Bozell Worldwide, Southfield, Takes Superman For A Ride In The :60 "Kent County."
CLIENT
Jeep Grand Cherokee.
PRODUCTION CO.
Scream, Los Angeles. Dario Piana, director; Paolo Caimi, DP; Charles Salice, executive producer; Toni Ann Parker, producer; Corinne Burns Bruno, line producer. Shot on location and at Teatro 7, Brugherio, Italy.
AGENCY
Bozell Worldwide, Southfield, Mich. Gary Topolewski, creative director; Rick Dennis, copywriter; Sam Sefton art director; Jack Nelson, producer.
EDITORIAL
Anteprima Editorial, Milan, Italy. Antonella Galasi, editor.
POST
Interactive Video, Milan. Adriano Mestroni, colorist. Avalon, Milan. Alessandra Pea, Henry online editor.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Ubik, Milan. Stefano Trivelli, SFX supervisor; Paolo Lato, CGI artist; Gabrielle Diferie, compositor. Plinko Password, Milan. Vittorio Comi, miniatures and motion control.
AUDIO POST
GTN, Oak Park, Mich. Jay Scott, engineer/mixer.
MUSIC
Water Music, London. Peter Lawlor, composer.
SOUND DESIGN
Mach 2, Milan. Gean Christophe Casalini, sound designer.
BY REGINALD OBERLAG
Let’s face it, flying around at high altitudes wearing only skimpy blue tights probably gets a little chilly, even for Superman. So why not drive a big, comfy Jeep Grand Cherokee instead? The effects-laden "Kent County," directed by Dario Piana of Los Angeles-based Scream via Bozell Worldwide, Southfield, Mich., suggests just that: Clark Kent prefers the ride of his Sport Utility Vehicle to all that billowing cape nonsense.
The :60 opens with the Jeep Grand Cherokee traversing a mountain road, leaving a futuristic Metropolis far behind. The Jeep veers off the highway onto a rough road and up a snowy mountain, where it dodges an avalanche of huge boulders, skirts the edge of a crumbling cliff, jumps a crevasse, barrels through a waterfall and continues climbing, going up through a layer of clouds until it’s so high that a jumbo jet skims right over it. The red Cherokee then drives through enormous vault doors into a glacial cavern–Superman’s secret retreat, known as the Fortress of Solitude. We never see the driver or have any inkling that it’s Clark Kent until a man in a dark suit steps out of the driver’s seat, opens the backdoor and pulls out a transparent garment bag holding a cape bearing Superman’s trademark "S" logo. A voiceover proclaims the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee the most capable SUV ever.
Bozell art director Sam Sifton said the challenge of "Kent County" was to include a "capability" story while doing something big for the launch of the redesigned 1999 model. "So we decided to combine one great American icon, Jeep, with another great American icon, Superman," he said. But it turned out that Superman’s agents, Warner Bros./DC Comics, are very protective of the Man of Steel’s brand identity. "The only other commercial tie-in they’ve allowed with Superman was the Seinfeld American Express spot ("Superman"), but that was with the animated character, so they wouldn’t let us show any face in association with Superman," said Sifton. That restriction worked out fine, however, because the driver’s identity remains a mystery until he shows his legendary cape.
Agency copywriter Rick Dennis acknowledged that doing "capability spots" for cars is nothing new, but in this spot he said they decided to push those driving challenges to the extreme. "We’ve all seen spots with vehicles facing challenging elements, but we made it crazier and crazier so that people would ask, `Who’s driving such outrageous places?’ even in a Jeep," Dennis said.
Sifton explained, "The idea was to show that a superhero with superpowers, who could drive whatever he wants, would drive the new Cherokee because it has superpowers and can go anywhere, too. We bonded that concept with the idea that people use their SUVs to go off to their country retreats, so we decided to show where Superman goes to get away from it all."
The agency team said it was somewhat coincidental that they selected the Milan, Italy-based Piana, but they’re glad they did. "We were under tremendous production deadline pressure on another Jeep spot as we were developing this one," commented Dennis, "and a producer here came in with [Piana’s] reel, and we all went, `Wow, he’s just what we need.’ " He explained that the director was a great visual storyteller who was able to finish the whole package through Ubik, the Milan special effects company in which he’s a partner.
"It’s like a mini-ILM," said producer Nelson. "They have a model shop and computer graphics and handled the motion control, so we really benefited by that." The spot required the use of full-size and scaled-down sets and models, with a lot of match shots between the practical and miniature sets requiring CGI and compositing of the Jeep with various elements such as the waterfall, the jet fly-by and the glacial Fortress interior.
Sefton praised the director, saying, "Dario is really good at combining all these elements, though he doesn’t want to be pigeonholed as a special effects director. He really had the whole thing in his mind and stayed true to it and knew exactly what he needed to get it all to come together."
