If you were watching Saturday Night Live recently (Jon Hamm of the Emmy-winning Mad Men hosted), you’ll recall that after the opening monologue, the show cut to what at first seemed to be an SNL short that had a mild-mannered businessman being challenged to a freestyle rap battle by a group of guys on a New York City street corner. To their surprise (not to mention ours), he shows them up, launching into a rhyme sprinkled with references to strategic plans and PowerPoint presentations before he concludes, “I betcha y’all wonder why my rhyme is so tight. I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.”
It really wasn’t until the mention of Holiday Inn Express that anyone–well, at least this reporter–would have known that this was a commercial and not one of those funny films that SNL typically runs immediately after the opening monologue.
“I heard that from several people who thought it was a Saturday Night Live skit, which we take as a huge compliment,” said Al Kelly, executive creative director of Fallon Minneapolis, the agency that created the :60 commercial, which is titled “Rapper” and was directed by Simon McQuoid of bicoastal Go Film.
By the way, “Rapper” was originally intended as a web-only spot before graduating to cinemas and then a prime slot on SNL.
Word is that “Rapper” had been slated to run later in the show but was upped to a more prominent position because skits had to be dropped to accommodate the absence of cast member Amy Poehler, who gave birth that day.
“Rapper” is part of a three-spot campaign (McQuoid directed all of the new commercials), a continuation of the 10-year-old Stay Smart-themed effort that finds people able to do all sorts of amazing things after staying at a Holiday Inn Express.
In the 30-second “Baby,” a newborn cuts its own umbilical cord right out of the womb.
When the stunned doctor looks at the baby’s parents for an explanation, the father utters, “Well, we did stay at a Holiday Inn Express–“
“–about nine months ago,” the mother adds.
Meanwhile, in the :30 “Fainting,” a fan is overwhelmed by the sight of his idol Cal Ripken while standing in line at a book signing and passes out. A doctor also waiting to get an autograph from the baseball star, who makes a cameo in the spot, steps forward to provide assistance, but a security guard turns him away, shouting out, “Did anybody stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?”
The goal with all of the commercials is to update the Stay Smart campaign theme–billed as being the longest-running campaign in the hotel industry–and make it feel younger and more current, Kelly explained.
Having worked with McQuoid previously, Kelly said he knew the director had “the perfect combination of great film and performance” to make the new Stay Smart spots impactful.
Speaking specifically of “Rapper,” McQuoid recalled reading the script and feeling confident that the commercial would easily come together if the right actor could be cast in the lead role.
Casting Sale However, casting the part was anything but easy. Hundreds of performers auditioned before actor Jonathan Sale, whose credits include Law & Order, nailed it.
“He wasn’t someone that was acting the part, he was the part,” McQuoid related, “and he was extraordinary.”
That said, Sale’s appearance had to be altered to fit the role because he looked “too cool” in McQuoid’s estimation. So the director put a fat suit on the actor to give him a soft and pudgy shape, parted his hair on the side and outfitted him in typical office attire, including a tie and “those hilariously awful shiny patent leather shoes with the toggle on the front.”
The director sought to make Sale look not like a caricature but rather unremarkable, “like the guys you see on the train or pass on the street that you don’t really bat an eye at.”
McQuoid also chose an ordinary location, shooting “Rapper” in Manhattan’s Lower East Side on the corner of Eldridge and Allen outside of a deli, relying on the bright glow generated by the lights under the deli’s awning to isolate Sale in the darkness.
“He would nail it every time,” McQuoid said of Sale’s performance. “It was completely effortless.”
Rhyme time Once the shoot wrapped, Erin Virgin of Fallon’s in-house editorial facility The Assembly Line got to work cutting “Rapper.”
“We had a lot of material, so we had to make some pretty tough choices as to what to leave in and what to cut out,” Kelly said, noting that the original rhyme was actually more than a minute long.
“But it is always a better situation to have too much and have to make those choices than to be in a situation where you don’t have enough,” observed the editor.
It should be noted that Fallon copywriter/art director Roberto Lastra penned the lyrics that Sale delivered, Kelly pointed out.
“He’s not a rapper at all. English is his second language, and he really worked hard on that rap, and it shows,” Kelly praised, noting, “When you read the comments the spot has gotten on YouTube [where it has garnered more than 400,000 views], rappers really respect the writing of the rap, and they’re surprised to hear than an ad guy wrote it.”
