Dot-Com Advertising That Doesn't Go For Shock Value, Directed By Rob Pritts.
By SANDRA GARCIA
Productivity in offices across the country is about to plummet with the launch of the new-and-improved gaming site Uproar.com (www. uproar.com). Its mission: "Let There Be Fun."
Bearing the millennium-conscious name "Uproar 2000," the site’s enhanced offerings have re-entered the online world after a complete overhaul. Uproar. com now boasts a redesign and new games including Bingo Blitz, Black Jack and an online version of the TV game show Family Feud. Just imagine—you, your computer and cash prizes! The only thing missing is game show host Richard Dawson crooning sweet nothings into your ear.
But the fun-o-rama doesn’t stop there. As part of its expansion, Uproar.com enlisted New York-based agency Grey Entertainment to launch a branding campaign for the site. Two :30 spots, "Commuter" and "Bar Scene," directed by Rob Pritts of Backyard Productions, Venice, Calif. and Chicago, illustrate what happens when fun is infused into everyday situations.
"Commuter" opens to people engaging in daily commuter activities at a suburban train station: getting coffee, hauling briefcases, buying the newspaper. Curiously, part of the routine also includes putting a coin in a machine to retrieve a red rubber ball—the kind of ball you used for play in third-grade gym class. As a train clears the station, there is a tight shot of a person holding a red ball, then a wider shot revealing scores of people dressed in business attire on opposite platforms. The tension mounts until finally a woman steps forward and yells "Bombardment!" The two opposing sides begin hurling the red balls at each other in a twisted, grown-up version of dodgeball. The voiceover asks, "What if all the fun people in the world got together?" "Bar Scene" carries a similar theme: Two testosterone-pumped men exchange words in a bar and decide to settle their dispute like men—outside. As onlookers pour onto the street, the two men duke it out by engaging in a fierce jump rope contest.
The Uproar.com campaign was spearheaded by Grey Entertainment senior creative director Rob Jacobson, who joined the agency six months ago after a long stint as a creative director at Ogilvy & Mather, New York. According to Jacobson, this was Grey’s first branding launch for a dot-com client. "The market is already saturated with dot-com commercials, but we didn’t want some outrageous creative just to get our name noticed and have people walk away knowing nothing about the product or what it does," Jacobson explained. Instead, he and Grey creative director/copywriter Ted Cohn and art director Sandi Harari focused on building Uproar. com’s character as a site where you can take a break and have some fun.
Jacobson felt it was crucial for the client to put money behind the production value in order for Uproar.com to be taken seriously by consumers. "Luckily, the client pushed the creative every step of the way, so we ended up with boards that a lot of really good directors were interested in," said Jacobson. "We were doing visual storytelling, and Rob [Pritts] has a way of choosing interesting shots and angles to help tell that story."
Though the first 15 seconds of "Commuter" contain no dialogue, there is a rhythm to the commuters’ routine and a feeling that something is about to happen—a tension created entirely through Pritts’ camerawork. "Although people getting their coffee seems monotonous, we wanted it to be visually interesting," Pritts explained. In the spot, a coffee cup is seen at close range as the camera pulls back to reveal a shot of people uniformly placing down newspapers, which leads to another shot of hands setting down briefcases.
Additional credits for "Commuter" and "Bar Scene" go to Backyard executive producer Blair Stribley, DP Christophe Lanzenberg and producer Kris Mathur. Grey Entertainment’s producer was Ray Rainville. Editor was Bob Mori of Cosmo Street, Santa Monica. The online editor was Mark French of New York-based Manhattan Transfer and the colorist was Milan Boncich of The Tape House Editorial Company, New York. Audio Post was done at Blast Digital Audio, New York, by mixer Joe O’Connell. The music and sound design were done at tomandandy NY by composer Jeremy Adelman and sound designer Steve McEnaney. Tomandandy creative director was Andy Milburn, and producer was Scott Brittingham. Both spots were shot on location in Santa Paula, Calif.
Jury Presidents Named For The One Show 2025
The One Club for Creativity has announced the global creatives from around the world who will serve as jury presidents for The One Show 2025.
These creatives will lead judging for each discipline, and have a vote on the work.
Confirmed One Show 2025 Jury presidents, by discipline, are as follows:
--Brand-Side/In-House: David Lee, CCO, Squarespace, New York
--Branded Entertainment: Malcolm Poynton, Global CCO, Cheil Worldwide, London
--Creative Use of Data, Creative Use of Technology: Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, CCO, FCB Canada, Toronto
--Cultural Driver: Bianca Guimaraes, partner, ECD, Mischief, New York
--Design: Liza Enebeis, creative director, partner, Studio Dumbar/DEPT®, Rotterdam
--Direct Marketing: Vicki Maguire, CCO, Havas London
--Film & Video: Javier Campopiano, global CCO, McCann Worldgroup & McCann Global, Madrid
--Gaming: Taj Reid, global chief experience officer, US CCO, Edelman, New York
--Integrated, Experiential & Immersive: Chris Beresford-Hill, worldwide CCO, BBDO New York
--Fusion Pencil: Walter T. Geer III, CCO, Innovation North America, VML, New York
--Green Pencil: Barbara Humphries, ECD, The Monkeys, Sydney
--Health & Wellness, Pharma: Wendy Lund, chief client officer, WPP, New York
--IP & Product Design: Ronald Ng, global CCO, MRM, New York
--Moving Image Craft & Production: Irene Kugelmann, chief creative officer, DDB Group of Companies Germany, Berlin
--Music & Sound Craft: Joel Simon, CCO, JSM Music, New York
--Out of Home, Print & Promotional: Kainaz Karmakar, CCO, Ogilvy India, Mumbai
--Public Relations: Patricia Ávila, regional director for Latin America, Ágora, São Paulo
--Radio... Read More