By BY CAROLYN GIARDINA
Boston-based Arnold Communications is introducing Volkswagen’s redesigned 1999 Jetta in a new :60 driven by a memorable tune-one that ends entirely too soon.
"Synchronicity," directed by Gerard de Thame via bicoastal HSI Productions, features a couple driving a new black Jetta during light drizzle. The woman pops a cassette in the stereo and on comes a rainy-day indie pop tune with a strong rhythm. From that point on, everything around the car-the windshield wipers, a flashing walk signal, a man on the sidewalk snapping open his newspaper-moves in time with the music. The rhythm breaks only at the end, when a van crosses the Jetta’s path and sprays the Jetta’s windshield with water from a puddle.
The sedate Jetta driver remarks, "That was interesting," and a voiceover reminds us: "Sometimes everything just comes together." The Volkswagen "drivers wanted" logo follows, along with another voiceover: "On the road of life, there are passengers and there are drivers."
"Unlike many traditional car ads, this new campaign doesn’t brag about how fast or luxurious our cars are," said Liz Vanzura, Volkswagen director of marketing/advertising. "Instead, it is intended to show how the new Jetta fits into some people’s lifestyle and how some things in life just happen to come together in perfect harmony."
Ron Lawner, Arnold’s chief creative officer, added, "You know when something truly special happens and people say that all the stars must have been aligned just right? Well, that’s how we feel about the new Jetta. While the new Jetta’s been completely redesigned, the core values of the Volkswagen brand have remained the same. Volkswagen is simple, honest, confident and fun."
The spot was shot in three days on location in New Orleans. De Thame said he selected the French Quarter because there is "a lot happening on the streets" and it has "a good look." Arnold co-creative director Lance Jensen added that the location "gives a great texture to the spot." De Thame also shot a second Volkswagen spot for Arnold while in New Orleans.
For the shoot, the street was closed and a rig used to provide rain. (Additional rain was added in post.) DP Steve Keith Roach shot the car interior images handheld, and a click track helped keep the actors in sync. "The idea was: You’re driving and you notice everything is coming together," Jensen commented.
He also explained that de Thame was selected to direct because he is "an amazing director" and "very passionate about the project." De Thame said he wanted to create a "freshness" and give viewers the feeling of being in the car. The splash, he said, was a sort of "wake-up" from the world that exists within the Volkswagen.
Music plays an integral part in the spot’s success. Jensen said Arnold considered existing tunes but "never found one we thought would work. We needed something that had the right beat, was upbeat and positive, and built to the splash."
In the end, Peter Ducharme of Master Cylinder, Summerville, Mass., composed the music and added some sound design. Ducharme explained that he received a rough cut of the spot with the click track. "The key was it had to be dreamy. Odd things are happening," he said. "It also had to be a song these people would be listening to."
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