In her latest spot for AARP, Betty White shows how easy it is to distinguish members of the organization from people who haven’t joined—the latter act a lot like zombies. The spot, which was written and directed by Sam Auster of Burbank-based Auster Productions, advises such folk to sign up and “get a life.”
In the spot, which debuts today on the web, White, who just turned 90, pokes fun at people who haven’t joined AARP comparing them to “zombies.” She close encounters with one “zombie” in a yoga class, and elbows two more out of the way while strolling through a park. “You’d have to be brain dead not to join,” she says. White delivers an enrollment package to a “zombie” neighbor, which causes him to magically transform into a smiling hunk. White’s signature deadpan? “Now, that’s what I call drop-dead gorgeous.”
Auster, a commercial and feature film director, came up with the idea for the spot while working directly with AARP. This is the third AARP ad to feature White but the first produced without the involvement of an advertising agency. The director says that the commercial’s gruesomely absurdist humor is meant to grab the attention of people over 50.
“We hope the spot goes viral,” asserts Auster. “Our target audience doesn’t make the the most active use of social media and so we felt we needed to do something a little more out-there and provocative to get them to pass it onto their friends.”
Auster shot the spot in a one-day production that was a marvel of efficiency. All of the set ups, which included a yoga classroom, a park and a front porch, were shot at the same suburban Los Angeles home. In fact, all of White’s scenes were shot in a single morning session. That allowed Auster to spend the afternoon shooting a series of short vignettes with the actress that will appear on the AARP website.
Auster came through the experience amazed by the Emmy-winning actress’s stamina. “It is a fairly-action packed spot and I wondered if she could handle it,” he recalls, “but when I said ‘action,’ it was like she dropped 50 years. She never forgot a line or missed her mark; Betty blew me away.”
It’s unusual for an advertiser of the stature of AARP to work without an agency, but Auster believes it could become the new normal . “Every client is under budget pressure. We can combine the creative functions of agency AND production company and save them significant dollars” he says. “That’s a powerful motivator, especially, if Clients can do so without sacrificing creativity or production value.”
Credits
Client: AARP. Barry Spencer, director of on-line marketing; Wade Osborne, director of brand management.
Production/Creative: Auster Productions. Sam Auster, director; Sam Auster and Hugh Wright, writers; Marol Butcher, producer; Lance Catania, director of photography.
Post: Magic Hair Studios. Chris Monte, editor.
About Auster Productions
Auster Productions was founded in 1997 by director/cameraman Sam Auster. The company has produced national campaigns for clients such as AARP, ABC-TV, Burger King, FreeCreditReport.com, ProtectMyID.com and many others. Auster Productions recently entered into a strategic partnership with editor Chris Monte, who edited Zombies and all of Auster’s high profile spots, and Monte’s Magic Hair Studios to provide complete post services from creative editing to color correction, sound design and audio finishing. www.austerproductions.com
