In this spot for Verizon FIOS directed by Henry-Alex Rubin of Smuggler for McCann NY, Gaten Matarazzo (Stranger Things) is camping with friends in a backyard on Halloween night–with all the conveniences of the Internet as they are streaming shows. A neighbor approaches and asks them about their streaming devices. Matarazzo explains the benefits of running all of their tech on FIOS.
This prompts the neighbor to spin a scary, hearkening back to the pre-fiber optics dark age when bandwidth was limited, crawling at zombie speed. Videos and gaming would just stop–dead. This unconventional ghost story scares Matarazzo and his buddies who have only known Internet as its 100 percent fiber optic best via FIOS.
Credits
Client Verizon FIOS Agency McCann NY Thomas Murphy, Sean Bryan, co-chief creative officers; Dan Donovan, Mat Bisher, EVPs/executive creative directors; Sherrod Melvin, SVP, group creative director; Jason Marsen, Alexei Beltrone, creative directors; Nic Wehmeyer, Josh Kessler, associate creative directors; Mark Forsman, art director; Vinny Garbellano, copywriter; Eva Pipa, Lauren Bauder, integrated producers; Michele Ferone, SVP, director Verizon broadcast production; Nathy Aviram, head of production; Dan Cohn, group strategy director; Anthony Perez, strategy director. Production Smuggler Henry-Alex Rubin, director; Drew Santarsiero, exec producer; Leah Allina, producer. Editorial NO6 Jason MacDonald, Ryan Bukowski, editors; Malia Rose, producer; Laura Molinaro, sr. producer; Corina Dennison, exec producer. Audio Post Sonic Union Paul Weiss, mixer. Music JSM Music Joel Simon, chief creative officer/composer; Brian Englishman, Nathan Kil, composers; Jeff Fiorello, exec producer; Norm Felker, producer. Talent DDCD & Partners Susan Cole, Hannah Kwon, Haley Barber, Elba Espinal
Rappers Khuli Chana, Blxckie and 25K team up with Patriot Films director Sam Coleman, who is repped by Ridley Scott Associates (RSA) stateside, to celebrate the power of inspiration for KFC Streetwise and Ogilvy Johannesburg.
Every groundbreaking artist has a story, a moment of inspiration that drives their next wave of creativity. But this doesn’t happen in isolation--original needs to feed original. “There’s a wealth of creative energy bubbling up in the youth of South Africa,” said Coleman. “Everyone is out to try and make a dent in the creative landscape. Inspiration is everywhere you look and all a creative person needs is that spark to go to the next level.”
This 90-second spot features a stellar cast of South African artists riffing off each other, and while KFC Streetwise has long been a mainstay of the country’s youth culture, an authentic approach was critical. Ogilvy turned to Coleman whose experience includes fashion and street culture.
Notable South African creators who appear in the commercial film include Kind Kid toymaker Sanele Qwabe, “Nail Pimp” Nailed Ntswembu, the Island Gals skaters, fashion designer Ruberto Scholtz, visual director Rowan Sakarombe, custom car pimper Ofentse Mphatsoe and metal band Botswana Metalheads. The transitions from one innovator to another were important considerations for Coleman. He explained, “You’re really talking about a ripple effect and how one idea sparks another, so I wanted to create seamless uninterrupted progressions that would evoke that feeling of inspiration and flow.”
KFC’s chief marketing officer Grant Macpherson said, “From a brand perspective, I want to work with directors who have a strong, passionate point of view – someone who brings bold... Read More
