This :30 for Thule car rack systems opens on an elderly man in his living room. Seated in a recliner, he’s doing the newspaper crossword—and he’s wearing an oxygen mask
A young man enters the room, sneaks up behind the unknowing senior, and starts fiddling with the oxygen tank: He’s redirecting the airflow in order to inflate a tire on his bicycle. Deprived of oxygen, the old man begins to fade; a slipper falls off his relaxed foot onto the floor.
Thankfully, the tire is quickly pumped up, and the oxygen returned to its rightful user. The old-timer gradually regains consciousness, with pen and paper poised to continue his puzzle, as if nothing had happened. The young man exits the room with his mountain bike, uttering the spot’s first line of dialogue: "See ya, Grandpa."
Next we see the bike mounted on a Thule car rack. Undoubtedly, both bike and car are headed for a high-altitude mountain adventure. A voiceover relates the end-tag slogan: "Thule. We know what matters to you."
The commercial was conceived by a creative team at Boulder, Co.-based TDA Advertising & Design, consisting of creative director/copywriter Jonathan Schoenberg, art director Dan Richardson, copywriter Eric Liebhauser and producer Rachel Peppler.
"Gramps" is part of a three-spot campaign designed to appeal with dark humor to outdoor sports enthusiasts. While a mountain bike out-rates grandpa in "Gramps," kayaks displace girlfriends in "Boat Love," and a snowboard is deemed far more important than a valuable ancient artifact in "Antique Show."
Monty Miranda of Incite Films, Denver, directed "Gramps." Brendan Horan was producer, and Robert Smith, DP.
A trio of artists from Lakewood, Colo.-based post house Crosspoint contributed to "Gramps": offline editor David Emrich, online editor Val Cannon and colorist Eric Holzman. Audio mixer was Chuck Biddlecom of Post Modern Company, also in Lakewood.
–Millie Takaki
