Director James Bartolomeo of Protagonist Films teams with Machinery Philly to rebrand classic Philadelphia candy, Peanut Chews, in a quartet of spots that play up the brand’s hometown Philly pride. As it turns out, the spots are pretty darn funny. The campaign is the brainchild of creative directors Ken Cills & Kristian Summerer. They turned to Bartolomeo to direct because of his strength in casting and performance. Bartolomeo is currently unrepresented.
Production took place at the actual Peanut Chews plant in Philadelphia.
Bartolomeo chose to build a set to have greater control over the nuanced visual style. He turned to Erector Sets to build a three-wall room with a greenscreen window that offers a ‘view’ of the plant floor. Wood paneled walls and vintage, minimal set dressing helped create the ‘throwback’ feeling of the campaign.
Casting was done in New York. Bartolomeo shot on two RED One camera systems.
CREDITS
Agency: Machinery Philadelphia
Creative directors: Ken Cills & Kristian Summerer
Production Company: Protagonist Films
Director/DP: James Bartolomeo
Producer: Lynne Hall Quinn
Editor: Billy Wood
About Director/DP James Bartolomeo
Director/DP James Bartolomeo has been directing commercials since 2002. Although his passion is to explore visual storytelling in all genres, the focus in recent years has become comedy. He considers his greatest strengths casting and performance. A Baltimore native, James spent the 90s living in New York and working his way up the camera department chain of command on such movies as Spiderman, Men In Black, and Requiem for a Dream, as well as TV series OZ, The Sopranos, and Homicide.
About Protagonist Films
Protagonist Films is based in Baltimore, MD. Recent commercial clients include Walmart, Century 21, Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews, Casino Arizona, DC Lottery, and Sprout TV. Please contact Jake Smith via email or call 443-438-3266 for more information. See more of our work at www.protagonistfilms.com.