Voyeurism takes on a new twist in this :60 promoting the Independent Film Project (IFP)/West’s Los Angeles Film Festival, which wraps this weekend (6/29). At first, it seems we’re the only interlopers looking at the later stages of a date as an amorous couple walks into the woman’s apartment. "Nice place," observes the man. But he seems about to be taken to an even nicer destination, because the woman is clearly hot to trot. She sends the man into the kitchen to fix some drinks while she slinks into the bathroom, presumably to primp and slip into something more comfortable.
However, they—for that matter, we—are not alone. The camera reveals a bystander sitting in a movie theater chair, dipping his hand into a tub of popcorn. We’re watching him watching the action close at hand.
Meanwhile, the woman in the bathroom doesn’t seem concerned about whether or not the toilet seat is down. We—and our movie viewer—witness her from behind as she urinates while standing up. At this point, the spot cuts away from the action to reveal a slogan: "Everyone likes to watch." Next, contact info for the Los Angeles Film Festival appears on screen.
We then return to the apartment, where the couple is going at it on the living room couch. The moviegoer’s face has successively registered perplexity, shock and curiosity. Now, as the "woman" aggressively mounts the unsuspecting man, the popcorn-munching voyeur, repulsed, finally looks away.
Don Rase of Backyard Productions, Venice, Calif., directed this and a second spot, "Gangster," in the IFP/West package for agency DDB Los Angeles. The DDB creative team consisted of executive creative director Mark Monteiro, associate creative directors Ed Cole and Kevin McCarthy, art director Feh Tarty, copywriters Steve Peckingham and Danielle Vieth, and director of broadcast production/producer Connie Myck.
Rase’s support crew at Backyard included executive producer Blair Stribley and producer Sharon Groh. Both spots were shot by DP Curtis Wehr.
The campaign was edited by Michael Bartoli of FilmCore, Santa Monica, who also served as sound designer. The rest of the FilmCore ensemble included assistant editor Sara Laspisa, executive producer Therese Hunsberger and producer Christie Price. Brian "Crash" Carlucci and Lisa Tomei of R!OT, Santa Monica, served as colorist and Henry artist, respectively. Audio engineer/mixer was Wouter van Herweden of Margarita Mix, Hollywood. Music was composed by Los Angeles-based freelancer Andrew Gross.
