The two-spot Abbott Labs campaign mixed by Digital Arts Rex Recker is an exercise in audio precision and elegance. The spots use specific visual metaphors: a room of mirrors from which the actor and a malevolent virus move about cautiously; and an elaborate waterfall that comes to a near standstill so the details of each droplet can be examined, to highlight the company’s crucial medical advances.
“In the ‘Infinity Room’ spot, the sound effect the virus makes as it floats around the room was a major creative concern,” Recker says, “especially when the actor grabs the virus and crushes it in his hands. That simple bit of sound deign took a while to come up with and everyone agree upon.”
SPW Credits
Client: Abbott Labs Project: “Infinity Room” (:30/:15) Divisional Vice President, Regional Marketing Strategy: Vivek Mohan, Divisional Vice President, Global Brand Strategy and Innovation: Chris Miller, Senior Director, Marketing: Mark Procop, Divisional Vice President, Strategic Marketing Operations: Sean McKenzie Advertising Agency: Purple Strategy Alexandria, VA Creative Director: Chris Julcher, Creative Director: Matthew Feloni Production Agency: Rogue Producer, New York, NY Founder, Executive Producer: Rob Farber Production Company: Mirada, Marina del Rey, CA Director: Mathew Cullen Editorial Company: PS 260, New York Alex Hagon: Editor Color Correct: Co3, New York Colorist: Sofie Borup Music: Sonixphere, Chicago, IL Creative Director: Greg Allen, Composer: Tony Effers, Sound Design: David van Slyke Audio Post/Sound Design: Digital Arts, New York Engineer/Sound Design: Rex Recker
Commercial production company Explore and director Jeremy Pinckert went to a familiar well to pull inspiration for their latest production for Go RVing. "Hotel Hassle" was initially conceived as an audio-only campaign, but Go RVing's SVP/CMO Karen Redfern asked Explore to adapt the script into a new, live-action commercial. The adaptation from audio ads to digital commercial spots involved adding re-written lines and a few iconic scenes from Pinckert’s ideas that provided anchor moments for the ads. In particular, 'Hotel Hassle' features a room key that just won’t open the door. The visual he added (a round sensor on the door where the key unlocks) not only modernized the ad into the age of tap, but also gave the spot a technology vs. human undertone, invoking the AI-character Hal from Stanley Kubrick’s '2001 A Space Odyssey.'
Explore and Pinckert also added a visual hook to the ending of the spot that leaned on his own experiences traveling with his family. He found his hands were always full, clutching a few bags, random loose objects, his phone, and of course, his coffee. In the commercial, there is a moment where all of the frustrations are just too much for the protagonist and he almost curses in front of the family. What if the director added an action where the protagonist accidentally spills their coffee and the camera freezes precisely at this moment?
"Hotel Hassle", part of Go RVing's larger Don't Go There! campaign, is currently being broadcast nationwide via strategic digital channels.