Nelson agreed: "I’ve never been on a production where the director was more involved in the whole project from stem to stern. This guy was with this commercial from frame one until finished, and it speaks highly of the idea, which is unusual in the U.S., of having one mind, one vision, create one commercial."
Piana called the spot "an important commercial because it’s unusual for me to get a big American commercial, and I’m very proud of it. The agency liked that I was a comic book illustrator in the beginning of my career and [that] this project had many things in common with my style. The agency gave me the idea, but I had to do a lot of drawings for Warner Bros.’ approval because they were very concerned about the cave of Superman and wanted to be sure that it was original and in perfect line with the philosophy of Superman, but not the same as they use for the movies."
The director said a big challenge in the spot was to try to strengthen the early part of the commercial to build up to the strong ending and Superman punch line. ""I asked the agency, `How far from the real can I go?’ and the agency said, `It’s a fantasy situation,’ so I could push things as far as I wanted, like having the Jeep fly across a cliff and through a waterfall," Piana explained. He said working with his own special effects company, Ubik, made it possible for the spot to be finished by the four-week deadline. His knowledge of special effects was also a plus because, he said, "The result is best when the director knows exactly what will happen in post when compositing all these elements and matching the live action with the miniature sets."
While the agency also praised the hard-working Italian crew, they related another anecdote that they felt separated this production from a U.S. job. "Scream’s executive producer Charles Salice called us one morning to warn us that the production was going to be shut down for two hours in the middle of the day, and there was nothing we could do about it," recalled Sefton. It seems the World Cup soccer playoffs between Italy and France were going to be played that afternoon; the crew moved in a huge rear-projection TV and watched the entire match before returning to work, somewhat dejected at their team’s loss. "That would never have happened in the States," chuckled Sefton, "where time is money and cash is king."
***
Look Is Versatile
For Microsoft, B/E
CLIENT
Microsoft.
PRODUCTION CO.
Elma Garcia Films, Woodacre, Calif. Elma Garcia, director/DP; Randy Kahn, executive producer. Shot on location.
AGENCY
Bozell/Eskew Advertising, New York. Susan Armstrong, creative director/art director; Nick Hall, copywriter; Tony Compitello, producer.
EDITORIAL
K.G. Edit, New York. Ken Gutstein, editor; Aron Dunkel, assistant editor.
POST
SMA Video, New York. Eli Friedman, colorist. Nice Shoes, New York. Ed Patrowicz, online editor.
AUDIO POST
Photomag, New York. Peter Holcomb, mixer.
MUSIC
Look, New York. Jean-Marie Salaun, composer/arranger; Jeanne Look, producer.
THE SPOT
The :30 "Business Life" focuses on the versatility of Microsoft computers and software by showing vignettes of people at work and at play on computers and in life.
Spot broke in July.
***
Cutters Is Sweet
For Juicy Fruit
CLIENT
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co./Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit.
PRODUCTION CO.
Jon Francis Films, San Francisco. Jon Francis, director; Allen Daviau, DP; Linda Emery, executive producer; Jeff Vibes, producer. Shot on location.
AGENCY
BBDO Chicago. Phil Gant, executive creative director; Jim Hyman, group creative director; Gail Pollack, creative director; Chuck Sheldon, executive producer; Sheila Hayden, producer; Debbie Klonk, art director; David Schiff, copywriter.
EDITORIAL
Cutters Inc., Chicago. Cynthia S. Cameron, editor; Carlos Lowenstein, assistant.
POST
Cutters Inc. Doug Johansen, online editor; Oscar Oboza, Jr., colorist.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Cutters Inc., Chicago and Santa Monica. Maribeth Emigh, Greg Souers and Shane Walker, Flame artists; Tod Hemsley, Flame assistant; Ted Jelescu, Mac artist.
AUDIO POST
Cutters, Inc., Chicago. John Binder and Mark DeVos, mixers.
MUSIC
Shapiro Music, Boston (now SFS, New York). David Shapiro, composer.
THE SPOT
In the :30 "Bear," Mom walks into her house and hears noises coming from her son Billy’s bedroom. Up in his room, however, a bear is searching for something sweet. He finally locates a pack of Juicy Fruit in a drawer, and just as Mom is about to enter the room, he pops a stick into his mouth that turns him back into Billy.
Spot broke August 1.
***
Sight Effects Gets
Playful For Sony
CLIENT
Sony PlayStation.
PRODUCTION CO.
RSA USA, Los Angeles. David Dobkin, director; Mark Dektor, DP; Marjie Abrahams, executive producer; Elison Miller, producer; Shelly Townsend, head of production; Ecole Nauber, production manager. Shot on location.
