THE WORK

Beyond Comedy Legas Delaney has taken the idea of telecommuting a step further for Beyond.com, an online software seller. Meet Reed Woodson, or as we like to call him, Nekkid Guy. He calmly talks about how corporate life just wasn't for him and how much easier it is to work from home -- all the while being very unclothed, much to his neighbor's and the delivery guy's quiet dismay. In a second spot, we see how downloading software has enriched the life of the inhabitants of the Inner Peace Spirituality Center. Louis is learning about gourmet cooking; unfortunately his request to serve something more than brown rice is met with disapproving stares. And then there's Ivy, who downloaded some financial software. She says, "My tech fund just scored. I am sooo outta here!" CLIENT Beyond.com AGENCY Legas Delaney, San Francisco CDS Harry Cocciolo & Sean Ehringer AD Steve Mapp CW Matt Rivitz PRODUCERS Adrienne Cummins, Legas Delaney; Gary Rose & Leah Fleischmann, Moxie Pictures DIRECTOR Christopher Guest, Moxie Pictures EDITOR Kim Bica, Filmcore Closer to Heaven "If you need to get your head and spirit together, a chapel is better than a bar or phone booth." So says Dan Sutton, an account planner at Merkley Newman Harty/Atlanta, about flying. Sutton felt so strongly about this that the agency decided to do a pro bono campaign for the Hartsfield International Airport chapel. Another ad asks, "Just passing through? Aren't we all?" CLIENT interfaith chapel AGENCY merkley newman harty/Atlanta CD/ADS Rick Rabe & Chris Schlegel CWS Jay Wallace & John Spear The Fruits of Deutsch's Labor In a new Snapple spot, we meet a company spokesman who takes us on a tour of Snapple headquarters -- a warm, loving environment for young fruits. We see them playing games and learning skills. Snapple knows how easy it is for young fruits "to start mixing with bad elements and hanging out with preservatives." CLIENT Snapple AGENCY Deutsch/New york ECD Kathy Delaney CD/AD Craig Markus CD/CW Cheryl Van Ooyen PRODUCER Susan Curbow DIRECTOR Joe Public, HeadQuarters EDITOR Richard Gordon, Mad River Post Ajax Cleans Up In a fabulous homage to 1970s blaxploitation films, director John O'Hagan and FCB/San Francisco serve up three promos for MTV. According to copywriter Jim DiPiazza, his Shaft-like hero, Ajax,"loves the ladies and likes to kick ass." And he does plenty of both, but he's also a man on a mission -- he's out to save the world from bad music videos. In "Suburb," Ajax gets a call from a distraught mom whose son has fallen under the spell of the hated fare. Ajax climbs into his Caddy and drives out to the New Jersey suburbs, accompanied by heavy bass and wah-wah theme music (created by San Francisco soul band Kofy Brown). He punches a guy walking down the street just for the hell of it, then bursts into the house. Mom stands by helpless as the kid is transfixed by a video of a wimpy, whiney new-wave type. "That's a damn shame," Ajax growls before whipping out his gun and shooting the TV. To get the '70s feel, O'Hagan shot the spots in 16mm. CLIENT MTV AGENCY FCB/San Francisco CD Brian Bacino AD John Davis CW Jim DiPIazza PRODUCERs Steve neely & kate Lee DIRECTOR John O'Hagan, Hungry Man EDITOR David Levin, Hungry Man MUSIC Kofy Brown A Fresh Approach Grocery stores are not generally known for smashing creative, so this campaign from The Richards Group for San Antonio-based H-E-B grocers really hits the spot. One commercial features a kid in a bee suit playing the accordion. Some classmates in the audience had planned to toss rotten tomatoes at the bee boy, but unfortunately the little prankster in charge went to H-E-B. The tomatoes are so fresh and beautiful the bullies can't bring themselves to throw them. "Kinda makes me want a salad," one explains. CLIENT H-E-B AGENCY The Richards Group, DallAS CD Doug Rucker CD/AD Patrick Murray CD/CW Bill Cochran PRODUCER Carol Leftwich DIRECTOR David Wild, Wild Scientific EDITOR Lisa Brietenwisher MUSIC Elias Gap Grooves Continuing the song-and-dance frenzy started by the "Khaki's Swing" spot