Director Robert Logevall is shy about discussing his spotwork, especially the honors it has been receiving of late. Logevall, who directs commercials out of Bruce Dowad Associates, Los Angeles, has had a good 2000 so far, with ads for Audi and Volkswagen garnering him attention and acclaim.
At the 2000 Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, a Logevall-directed spot garnered honors for visual style and cinematography. The ad, "Wake Up," was part of an Audi of America campaign via McKinney & Silver, Raleigh, N.C. The prize-winning spot organically integrates the Audi TT into an environment of nature and art, without ever even moving the car. The lush, meditative feel of the spot was captured by DP Tobias Schliessler.
Logevall received other accolades for his work on Audi. The ads "Father/Daughter," "Woman," "Man/Lawn Chairs," "Lives" and "Dog" garnered an award in the direction category at the Mobius Awards. Logevall also picked up directing honors at the Mobius competition for his work on GTE Directories’ "Doorhandle" and "Tiara" via Ogilvy & Mather, Los Angeles. And "Lives" and "Father/Daughter," along with another Audi spot, "Madness," earned certificates of merit at the most recent International Automotive Advertising Awards.
"Doorhandle" and "Tiara" highlight Logevall’s ability to focus on a subject’s humanity without sacrificing style and panache. In "Doorhandle," a man explains that he has the perfect original chrome handle for a ’56 Corvette, ready to fulfill someone’s dreams. "My name is Joe. I have what you’re looking for. Come find me," the man says. Logevall brings out the warmth in the character’s personality within a very short period of time.
Of the AICP Show-honored ad, Logevall credits "great writing and a really nice creative team. We collaborated on that—it was fun." Logevall believes that his recognition from the Audi work may have brought on other car ads, like his recent spots for the Volkswagen Beetle via Arnold Communications, Boston, and a Lexus 430 campaign via Team One Advertising, El Segundo, Calif. For VW, Logevall directed "Vapor" and "Reflex," which promoted Beetles that were made in limited quantity and available only on the Internet. Like the Audi spots, the VW work departs from the traditional notion of automotive advertising. In "Vapor" and "Reflex," the viewer sees only a reflection; the camera pulls back at the end to reveal the car.
"VW was very satisfying," notes Logevall. "Lexus was also a fantastic experience as far as being in Italy, shooting [in Tuscany and Rome] with nice people, casting in Rome and Milan. … [On VW] people had a lot of fun. Not every spot can be a home run, not every job can be fun, but if there’s one thing I’m [sure of, it’s that] the process has to be worthwhile for everybody."
Driving Range
While Logevall feels very lucky to be getting the kinds of quality assignments he’s been receiving lately, he doesn’t just want to be thought of as the car guy. "I like to think I can do many different things," he says.
Logevall also sees interesting changes in the ways that spots for automakers are done, thereby allowing for many different styles. "Car commercials are not like they were before," he explains. "Before, they were just shots of sheet metal. Now there are so many different ways of shooting a car commercial, which is exciting. The client looks for the car footage, but a lot less now that they’re pushing the limits. Some of the spots don’t even have a car until the last five seconds. … There’s much more humanity. You need to shoot people; you can’t just shoot sheet metal. There’s humanity and storytelling now."
The director believes that a good ad—whatever the subject matter—must engage the viewer. "In some spots, everything has to be told, and that’s not interesting. What is interesting is what isn’t told. … A good spot is something you can watch more than once. It stands up to the
