By MILLIE TAKAKI
The "Prisoner," a :60 directed by Bob Giraldi of bicoastal Giraldi Suarez Productions, serves as a testament to the resiliency and perseverance of the human spirit no matter what the odds. And in the process of showcasing such extraordinary qualities, the spot also manages to tickle the funny bone and sell Dr Pepper to audiences in the U.K. and Holland.
The ad opens on a man being mercilessly grilled in an interrogation room. He holds his own, not giving into his antagonists. We then witness his attempted, albeit ill-fated flights to freedom. First, he’s seen shimmying down a rope where a group of soldiers, guns drawn, are waiting. Then, he’s outfitted with makeshift bird-like wings and begins to flap his way across the penitentiary. In full ascent and being cheered on by fellow inmates in the labor camp, he appears well on his way to escape when flightus interruptus occurs-he hits a stone wall of a prison building face-first.
Back in the interrogation room, his adversaries-including a heavyset woman-insist that he drink from a metal cup. In an act of defiance, he grabs the cup and throws it across the room.
He then embarks on additional would-be escapes; disguised as a soldier, he makes his way past one checkpoint only to run into the woman interrogator who recognizes him and sends him back to confinement. Undaunted, he tries again, burrowing an underground tunnel for himself. Emerging from the tunnel into daylight, he jumps on a fence that turns out to be electrified.
Finally-again during interrogation-he gives in and drinks from a cup at the woman’s behest. It turns out to be Dr Pepper and his taste buds come alive. "Dr Pepper: To try it is to love it" reads the translated message as a chorus of "Dr Pepper, So Misunderstood" is heard. The woman kisses him and he winces. While realizing that trying to escape from Dr Pepper was a mistake, the inmate still knows full well that a flight to freedom from the woman and the prison is well advised. The spot ends with a scene of him floating on a life raft buoyed by empty aluminum cans of Dr Pepper.
Giraldi’s support team at Giraldi Suarez included executive producer Debbie Merlin and producer J.P. Greaney. Shot in Marseille as well as at Chateau D’If-which is on an island off the coast of France-"Prisoner" was also facilitated by French liaison Jean Patrick Costantini of Paris-headquartered Tanit Productions. The DP was Patrick Duroux.
For Dr Pepper International, the creative contingent from Young & Rubicam, New York, consisted of exec VP/exec creative director Manny Perez, exec. VP/group creative director Chris Grabenstein, senior VP/ creative director John Lucci, senior art director Leonard Peters-Smith, senior copywriter Jon Tell and VP/senior producer Deborah Perra.
Barry Stilwell of Jump, New York, edited "Prisoner." Richard Schreck and Chris Ryan of Nice Shoes, New York, served as online editor and colorist, respectively. Audio mixer was Joe Miuccio at The Mix Place, New York. Sound design was done by Brian Klumpp at Jump. Music was composed by Nicholas Pike of Groove Addicts, Los Angeles. Veteran Hunter Murtaugh served as music director. The music was recorded with the Munich Symphony Orchestra at Bavarian Music Studios.
Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. Explore Generations, Old School vs. New School, In “Poppa’s House”
Boundaries between work and family don't just blur in the new CBS sitcom "Poppa's House" starring father-and-son comedy duo Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. They shatter.
"It's wonderful to come to work every day and see him and some of his kids and my sister and my brother and nieces and nephews. They all work on this show. They all contribute," says the senior Wayans. "I don't think there are words to express how joyful I am."
Wayans plays the titular Poppa, a curmudgeonly radio DJ who's more than comfortable doing it his way, while Wayans Jr. plays his son, Damon, a budding filmmaker who's stuck in a job he hates.
"My character, Pop, is just an old school guy who's kind of stuck in his ways," says Wayans, who starred in "In Living Color" and "My Wife and Kids."
Pop yearns for the days when a handshake was a binding contract and Michael Jordan didn't complain if he got fouled on the court. Pop laughs at the younger generation's participation trophies.
"It's old school versus new school and them teaching each other lessons from both sides," says Wayans Jr., who played Coach in the Fox sitcom "New Girl."
"They (the characters) bring the best out in each other and they're resistant initially. But then throughout the episode they have revelations and these revelations help them become better people," he adds.
The two have worked together before — dad made an appearance on son's "Happy Endings" and "Happy Together," while son was a writer and guest star on dad's "My Wife and Kids." But this is the first time they have headlined a series together.
The half-hour comedy — premiering Monday and co-starring Essence Atkins and Tetona Jackson — smartly leaves places in the script where father and son can let... Read More