CoMPANY Films Director Paul Fox helps OnStar highlight their new Guardian smartphone app in a new four spot campaign for agency Campbell Ewald – Detroit. OnStar Guardian is an offshoot of the popular subscription-based OnStar safety and navigation system installed in numerous General Motors (GM) vehicles.
SPW Credits
Client: OnStar
Laura Thornton Head of Marketing, General Motors Digital Business Team Rachel Mattey, Marketing Manager OnStar Global Marketing Ian Sherman, Acquisition and Brand Marketing Sara Dixon, Marketing Lead Casey Campbell, Assistant Marketing Manager, OnStar Global Marketing
Agency: Campbell Ewald – Detroit. Clarence Bradley and Slimo Bonomi, Chief Creative Officers Jim Millis, Group Creative Director Jessica Bush and Megan Anton, Creative Directors Steve Leslie, Executive Producer
Production: CoMPANY Films, Beverly Hills, Ca Paul Fox, Director Richard Goldstein and Ron Cicero, Executive Producers Christien Tuttle, Head of Production Rebecca Brown, Producer
Editorial: Woodward Originals, Detroit Adrianna Merlucci, Editor Eric McCasline, Executive Producer Carly Atto, Post Producer
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.