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.”
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More