Newhouse Films, a satellite division of Crossroads, bicoastal, Chicago and London, has signed director Enno Jacobsen, formerly of Right Brain Media, Los Angeles. His latest spot work includes Dupont’s “The Lab” for Cramer-Krasselt, Milwaukee, a Suzuki campaign for Germany, and a Volkswagen Jetta ad for Europe.
Jacobsen first established himself as a director in Europe, after coming up the ranks at Neue Sentimental Film in Frankfurt, Germany. Working in postproduction during the day and editing documentaries at night for the German house, Jacobsen got his directing opportunity on a pitch video for Debitel, a major phone provider in Germany. He not only won the pitch, but Debitel chose the director to exclusively work on subsequent packages totaling some 30-plus commercials over the next three years.
He then moved stateside in 2002, directing for American and European clients. Among his early successes was an offbeat Right Brain-produced campaign for Wherehouse Music retail stores via agency Colby & Partners, Santa Monica. In fact, one of the spots, “Little Stalkers–CDs,” earned inclusion in SHOOT’s The Best Work You May Never See gallery in ’03.
The spot opens on what appears to be the POV of a would-be robber approaching a home. A potted plant gets knocked over as the camera moves in on the backdoor of the residence. The door opens and the intruder enters the house. We find ourselves in the kitchen, where the clumsy burglar knocks over a container of spices. Meanwhile an unsuspecting man slumbers deeply in the bedroom. The bedroom door opens and the camera moves in on him. Sensing that something his amiss, he awakens. The man opens his eyes to find the interloper standing on his chest–the break-in artist is a lawn gnome.
Understandably, the unexpected sight throws the man off guard. The gnome also has company–dozens of other gnomes who stand around the bed. The main gnome, still planted on the man’s chest, suddenly speaks, “Free CD.” The spot cuts to a graphic promoting a CD sale at Wherehouse. A voiceover touts the sale–“But 3, get the 4th free”–and then we’re returned to the bedroom where the man is attempting to take the gnome off his chest. The gnome says, “Uh-uh,” and the man pulls his hand away.
Jacobsen’s credits include spots for such clients as Volkswagen, Bandai/PlayStation, Suzuki and BMW. He’s taken on a wide range of work, making him hard to pigeonhole, though he’s partial to the description of “elegant storytelling with a smirk.”
Newhouse’s directorial roster includes Jacobsen, Steve Ramser and Patrick Solomon. Heidi Nolting is executive producer of the company, which is handled by an independent sales force consisting of Stacey Altman of Stacey & Co. on the West Coast, Robin Pickett in the Midwest, and Maria Stenz of Stenz & Co. on the East Coast.
New FDA Rules To Take Effect For TV Drug Commercials
Those ever-present TV drug ads showing patients hiking, biking or enjoying a day at the beach could soon have a different look: New rules require drugmakers to be clearer and more direct when explaining their medications' risks and side effects.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration spent more than 15 years crafting the guidelines, which are designed to do away with industry practices that downplay or distract viewers from risk information.
Many companies have already adopted the rules, which become binding Nov. 20. But while regulators were drafting them, a new trend emerged: thousands of pharma influencers pushing drugs online with little oversight. A new bill in Congress would compel the FDA to more aggressively police such promotions on social media platforms.
"Some people become very attached to social media influencers and ascribe to them credibility that, in some cases, they don't deserve," said Tony Cox, professor emeritus of marketing at Indiana University.
Still, TV remains the industry's primary advertising format, with over $4 billion spent in the past year, led by blockbuster drugs like weight-loss treatment Wegovy, according to ispot.tv, which tracks ads.
Simpler language and no distractions
The new rules, which cover both TV and radio, instruct drugmakers to use simple, consumer-friendly language when describing their drugs, without medical jargon, distracting visuals or audio effects. A 2007 law directed the FDA to ensure that drug risk information appears "in a clear, conspicuous and neutral manner."
FDA has always required that ads give a balanced picture of both benefits and risks, a requirement that gave rise to those long, rapid-fire lists of side effects parodied on shows like "... Read More