Take four low budget spots to primetime network television with the virtual guarantee that viewers won’t fast forward past them. That was the scenario enjoyed by Santa Monica-based commercialmaking house Plum Productions on the next to grand finale show of ABC-TV primetime reality series American Inventor. Plum produced the ads, each promoting a contestant’s invention. Three of the commercials were based on concepts from DDB Los Angeles; for the remaining spot, the inventor opted to go with his own idea.
All four commercials were integral to and aired as part of the program, with the contestants using them as springboards to help get audience votes–the winner of the election taking home $1 million and the opportunity for mass production of his invention.
Young, up-and-coming directors Eric Heimbold and Jason Moore each helmed two commercials via Plum. But beyond the spots themselves, Plum gained major exposure on the show with cameras going behind the scenes to inventor meetings with the directors right through to pre-pro, casting, and the shoots.
Plum got the gig based on its track record with production company Fremantle Media. The two shops have collaborated regularly in the past with Plum producing the music videos for aspiring singers on Fremantle’s mega hit series American Idol for each of the past four years. Based on that experience, Freemantle gravitated to Plum for American Inventor, a series exec produced by Simon Cowell of Idol fame–or is that infamy?
Moore directed the spots promoting Word Ace, an electronic word game invented by contestant Ed Hall, and D-Tract, a bicycle handle mount seat device from inventor Francisco Patino. In the latter spot, a young man emerges from another, but not to worry–they can both ride on the same bike as D-Tract offers safe handlebar seat accommodations for the second passenger. In the Word Ace ad, youngsters pose word questions to themselves and their friends (“a four-letter word ending with ‘e’ to convey how a gal feels about a certain special guy) as they go about their everyday lives.
Meanwhile Heimbold directed the commercials promoting The Catch, invented by Erik Thompson, and the Anecia survival capsule for inventor Janusz Liberkowski. The former shows a football player missing ball after ball thrown to him. He comes to the sideline, detaches a hand and replaces it with a hand that subsequently snares everything thrown at it. The parting message is if it were this easy to become a star receiver, you wouldn’t need The Catch, a device which requires the person wearing it to catch the ball with his hands and away from his body.
The Anecia commercial dramatically shows a baby safe and sound in its Anecia-enclosed car seat after an automobile accident. This was the alluded to spot in which the inventor came up with his own concept, opting not to go with the DDB creative. As it turns out, all four invention spots ran again on the American Inventor finale, in which the Anecia capsule won the competition. American Inventor has already been renewed for a second season on ABC.
Plum produced the spot fare at cost, valuing the diversification and exposure it provided for the company, as well as the opportunities afforded to directors Heimbold and Moore. Indeed Heimbold’s work on the Idol videos has translated into him about to embark at press time on a Ford spot featuring this year’s Idol winner Taylor Hicks for JWT Detroit.
“That job is a direct result of the branded work Heimbold did on American Idol,” related Plum president Chuck Sloan, who noted that the relationship with Fremantle has helped Plum gain a foothold in the branded entertainment arena. Plum’s endeavors in concert with Freemantle, added Sloan, have also attracted inquiries from new directorial talent, which is the lifeblood of a production company.
Helene Cote served as creative director for DDB. Eric Trageser was the DP on the Word Ace and D-Tract commercials. Joe Labisi shot the commercials for The Catch and Anecia.
Shelby Sexton-Gonosey and Beth Pearson executive produced the spots for Plum, with Brett Marx serving as producer and Sandy Haddad as associate producer.
An ensemble of editors from Rival Editorial, Santa Monica, cut the work. Karen Knowles Zuniga edited the Word Ace and The Catch spots. Steve MacCorkle cut the D-Tract ad, and Walter May was the editor on the Anecia commercial. Online editor was Michael Short. Bill Fortney executive produced for Rival. Visual effects house was ingenuityengine, Hollywood, with David Lebensfeld serving as exec producer. Music composers were Scott and Roger Wojahn of Wojahn Bros. Music, Santa Monica.
By Millie Takaki
AD&Co. Launches Studio A; Davida Hall To Head New Venture As Sr. Director of Creative Content
Female-founded and led creative marketing agency AD&Co. has opened Studio A. The new venture will serve as AD&Co.’s in-house social brand content division, focused on developing and producing digital programming for advertising, social media, and influencer marketing campaigns designed to reach today’s audiences on the most popular and pivotal platforms. Davida Hall has been named to head Studio A as sr. director of creative content. She shifts over from AD&Co. where she held the same title since December 2023. Hall’s affiliations prior to AD&Co. include PopSugar and Studio71.
Amy Demas, founder and chief creative officer of AD&Co., said, “We understand content is king-—or queen—and that our clients need to engage their customer communities where they live. That inspired the logical expansion of AD&Co with Studio A, which is committed to producing only the most engaging and authentic brand stories.”
Studio A will harness both AD&Co’s and Hall’s deep expertise in the lifestyle sector, as content creators and avid consumers. Specializing in reaching audiences where they spend their time, the studio is immersed in social media, pop culture, and current trends, expertly crafting visuals, language, and storytelling to reinforce client brand identities and cut through the noise.
Studio A debuts with the “This Is Me” campaign for Love + Craft + Beauty, a brand dedicated to embracing and promoting diversity within the beauty space. “This Is Me” highlights Gen Z’s affinity for radical self-expression that allows individuals to tell their own stories, free from labels, using beauty and fashion as tools of authenticity. The campaign showcases models celebrating their unique qualities to present... Read More