AGENCY
TBWA Chiat/Day, Venice, Calif. Jerry Gentile, creative director; Kecia Benvenuto, producer; Cheryllynn Carter, assistant producer; Scott MacGregor, art director; Mike McKay, copywriter.
EDITORIAL
Jigsaw, Santa Monica. Jon Hopp, editor; Adam Parker, assistant editor; Megan Dahlman, producer.
POST
Company 3, Santa Monica. Michael Pethel, colorist. Sight Effects, Venice. Doug Spilatro, online editor.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Sight Effects. Melissa Davies, visual effects supervisor; Darcie Tang, visual effects producer; Doug Spilatro, visual effects artist. In-Sight Pix, Venice. Nicole Tidwell and Andrea Morland, producers; Andrew Orloff, animator.
AUDIO POST
BBP Recording Studios, West Los Angeles. Jeff Payne, mixer.
SOUND DESIGN
Jon Huck Music & Sound Design, Los Angeles. Jon Huck, sound designer.
THE SPOT
"Salt Shaker" introduces Sony PlayStation’s "Jersey Devil" video game. The :30 opens with two police officers having breakfast at a diner. One of the officers picks up the salt shaker to season his food and winds up with a hill of salt on his plate. The other officer laughs at his partner’s misfortune as he goes for the ketchup. He too ends up with a giant glob of the condiment on his breakfast. The policemen then notice the mischievous CG Jersey Devil sitting at a booth reading the newspaper. They head for him but fall to the floor–their shoelaces have been tied together. The spot then cuts to "Jersey Devil" video game footage.
Spot broke July 20.
***
Bob ‘n Sheila’s For
Calif. Milk Board
CLIENT
The California Fluid Milk Advisory Board.
PRODUCTION CO.
Tate & Partners, Santa Monica. Baker Smith, director; Mark Plummer, DP; David Tate, executive producer; Bonnie Goldfarb, producer. Shot on location.
AGENCY
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco. Jeff Goodby, creative director; Debbie King, executive producer; Valerie Ang Powell, art director; Matthew Winks, producer; Brad Roseberry, copywriter.
EDITORIAL
Bob ‘n Sheila’s Edit World, San Francisco. Sheila Sweeney, editor; Jess Congdon, assistant editor; Gina LoCurcio, executive producer.
POST
Company 3, Santa Monica. Stefan Sonnenfeld, colorist. Western Images, San Francisco. Bill Weber, Henry artist.
AUDIO POST
Crescendo! Studios, San Francisco. Tim Claman, engineer.
MUSIC
Asche & Spencer, Minneapolis and Venice, Calif. Thad Spencer, composer; Hugh Barton, arranger.
SOUND DESIGN
Bob ‘n Sheila’s Edit World. Sheila Sweeney, sound designer; Jess Congdon, assistant sound designer. Asche & Spencer. Hugh Barton, sound designer.
THE SPOT
In the :30 "Hall of Mirrors," a man and his stuffed monkey encounter difficulties finding the real carton of milk in a hall of mirrors after eating some donuts. In the :30 "Paws," a grandmother-type prepares dinner for her many cats and finds that she is out of milk. She tries to fool the felines with nondairy creamer and water, but the cats figure it out and turn on the poor Granny.
Spots broke Sept. 2.
***
Curious Travels
For R.W. Baird
CLIENT
R.W. Baird.
PRODUCTION CO.
Curious Pictures, San Francisco. Steward Lee, director/designer/2-D animator; Barbara Bayne, 2-D animator; Anne Smith, executive producer; Holly Edwards, producer.
AGENCY
Jack Levy Associates, Chicago. Ron Linnemann, creative director/art director; Ginger Sinsabaugh and Ann Bauerlein, copywriters; Patty Phassos, producer.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Animation & Effects, Pacifica, Calif. Kathy Swain and Terry O’Brien, ink-and-paint artists/ compositors.
AUDIO POST
id.MUSIC, Chicago. John Mennella, mixer.
MUSIC
id.MUSIC. John Mennella, composer.
THE SPOT
In the :30 "Thumbprint," a camera travels along a path in a valley, following twists and turns as the voiceover enumerates investment choices. The camera pulls away a bit and the road reveals itself to be a thumbprint. The voiceover makes the point that investments are "as individual as you are," as the camera pulls back to show that the thumbprint is actually the dot on the "i" in the R.W. Baird logo.
Spot broke in September.
***
Access Film Fights
Back With Claritin
CLIENT
Schering-Plough/Claritin.
PRODUCTION CO.
Access Film, bicoastal. Frank Tammariello, director; John Stanier, DP; Alan Pierce and Jonathan Gilson, executive producers; Lisa Jamiolkowski, producer. Shot on location.