of last year, the Gap has released three new production numbers for its Khaki collection. In true Gap fashion, each spot is shot by a music video director, as we hear Dwight Yoakam cover Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" for "Khaki Country" and Bill Withers' "Lovely Day" in the beautifully silver-toned "Khaki Soul." In "Khaki A-Go-Go," shot in one take, a multitude of cultures do the jerk, the pony and the frug to the '60s-inspired tune called "Wild Elephants." CLIENT Gap AGENCY In-house CD Lisa Prisco AD Carl Byrd CW PRODUCERS Leigh Donaldson & Susannah Nukes DIRECTORS Mike Mills, Directors Bureau (A-Go-Go) Hype Williams, HSI (Mars Media) (Soul) & McG, A Band Apart (Country) EDITORS Area 52 (A-Go-Go), Dustin Robertson, 525 Post (Soul) & Chris Hafner, Brass Knuckles (Country) Coming Up For Air Great photography is not a new tool in automotive advertising. But in the new print campaign for Saab, via Lowe & Partners Worldwide and Saab's U.S. shop, The Martin Agency, the pictures are particularly striking. Nine executions pit a Saab against some form of competition, but the car never vies with another car. In "Saab vs. oxygen bars," the copy disses trendy air with a twist. Instead, why not "lower the top on the turbocharged Saab 9-3 Convertible?" And in "Saab vs. the candy bar," "Chocolate melts. Sodas get warm. Reasons like these are why the Saab 9-5's glove compartment is refrigerated." But does it make ice? CLIENT Saab AGENCY Lowe & Partners Worldwide & the martin agency/richmond CDS Kerry Feuerman, Jari Ullakko & Rob Schapiro AD Mark Wenneker CWs Jeff Ross & Rob Schapiro PRODUCER Jenny Schoenherr PhotographER nicholas pavloff Geeks to the Rescue An agency called Circusfreaks and a client called Geek Squad collaborated on a wry local poster and direct-mail campaign in '50s comic book style. The Geek Squad is a round-the-clock computer support task force that apparently manages to maintain a sense of humor about its nerve-racking mission. CLIENT Geek Squad AGENCY Circusfreaks, Minneapolis AD Paul Stechschulte CW Brian E. Thompson ILLUSTRATORS Peter Krause & Rocco Basile Now You Really Got Me In what looks like the sequel to TBWA/Chiat/Day's award-winning "Toys" spot, two dolls in a red sports car race around to a blasting guitar riff. (The composer was in Sammy Hagar's band.) But as "Mr. Sexy," (that's what the vanity plate reads) starts to turn a corner, his tire is blown out. In shock, he looks up at a green army man with a bazooka, who growls, "Damn yuppies," and blows the car and the dolls to bits. The product is 3DO's PlayStation game Army Men 3D. These are the same wicked people who blew up a Snuggles-like bear for BattleTanx (see What's The Big Idea in the March Creativity). CLIENT 3DO AGENCY In House CD/EDITOR/DIRECTOR of COMPUTER GRAPHICS Baron Sarto, Compass Rose Media CD/CW Joey Jodar, 3D0 Cw/DIRECTOR Jeff Buchanan, Freelance EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Steve Weisser, Compass Rose COMPOSER Robert Berry, Sound Tech Studios SOUND DESIGNER Will Littlejohn, Wave Group Sound Getaway Goofs GSD&M does a twist on the classic Spinal Tap "Hello, Cleveland" scene in a funny new spot for Southwest airlines. Open on a raging concert; fans are screaming and grasping for the lead singer who offers a hearty "Thank you, Detroit, we love you!" The crowd falls silent. Guitarist leans in: "Detroit was last night." The voiceover asks, "Wanna get away?" You see, Southwest has tickets starting at $39. In another spot, two bored female office workers are combing the personals. "Eyes of a puppy dog, lips made for sin," they read and decide to call. The phone rings in the next cube. Looks like poor Lewis is ready for that fun fare. CLIENT Southwest Airlines AGENCY GSD&M, Austin CD Brian Brooker ADS Juan Perez (Mr. Right) & Gene Brenek (Concert) CW mike woolf PRODUCERS Peggy Moore, GSD&M; Jon Kamen & Robert Fernandez, @radical.media DIRECTORS Rick LeMoine & Steve Miller, @radical.media EDITOR Jack Waldrip, Charlie Uniform Tango MUSIC Sacred Noise Drivin' 'em Crazy Learning to