.
Jury Presidents Named For The One Show 2025
The One Club for Creativity has announced the global creatives from around the world who will serve as jury presidents for The One Show 2025.
These creatives will lead judging for each discipline, and have a vote on the work.
Confirmed One Show 2025 Jury presidents, by discipline, are as follows:
--Brand-Side/In-House: David Lee, CCO, Squarespace, New York
--Branded Entertainment: Malcolm Poynton, Global CCO, Cheil Worldwide, London
--Creative Use of Data, Creative Use of Technology: Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, CCO, FCB Canada, Toronto
--Cultural Driver: Bianca Guimaraes, partner, ECD, Mischief, New York
--Design: Liza Enebeis, creative director, partner, Studio Dumbar/DEPT®, Rotterdam
--Direct Marketing: Vicki Maguire, CCO, Havas London
--Film & Video: Javier Campopiano, global CCO, McCann Worldgroup & McCann Global, Madrid
--Gaming: Taj Reid, global chief experience officer, US CCO, Edelman, New York
--Integrated, Experiential & Immersive: Chris Beresford-Hill, worldwide CCO, BBDO New York
--Fusion Pencil: Walter T. Geer III, CCO, Innovation North America, VML, New York
--Green Pencil: Barbara Humphries, ECD, The Monkeys, Sydney
--Health & Wellness, Pharma: Wendy Lund, chief client officer, WPP, New York
--IP & Product Design: Ronald Ng, global CCO, MRM, New York
--Moving Image Craft & Production: Irene Kugelmann, chief creative officer, DDB Group of Companies Germany, Berlin
--Music & Sound Craft: Joel Simon, CCO, JSM Music, New York
--Out of Home, Print & Promotional: Kainaz Karmakar, CCO, Ogilvy India, Mumbai
--Public Relations: Patricia Ávila, regional director for Latin America, Ágora, São Paulo
--Radio... Read More