Survivor’s "Eye of the Tiger" was the powerful anthem that fueled boxer Rocky Balboa to become a champion again in the 1982 feature film Rocky III. More than 20 years later, the classic song fuels a young office worker’s ambitions to rise to middle management in "Glen," a funny and unforgettable new :60 promoting Starbucks DoubleShot. Created by Fallon, New York, "Glen" features the members of Survivor, who recorded a modified version of their mega-hit—complete with new lyrics—for the spot directed by Noam Murro of Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles.
Survivor’s energetic tune and Starbuck’s espresso beverage just seemed like a natural combination, according to Fallon executive creative director Ari Merkin. "Survivor is the king of motivational rock," Merkin said, "and I like to call DoubleShot liquid motivation."
In "Glen," a few swigs of DoubleShot help a young man named Glen (played by Steven Nelson) start his day on the right note. As the spot opens, we see Glen in his apartment on a workday morning, fetching a DoubleShot from his fridge. As he downs the drink, the opening strains of "Eye of the Tiger" are heard, then the voice of Survivor lead singer Jimi Jamison begins to chant, "Glen! Glen, Glen, Glen!" to the beat.
Turns out that Survivor, which in addition to Jamison includes lead guitarist Frankie Sullivan, drummer Mark Droubay, keyboardist/guitarist Chris Grove and bassist Randy Riley, is performing in Glen’s living room.
Cut to the bathroom. As Glen shaves, Jamison belts out the Glen-specific version of "Eye of the Tiger." His bandmates rock out beside him.
The altered song starts: "Glen’s the man, going to work. Got his tie, got ambition."
As Glen, wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase, heads down the street toward a bus stop, the band follows behind.
"Middle management is right in his grasp. It’s a dream he will never let die," Jamison sings.
The band continues to perform the song that proclaims Glen’s ambitions as he rides on the bus.
Once he reaches his office building, we see him get into an elevator. Survivor is right there with him, of course.
They rock on, with the last line of the song triumphantly declaring that Glen could "one day just become supervisor."
We then see a shot of the Starbucks logo and the tagline: "Bring on the day."
Glen disembarks from the elevator, and the members of Survivor turn away from Glen, who is apparently sufficiently motivated, and begin tailing after another guy. The song starts over again, with Jamison singing, "Roy! Roy, Roy, Roy!"
I WANNA ROCK
Working with the band was a lot of fun for Merkin. "One of the biggest thrills was getting into the sound studio with Survivor," Merkin shared. "Seeing Frankie, the band leader, work with Jimi, the singer, was a great experience. They took it incredibly seriously. They didn’t go soft on us because it was an ad. They wanted it to sound just like [the original song]."
The band also wanted to make sure that they didn’t come off as a joke in the spot. "I didn’t feel any resistance until a day before the shoot. I think Frankie had some issues with the lyrics, feeling it might be a parody of their music," Merkin said. "We spoke to him, and by the end of the conversation he was in agreement that this would come off as more of a tribute to the song as opposed to the parody."
According to Murro, the band members showed up for the shoot ready to rock. "They were nice and energetic," Murro said. "The band was really into it." (Incidentally, for Murro, this project marked his second brush with Survivor. Last year, he helmed Bud Light’s "Mr. Way Too Much Cologne Wearer," which featured vocals by original Survivor lead singer Dave Bickler, via DDB Chicago. The comedic spot was part of Bud Light’s "Real Men of Genius" campaign.)
"Glen" was shot by Murro and DP Robert Elswit over two-and-a-half days on location in Los Angeles. "It was a challenge because you were dealing with a bunch of people in a small space, so it was all about choreography," Murro remarked.
Asked whether shooting this commercial was comparable to making a music video, Murro responded, "It was and it wasn’t. I think it was a little more complicated than a music video because it had to hit some notes in terms of the drink."
Meanwhile, Murro had to mine the humor in the idea without going too far. "He let the comedy really play itself out without trying to play it for laughs," Merkin praised.
Once the shoot was over, Avi Oron of Bikini Edit, New York, cut :60 and :30 versions. "It came together quickly," Murro said. "It was one of those things where it almost pre-edited itself because it was all pre-designed."
Looking back on the job, Murro said he loved the simplicity of the idea and credited the agency creatives with being collaborative, flexible and able to roll with the punches.
For his part, Merkin pointed out that this shoot was notable for him in that it marked his first time working with Murro, who had served as a mentor to him back when he was a student. "I had approached Noam for advice when I was a student and he was an art director at [now defunct ad agency] Goldsmith Jeffrey, and Noam sat me down and gave me about an hour and a half in his office on a work day afternoon. I’ve been in his debt ever since," Merkin said, "and I’ve been wanting to work with him on something."
