Spots that promote home cleansing products and cable television services don’t usually make for exciting advertising. But Tim Godsall, who directs U.S. market spots via Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles, manages to turn such potential channel-changers into riveting commercials. (The Canadian native directs spots in Canada through untitled, Toronto.)
Godsall recently helmed a package of Tilex spots by way of DDB San Francisco, that is far from dull. But when he first heard about the assignment, he was less than thrilled. “I remember hearing there were some boards from Tilex and thinking, ‘Oh God,'” he says. “You don’t associate any of the classic grocery shelf products with adventurous advertising.” However, it turns out that Tilex’s “Mother-in-law” and “Wine” definitely have an edge.
The humorous “Mother-in-law” shows a woman and her mother-in-law in the woman’s bathroom as they spruce up for a night out. The kibitzing mother-in-law, holding a container of cleanser, says, “Oh Sharon, this stuff won’t get rid of the mold in here.” The annoyed woman responds, “Will it help you forget our address?” The mother-in-law is taken aback. “There’s a better way to deal with your mold, ” intones a voiceover. “Tilex. The mold killer.”
“Wine” might pack an even nastier punch. The spot takes place at a party where one of the guests walks up to the host and asks, “Do you know there’s mold in your bathroom? You should really do something about that.” The irked host sarcastically says, “Oh, okay. Thanks,” before tossing a glass of wine on the guest’s dress. The host adds insult to injury by adding, “Oh, and you should really do something about your stupid, ugly dress.”
“There was a certain kind of darkness in those that appealed to me,” laughs Godsall.
“My hat was off to the client for allowing that kind of darkness and confrontation into bathroom cleanser commercials. I kept thinking the plug would get pulled on it, because it seemed a little obnoxious for such a formulaic, staid category.”
“The team and I agreed that the confrontation should have a simplicity and a rawness, rather than being overtly wacky. The mild shock of the whole thing seemed like it would make the ads funnier and more memorable.”
Time Warner’s “New Neighbor,” which promotes the company’s cable, high-speed online, and digital phone services, was helmed by Godsall for Ogilvy & Mather, New York. The ad is set on a sunny day in the suburbs. A nerdy guy and his new female neighbor stand in their respective driveways having a friendly chat. There is a sweet clumsiness to their exchange: Do the two like each other? Cut from day to later that night. It’s stormy outside as we see the woman undressing through her second floor bedroom window. She sees her neighbor on his rooftop looking at her and she screams. But it turns out the guy isn’t a peeping tom; he’s simply trying to fix his TV’s satellite dish. Playfully cautionary text advocating cable suscribership appears: “”Stay Inside. Stay out of trouble.”
“The thing that struck me with that campaign was taking a business the scale of Time Warner, a corporation that has a very complicated array of services, and bringing it down to a simple human level,” say Godsall.
“When most of a commercial is just two people talking, and it’s all about creating a certain dynamic, you have to hope your two actors are exceptional,” he says, referring to “New Neighbor.” “In this case, we made sure we got two people who had a certain presence and were able to wing it–take a situation and explore it without a script.”
“I like stranding the actors in the scripted situation, but depriving them of the actual scripted dialogue. These two were great at just rolling with it. They had such a genuine, odd presence, and the innocent awkwardness we needed for that set-up came naturally to them.”
Before turning to directing, Godsall worked as a freelance copywriter for ad agencies in the U.S. and Canada. He also served as a staff writer and creative director at Kirshenbaum, Bond & Partners, New York.
Godsall helmed his first Canadian spot in the late ’90s; he directed his U.S. debut about a year later. In the last few years, he’s been doing more and more jobs for the American ad market. His recent endeavors by way of Biscuit include Coke’s “Perfect Match,” out of Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore., and a striking Xbox spot which has never aired. His recent work for untitled includes a package of cinema trailers/TV spots for Visa/Toronto International Film Festival via Leo Burnett, Toronto. One of those offbeat comedy spots, “Mobster,” made SHOOT’s “The Best Work You May Never See” gallery in November 2005
As he has moved more and more into the U.S. market, does Godsall think his style and approach to directing has changed? “Hopefully it’s ever-changing,” he says.
“You end up getting pegged as a certain kind of director because of the first few projects you do. People naturally send you the kind of work you first get known for. But I really like exploring totally different styles of filmmaking. I’m much more interested in doing whatever makes sense for a particular commercial than seeing everything through the prism of a set style or sensibility.”
How The Hollywood Awards Calendar Has Been Affected By The Wildfires
Hollywood's awards season has all but come to a rare halt as the wildfires continue to disrupt life and work in the Los Angeles area. There are near daily updates from the Hollywood guilds and organizations that put on awards shows as the industry navigates the ongoing crisis.
Here's an overview of the major upcoming awards shows, from the Oscars to the Grammys, including updated dates for nominations.
Producers Guild and Writers Guild award nominations
Postponed, no new dates announced
The Writers Guild of America nominations were to be announced Jan. 8, a date that was pushed to Jan. 13 and then postponed indefinitely. The Producers Guild of America nominations for feature films were to be announced on Jan. 10, which was pushed to Jan. 12 and then postponed to an unspecified date this week.
Academy Award nominations
Jan. 23
The Oscar nominations have been twice-delayed — they were initially slated for Jan. 17, then Jan. 19, before being delayed again. The delay in the announcement accommodates an extended voting deadline, as many Academy members have been affected by the wildfires.
The nominations will be announced via a "virtual presentation," eschewing press on site.
Critics Choice Awards
Jan. 26
Originally slated for Jan. 12, the awards were set to take place at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, only miles from the Pacific Palisades neighborhood where fire was raging.
The awards will be broadcast live on E!, hosted by Chelsea Handler.
Grammy Awards
Feb. 2
By virtue of announcing their nominations back in November, the Grammys' schedule has largely been unaffected by the wildfires. Some... Read More