Frontier Airlines and Grey Advertising’s “Talking Animals” campaign arrived at an impressive anniversary in May: a remarkable five years on the air. The Denver-based carrier marked the milestone with two new :30 spots cut at wild(child) post (www.wild(child)post.com), which has served as a constant collaborator on the Clio Award-winning 100+ commercial campaign that is standing the test of time.
Making it Happen:
Both of the latest spots were edited in the suite of wild(child) Avid Editor Neil Miller, drawing off of the trademark humor of their well-known cast of wisecracking animals which includes Jack the Rabbit, Foxy the Fox, Grizwald the Bear, Flip the Dolphin, Larry the Lynx, Sal the Cougar, the Penguins and Hector the Otter. The :30 “The Wanderer” puts a new spin on the hit song of the same name, with the animals belting out their own bouncy rendition that sings the praises of Frontier’s daily schedule of non-stop flights to over 60 cities. In the :30 “Leather Seats”, Jack learns from Larry where the leather in Frontier’s new leather seats comes from, and why that precludes cows from being included in the cast of mascots.
“These are very likable characters – they’re simply entertaining and very funny,” Miller says. “Frontier’s customers are very conscious of the branding that’s come up around this campaign, and they’re very into these characters. We’ve definitely enjoyed a great rapport with Grey over the years, and that really help in developing the characters and scenarios: We can continue to go into greater and greater depth with them.”
Technical Perspective:
Miller is at work with Shawn M. Couzens, VP/Creative for Grey Worldwide, and Gary Ennis, VP/Creative for Grey Worldwide, long before they hit Miller’s Avid suite in wild(child)’s stylishly spacious downtown facility. Before he begins cutting, Miller will attend the often improvisational VO recording sessions for a head start on editorial ideas.
“The editorial is the result of a true collaboration between the agency creatives, the VO talent and myself,” notes Miller. “The dialogue really dictates a lot of what happens onscreen. So my editorial approach is to not get in the way of that and let the jokes play out. In the meantime, I want to use the Frontier airplane footage that I have creatively, so that Grey doesn’t have to reshoot for every campaign.
“It all comes back to my personal approach to editing,” Miller continues, “which is simply to tell a good story and communicate with the audience. The collaborative take we have on this campaign is a good match with the atmosphere of wild(child). We have great camaraderie here, and the large variety of work that we do – commercials, music videos, short form and long form – continually sharpens our chops as editors.”
The latest spots follow award-winning collaborations between Grey and wild(child). Their work together on the 2006 Super Bowl campaign “Send Flip to Mexico” resulted in a Silver Award at the 47th Annual Clio Awards, a 2007 Silver Effie, and other accolades. Miller’s work for that campaign required a subtle mastery of multiple editorial styles, that included cutting for the look of a straight-ahead news conference, “60 Minutes”-style news magazine investigative reporting, and underground documentaries. The recognition continues apace this year, with a 2008 Effie Award, and two nominations for 2008 Regional Emmy Awards in the category of “Best Single Spot”.
With scores of spots under their collective belts, it’s undeniable that wild(child) and Grey have gotten into a rhythm together. “With his experience on the campaign, Neil has become a part of the creative process,” Couzens says. “As soon as we have a script together, Neil starts thinking about what shots will be right for the spot. After that, he’s able to take it further with all the funny stuff that the actors come up with in the recording session.”
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Credits:
Client: Frontier Airlines
Agency: Grey Advertising
VP Creative/Copywriter: Shawn Couzens
VP Creative/Art Director: Gary Ennis
VP Senior Content Producer: Lori Bullock
Edit Company: wild(child) Post
Editor: Neil Miller
Asst. Editor: Andy Giles
Producer: Jennifer Greenfield
Flame Online: Greg Rubin, Martin Lazaro
Visual Effects Company: <a href="www.weareresident.com.>Resident
Audio Post: Bar1
Producer: Joe Barone/Jill Cheris
Mixer: Tim Leitner
About wild(child) post:
wild(child) editorial is a full-service video post production facility in New York City. Founded by Yvette Piñeyro in 1995, wild(child) provides elite editing, graphics, and flame services to the broadcast industry. Its award-winning staff of internationally-culled top talent has been a part of campaigns for Heineken, Ford, Pepsi Co, Capital One, Frontier Airlines, Verizon, Time Warner, etc . Visit them at their spacious headquarters in Chelsea -Manhattan, or at www.wild(child)post.com (www.wild(child)post.com).
About <a href="www.weareresident.com.>Resident:
<a href="www.weareresident.com.>Resident is a globally-influenced visual effects boutique. Based in downtown New York City, its international team of designers creates photorealistic CG, motion graphics, and complete production services to broadcast and multimedia producers. Founded in 2007, <a href="www.weareresident.com.>Resident‘s clients have included Avon, Heineken, Verizon, Pepsi, Febreze, Max Factor, Time Warner, and Vitamin Water. Music Videos include Kanye West, Jay Z, Kenna and Lupe. For more information, please visit www.weareresident.com.
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