Known best as an agency creative whose experience spans such shops as BBDO New York, Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore., Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (GS&P), San Francisco, and TBWA/Chiat/ Day, San Francisco, Eric King has made the jump to directing, recently signing with bicoastal Headquarters (SHOOT, 2/7, p. 1). Prior to coming aboard Headquarters and while still at TBWA/Chiat/Day, King added another notch to his directorial belt with a side gig—a four-spot package for Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom restaurants, out of agency FunCryHappy, New York.
The campaign concludes with a slogan that seems apropos for an agency artisan—"Trust Your Gut"—but it’s the story behind this advice that takes the creative cake, perhaps most notably in the :30 titled "Babysitter."
The spot opens with an inside view of the front door of a house. A young couple, dressed to go out, opens the door, and we see their nonverbal reactions of disbelief. The camera has yet to reveal the doorbell-ringer, but clearly he or she is not welcome. The reaction twoshot only serves to pique our interest and curiosity.
Finally, the spot takes us from the couple’s prolonged reaction to the sight at the front door: a man dressed in a Girl Scout uniform.
A voiceover intervenes: "Your gut tells you that you should probably get a new babysitter. Your gut is right."
We cut to a shot of a delectable sausage sandwich topped with onions and green peppers. The voiceover continues, "So if your gut is telling you to eat this Jody Maroni sausage sandwich, you should listen."
Supered against the sandwich backdrop is the Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom logo, accompanied by the advice, "Go with your gut."
The other spots in the campaign also feature offbeat humor. In "Fan," a guy’s gut tells him not to stick his tongue in the way of an electric fan’s oscillating blades. In "Party," a hallucinating partygoer realizes that he’d better stop consuming alcohol. And in "Dog," a young man listens to his gut and stops short of petting a rabid-looking dog.
King directed the comedic scenarios, which were produced by bicoastal/international Morton Jankel Zander (MJZ). Darrin Ball was line producer for MJZ. King’s DP was Sal Totino. The food direction and lensing were done by Garry Sato of Green Dot Films, Santa Monica. Production designer was Beth De Sort.
The spots were edited by JD Smyth at Rock Paper Scissors, Los Angeles. Colorist was Sean Coleman at Rushes/601, Los Angeles. Online editor was Mike Smith of Mindfield, Los Angeles. Audio mixers/sound designers were Zak Fisher and Stephen Dickson of POP Sound, Santa Monica.
The Jody Maroni’s Sausage Kingdom campaign is the third in King’s spot-directing career. The first came in ’99, when he was an art director at GS&P—he got the chance to co-direct a Levi’s spec spot, teaming with then aspiring helmer John Dolan (now at bicoastal Anonymous Content). Then about a year-and-a-half ago, King helmed a Peninsula Symphony spot for TBWA/Chiat/ Day.
