Justin Wilson of Liberal Media Films, Dallas, directed this Sharp’s non-alcoholic brew spec spot in which we see police have stopped a young woman they suspect of DUI and put her through a sobriety test. Shot in the guerilla style of a police/security surveillance camera, we see the woman pass every aspect of the test–adding the flourish of some impressive acrobatics as she does far more than just walk a straight line.
We then hear one of the police officers apologize to the woman for pulling her over and wasting her time–at which point the logo appears for Sharp’s non-alcoholic brew.
Director Wilson also edited the spot, which was based on creative from the team of Clint Carter and Janet Mistretta of agency Johnson & Sekin.
“Sobriety Test” is one of five spec spots that emerged from the “Flex Your Specs” competition sponsored by charlieuniformtango and sister shop Liberal Media Films. “We sent the word out nationally inviting advertising agency creatives to send in scripts for their dream spots–spots that might never make it to production in the real world,” said Lola Lott, charlieuniformtango principal/president.
“Over 280 scripts came in from creatives coast-to-coast. Then, we had the process of gathering a prestigious panel of judges to review all the scripts, and pick the winners that would be produced. That took a good six months. Among the five winners we had two scripts from the East Coast, one from San Francisco, and the other two from Texas.”
The Flex Your Specs script criteria were: Good, solid commercial length creative, must be budget-friendly, and for an actual product. Judges selected five winning scripts from hundreds of submissions. “The script selection process was another six months,” Lott said. “Then came the selection of locations and casting as our LMF directors collaborated with the creatives around the country; charlieuniformtango and Liberal Media Films produced and paid for all five winning scripts. It was a win-win for everyone. Everyone got an amazing spot for their reels, and Liberal Media Films’ breadth of work really increased.”
A screening of the winning spots was held Thursday, March 19, at The Sundown at The Granada in Dallas.
