Eli Green of A Common Thread has directed a new campaign for RaceTrac with Austin agency R/GA that rewrites the playbook for convenience store advertising in a very funny way. The series of :30, :15 and :06 second spots star actor Leland L. Jones as a tough-as-nails coach who teaches consumers how to win in RaceTrac’s new Wintastic Rewards program.
SPW Credits
Agency: R/GA, Austin. urray Wyse, Group Creative Director; TJ Walthall, Creative Director; Megan Mills, Account Director; Laura Walters, Senior Content Producer; Shannon Flood, Senior Producer; Miles Gilbert, Senior Art Director; Devin Brown, Senior Copywriter; Kate Rush Sheehy, Group Director, Strategy; Kate Gunning, Associate Strategy Director; Calli Howard, Manager, Business Affairs; Andrea Solomon, Strategist.
Production: A Common Thread. Eli Green, Director; J.P. McMahon, Executive Producer; Kimberly Estrada, Line Producer; Phil Dillon, Director of Photography.
Post: TBD Post. Kate Eads, Producer; Catie Cacci, Editor; Brandon Thomas, Colorist; Dusty Albertz, Sound Mixer; Dennis Valk, VFX/Online.
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.