drive is stressful enough, but Dweck Advertising and Top Driver Driving School show you just how bad it can get with "those other driving schools." Filmed hidden camera-style, we see some situations that the Better Business Bureaus generally don't approve of. In one spot, the instructor is talking to his student: "Could you pop the trunk? I need you to help me with something." Cut to the two of them struggling to drop what is obviously a body into a dumpster. And in "Coffee," a surly instructor who spills his java proceeds to repeatedly slam his student's head into the steering wheel. We are assured that this would never happen at Top Driver. "Our instructors know: no coffee." CLIENT Top Driver AGENCY Dweck, New York CD Michael Dweck ADS/CWS Michael Dweck, Carol Holsinger & Stephen Pearson PRODUCER John Towse, Hungry man DIRECTOR Bennett Miller, Hungry Man EDITOR Jen Brooks MUSIC/SOUND matt hauser, Big Foote Music Smells Like Teen Spirit Product demo ads are rarely good. It's even more rare for them to be funny. But this ad for Bonfire sports apparel is both. Apparently Bonfire jackets are odor-proof, and to illustrate that we meet The Sniffer. "I like smells," he proclaims eerily, and proceeds to sniff various objects in his room, including shoes and underwear. He then holds up a Bonfire jacket that he found. "It doesn't smell. Trust me, I've checked," he assures us, before proclaiming, "I don't like it. I should make some toast." CLIENT Bonfire AGENCY Bonfire Direct, Portland, Ore. CD/AD/CW Brad Steward, Freelance AD/CW Art Haynie, Freelance PRODUCER Trevor Cornish, Freelance DIRECTORS Art Haynie & Brad Steward, Big Monkey Films EDITOR Bill Weinman, Propeller POST Alex Brody, Base 2 & Gino Panaro, Digital Magic AUDIO Zac Fisher, Pop Sound MUSIC/SOUND DESIGN Andrew Hagen, Schtung America A New Spin on Lawn Care The kiss of death for a good spot is often the client's insistence on having the product name mentioned over and over again. But in "The Professor," for Lawn Boy mowers, that kind of verbal carpet bombing has been nicely turned on its head. A classic professor type tells us how easy mowing the lawn can be. To demonstrate, he uses a blackboard with a piece of lawn affixed to it. Flipping the board over reveals a boy glued to the surface. Repeating this a few times, the professor says "lawn" and "boy" until he does it fast enough to achieve a smooth, "Lawn Boy." When he asks if there are any questions, the dizzy kid inquires, "Why are there two of you?" CLIENT Lawn Boy AGENCY Campbell Mithun Esty, Minneapolis ECD George Halvorson CD/CW Bill Johnson AD Luis Flores PRODUCER John Borchardt DIRECTORS Tom Schiller, 5 Union Square, & Richard Sears, HKM EDITOR Chan Hatcher, Cosmo Street Publish or Parrish By 1925, a reproduction of a work by Maxfield Parrish could be found in about one in four American households. He was loved for his wood nymphs and diaphanously-clothed damsels, but an upcoming book, 'Maxfield Parrish 1870-1966,' shows how wide the artist's range really was. Parrish illustrated covers for magazines like Harper's Bazaar, Scribners and Life, and he also did advertising work, including this ad for No-To-Bac, a precursor to the patch. An exhibition at various galleries and museums will accompany the release of the book. AUTHOR Sylvia Yount PUBLISHER Harry N. Abrams PUBLICATION DATE June 1999 Pages 160; 81 plates in full color PRICE $39.95 Hoop Dreams, Dashed A beautiful sunset and a silhouette of a young basketball player making his jump -- the stuff of Nike ads? Not when your player is "Timmy," and he just plain sucks. Timmy talks trash about his prowess on the court as we watch him miss shot after shot, while the voiceover informs us that most college scholarships are not related to athletic ability. CLIENT American Council on Education AGENCY Leo Burnett/Chicago CD Paul Meyer ACD/AD Willie Cannon ACD/CW Hunt Baldwin EXEC PRODUCERS Michael Farayko, Leo Burnett; Vincent Arcaro, dark light pictures DIRECTOR Mark Figliulo, dark light

THE WORK

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