TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York has rolled out a large-scale campaign for Kmart that includes a six-spot TV campaign directed by Jake Scott through RSA USA.

"The BlueLight Is Back" campaign heralds the return of the department store chain's BlueLight Specials via Americana-intensive commercials anchored with blue luminescence and a familiar PA voice announcing, "Attention Kmart Shoppers."

"Liberty" has a number of helicopters circling the Statue of Liberty by night, the statue's torch now a bright blue. "Fireflies" follows a motion control camera's POV across the cluttered floor of a child's bedroom to the windowsill, where a number of bright blue fireflies in a jar represent the Kmart aesthetic (Peggy Lee's "Beginning To See the Light" scores the spot). "Beauty Parlor" is set in a salon in middle America where one woman is pleasantly surprised when the circular apparatus fixing color to her hair bathes her head with the now familiar blue glaze.

Creatives Andi Bird and Gail Barlow conceived all aspects of the campaign, which also includes similarly themed posters, outdoor, interactive and in-store elements.

Working from the starting point of a large-scale branding campaign and the reintroduction of the BlueLight Special, the creatives sought out engaging ways of conveying the Kmart message, largely drawn from their own childhood memories of mass consumer excitement at the site of the spinning Blue Light.

Three other spots complete the campaign. "Student Driver" has a fledgling motorist experiencing a jarring driving test; after an uncomfortable pause at a stoplight, the signal turns blue and he hits the gas. "Microwave" shows a man fixing a midnight snack as, unbeknownst to him, his fridge and microwave emit telltale blue light and eventually transform his tired drumstick into a sumptuous feast. "Full Moon" is set in a wilderness canyon on the night of a full moon. With a slow pan, the moon dips behind a rock and emerges a bright blue, casting the brand-intensive color across red rocks.

While the campaign was shot largely in camera, Barlow and Bird note that Method, Santa Monica participated in the job. For example, in "Liberty," Scott shot a glass torch model, which was lit blue and then composited into the scene.

The creatives opted to work with Scott for his artistry with cinematic visuals as well as his understanding of conceptual advertising.

"Although we were using individuals in the spots, there are a wide range of geographical locations and people. The actors were chosen in terms of demographics," says Bird. "We picked out individuals we feel represent the target market, which is basically the whole country."

CREDITS>

Agency: TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York

Executive Creative Directors: Dallas Itzen, Patrick O'Neill

Art Director: Andi Bird

Copywriter: Gail Barlow

Agency Producer: Anthony Garetti

Production Company: RSA USA, Inc.

Director: Jake Scott

Producer: David Mitchell

Editorial: Mad River Post, Santa Monica

Editor: Michael Elliot (NY), Lucas Eskin (LA)