AGENCY
RTCdirect, Washington, D.C. Ann O’Daniel, creative director/art director; Tom Mac, senior copywriter; Glenn Heitz, creative supervisor; Judy Wittenberg, producer.
EDITORIAL
Crew Cuts, New York. Kristy Jacobs, editor; John Laskus, assistant editor.
POST
Manhattan Transfer, New York. Jim Montague, online editor; Ron Brower, colorist.
AUDIO POST
Clean Cuts Music, Baltimore. Victor Giordano, engineer; Jack Heyrman, executive producer.
MUSIC
Clean Cuts Music. Wall Matthews, composer; Tom Hall, arranger.
THE SPOT
In the :30 "Allergens," a woman is besieged by seasonal allergies attempting to gain entry into her home. She fights back by calling Claritin to obtain her Personal Allergy Profile. Armed with the information, she begins to win the war against the allergy attacks.
Spot broke in June.
***
jmcp Interviews At
TCI Digital Cable
CLIENT
TCI Communications/TCI Digital Cable.
PRODUCTION CO.
HKM Productions, New York. Michael Patrick Jann, director; Michael Spiller, DP; Ron Hacohen, executive producer; Bettina Schneider, producer. "Interview" shot at The Space, New York, and "Interrogation" at CECO International Corporation, New York.
AGENCY
jordanmcgrathcase&partners, New York. Tom Wambach, exec. VP/creative director/art director; Michael Vines, senior VP/creative director/copywriter; Geraldine Symon, VP/producer.
EDITORIAL
Editing Concepts, New York. Michael Schwartz, editor; Peter Schmuhl, assistant editor; Nancy Finn, producer.
POST
The Tape House Editorial Company, New York. Milan Boncich, colorist. Tape House Digital, New York. Patrick Ferguson, online editor.
AUDIO POST
Photomag, New York. Chris Burns, mixer.
MUSIC
Snyder Music, New York. Craig Snyder, composer.
THE SPOT
Two :30s–"Interrogation" and "Interview"–emphasize the benefits of TCI Digital Cable versus satellite TV.
Spots broke July 27.
***
Milk & Honey Films
Experiment On Reebok
CLIENT
Reebok International.
PRODUCTION CO.
Mars Media, Santa Monica. Samuel Bayer, director/DP; Bill Sandwick and Kerstin Emhoff, executive producers; Tracie Norfleet, head of production. Milk & Honey Films, Los Angeles and Prague. Howard Woffinden and Tomas Krejci, executive producers. Shot at Sony Pictures Studios, Culver City, Calif., and on location.
AGENCY
Berlin, Cameron & Partners, New York. Ewan Cameron, creative director; Andrew Christou, creative director/art director; Simeon Roane, copywriter; Dane Johnson, producer.
EDITORIAL
Superior Assembly Editing Company, Santa Monica. Jim Haygood, editor; Marc D’Andre and Sean Ormond, assistant editors; Kristine Masta, executive producer; Kris Mapheney, producer.
POST
Company 3, Santa Monica. Stefan Sonnenfeld, colorist; Noel Castley-Wright, Henry artist.
VISUAL EFFECTS
A52, Santa Monica. Simon Brewster, compositor; Liz Roewe, executive producer; Victoria Alonso, producer.
AUDIO POST
Magmasters, London. Tony Anscombe, mixer.
SOUND DESIGN
Mit Out Sound, Sausalito, Calif. Ren Klyce, sound designer.
THE SPOT
"Discovery" blends Orwellian images of totalitarianism with elements of science fiction to showcase the technology behind Reebok’s DMX running shoe. The :30 opens in front of an ominous communist-era building, then moves into a laboratory where scientists in protective suits examine the DMX shoe before a gallery of militant-looking clones. When alarms begin to sound, the shoe is rushed out of the building and into a waiting military truck.
Spot broke July 1.
***
Harvest Scores With
Marino For Firstplus
CLIENT
Firstplus Financial.
PRODUCTION CO.
Harvest Films, San Francisco. Lear Levin, director/cameraman; Lana Pennino, assistant director; Rob Lazarus, executive producer; John McWhirter, production coordinator. Shot on location.
AGENCY
STRAT-IM Advertising, Sacramento, Calif. Mauro Appezzato, president; Maryann Goette, VP, advertising/producer; Roy Koerner, creative director/art director; Judy Mikalonis, copywriter.
EDITORIAL
PacSat, Sacramento. Bob Murray, editor.
POST
PacSat. Bob Murray, online editor. Varitel, San Francisco. Bob Campbell, colorist.
AUDIO POST
Music Annex, San Francisco. Mary Ellen Perry, engineer/mixer.
THE SPOT
A package of spots present Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino describing various loan programs offered by Firstplus financial and explaining how they can help people improve their lives.
Spots broke in Augu
