A U.S. native living in London takes a stab at the stateside market.
By Christine Champagne
When London-based Doug Nichol returned to his native Los Angeles to shoot Pets.com’s "Don’t Go," via TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco, the director, who is represented in the U.S. by bicoastal/international Partizan, didn’t exactly get a warm welcome.
Well, at least not from one annoyed resident of the neighborhood where Nichol and his crew shot the spot, which debuted during Super Bowl XXXIV. "There was this completely irate neighbor who came out and screamed at the top of her lungs for five minutes for no reason. Everybody was standing there dumbfounded," recalls Nichol. "Everybody just looked at each other like this woman was insane."
Apart from that incident, the two-day shoot proceeded smoothly. That was a remarkable feat, given that Nichol was working with stars known for being temperamental: animals. Nichol reveals, "We’ve got a good animal trainer. Even the goldfish did what we wanted."
"Don’t Go," Nichol’s first spot for the U.S. market, depicts the sadness that pets feel when their owners leave the house. The commercial opens with a dog staring at his master as the man backs out of the garage and heads to the pet store. The Pets.com sock puppet, who is handled by puppeteer and stand-up comic Michael Black, appears and begins singing Chicago’s "If You Leave Me Now," as other pets—a parrot, turtle and goldfish—deal with their own feelings of abandonment.
While TBWA/Chiat/Day had the ad thoroughly mapped out, Nichol was able to add some memorable touches. The first scene, for instance, originally called for the dog to be sitting in a window, watching his owner leave. "I changed it to the car pulling out of the garage and having the garage door close, bringing him into darkness. It was more graphic and interesting," he explains.
Nichol was pleasantly surprised that his input was welcomed. "I’d always heard stories where American agencies tell you what to do, but these guys were great," says Nichol, who moved to Paris 10 years ago and eventually ended up in London.
In Europe—where he is represented by Serious Pictures, London, for U.K. spots, and Partizan Midi Minuit, Paris, for other European work—Nichol is involved in both the conception and execution of ads. "When you work with an agency in London, they come up with the basic idea which isn’t storyboarded at all. It’s just a couple of paragraphs. Then you take that, come up with the visuals, and bring it to life," he explains.
Just before he did the Pets.com spot, Nichol collaborated with the creatives at Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper, London, to bring to life a quirky five-spot campaign for Microsoft’s MSN Internet site (www.msn.co.uk). One of the spots, "Pamela," finds a guy shopping for clothes. After finding something to try on, he goes into the dressing room, pulls the curtain closed and strips down to his underwear. Much to his surprise, a gorgeous woman whips the curtain open and steps into his stall. The spot ends with the slogan "Life’s Great," and MSN’s Web address.
What is striking about much of Nichol’s work is the way he combines humorous situations with cinematic imagery. For example, Toyota’s "The Bicycle," via Saatchi & Saatchi, Paris, is shot in black and
Review: Director-Writer Megan Park’s “My Old Ass”
They say tripping on psychedelic mushrooms triggers hallucinations, anxiety, paranoia and nervousness. In the case of Elliott, an 18-year-old restless Canadian, they prompt a visitor.
"Dude, I'm you," says the guest, as she nonchalantly burns a 'smores on a campfire next to a very high and stunned Elliott. "Well, I'm a 39-year-old you. What's up?"
What's up, indeed: Director-writer Megan Park has crafted a wistful coming-of-age tale using this comedic device for "My Old Ass" and the results are uneven even though she nails the landing.
After the older Elliott proves who she is — they share a particular scar, childhood memories and a smaller left boob — the time-travel advice begins: Be nice to your brothers and mom, and stay away from a guy named Chad.
"Can we hug?" asks the older Elliott. They do. "This is so weird," says the younger Elliott, who then makes things even weirder when she asks for a kiss — to know what it's like kissing yourself. The older Elliott soon puts her number into the younger's phone under the name "My Old Ass." Then they keep in touch, long after the effects of the 'shrooms have gone.
Part of the movie's problem that can't be ignored is that the two Elliotts look nothing alike. Maisy Stella plays the coltish young version and a wry Aubrey Plaza the older. Both turn in fine performances but the visuals are slowly grating.
The arrival of the older Elliott coincides with her younger self counting down the days until she can flee from her small town of 300 in the Muskoka Lakes region to college in Toronto, where "my life is about to start." She's sick of life on a cranberry farm.
Park's scenes and dialogue are unrushed and honest as Elliott takes her older self's advice and tries to repair... Read More