The original intro to the old Lou Grant television series showed us the ultimate destination of a newspaper. Created through the sweat, sensibilities and savvy of seasoned journalists, the daily paper—when it’s all read and done—wound up lining the bottom of a birdcage, serving as the resting place for the occasional feather and the more frequent fowl dropping.
However, in this :30 for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a reversal of that premise unfolds. This time, the utilitarian usage of the newspaper appears to be for wrapping fragile items, protecting them from the bumps and jostling inflicted upon packed moving cartons. But the twist this time is that the handle-with-care treatment instead is bestowed upon something more valuable.
"Moving In" opens on a woman at home on moving day, boxes piled everywhere. Though not seeing exactly what’s happening, we can hear thuds and small crash-like sounds. We soon find the woman sitting at a table, unpacking delicate china cups and saucers. Continuing to unpack, she removes another cup from its newspaper wrapping-but inexplicably, she takes the cup and tosses it on the floor, where it shatters next to assorted other already broken pieces.
The woman instead gives the caring, kids-glove treatment to the crumpled newspaper, purposefully smoothing it over and placing it upon a pile of similarly flattened-out pages. Supered next to a close-up of the uncrumpled front page of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is a simple message: "Extraordinarily compelling." The woman then leans into view to read the paper. The spot concludes with a phone number for subscription information.
Jim Zoolalian of Boxer Films, Los Angeles, directed "Moving In" for DDB Seattle. Agency associate creative director/copywriter Eric Gutierrez noted that in the Seattle market, the Post-Intelligencer "has a uniquely loyal reader base and for many of us, it [the newspaper] has a place in our lives above and beyond a casual read."
Associate creative director/art director Randy Gerda related that DDB chose to produce this and the other spot in the campaign without dialogue or voiceover, "making them quietly compelling, which reflects the paper’s brand personality."
The DDB ensemble consisted of Gerda, Gutierrez, creative director Fred Hammerquist
and producer Heidi Molden.
Zoolalian’s support team at Boxer included executive producer John Clark, producer Steve Jordan and production supervisor Heather Waters. The DP was Steve Kenneston.
Bob Groenwold and Pedram Torbati of B-17 Editorial, Los Angeles, served as editor and assistant editor, respectively. Online editor was Alex Brodie of Company 3, Santa Monica. Colorist was Company 3’s Paul Bronkar. Audio engineer/sound designer was Zac Fisher of POP Sound, Santa Monica.
Rosemarie Li was the principal actor in this spot. The SAG/AFTRA Commercials Contract Standing Committee has granted a waiver to allow commercials to be available for viewing on SHOOTonline.com. The spots cannot be copied, downloaded or emailed.
