Our prayers have been answered. The best play of the season has arrived on Broadway. “Hand to God” And it was good.
The Broadway Play, “Hand to God” centers on shy, inquisitive student Jason, who finds an outlet for his burgeoning creativity at the Christian Puppet Ministry in the devoutly religious, relatively quiet small town of Cypress, Texas. Jason’s complicated relationships with the town pastor, the school bully, the girl next door and—most especially—his mother are thrown into further upheaval when Jason’s hand puppet, Tyrone, takes on a shocking and dangerously irreverent personality all its own. “Hand to God” explores the startlingly fragile nature of faith, morality and the ties that bind us.
SPW Credits
Client: Hand To God, LLC; "Hand To God" On Broadway
Title: Post Opening
Agency: AKA NYC. Elizabeth Furze and Scott Moore, Managing Partners; Bashan Aquart, Executive Creative Director; Melissa Marano, Account Manager; Jenna Bissonnette, Client Service Representative; Jamaal Parham, Content Director; Lauren Guenther Copywriter.
Production: AKA NYC. Roman Micevic Director/Motion Designer/Editor; Adam Coffia, Content Executive Producer; Joan Marcus, Photographer.
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.
