Campaigns: Tool visits Colonial Williamsburg; Boots No. 7 stays perfect; Virgin says amen to "Paygoism"
Dougal Wilson shifts the background for Boots; Come to Williamsburg: Learn how to lead a revolution in your apartment building; Sing (badly) for your mobile plan
- by: BOARDS EDITORIAL
- March 29, 2005
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"WE MUST DEFEND OUR RIGHTS! WHO'S WITH ME?">What if you were so geeked out on 18th Century American Colonial history that you envisioned yourself in a neck kerchief, breeches and stockings and started speaking like a Williamsburg publican while manhandling the washing machine in your apartment building? "This is no landlord. This is a tyrant," you say while losing another quarter in the coin-operated machine. Chances are your neighbors would alert the authorities or at the very least consider investing in a stacked washer/dryer. But it's the clever angle of "Burgess", one of the spots in a campaign directed by Tool of North America's Sean Ehringer for Arnold Worldwide. Given the competition for our entertainment dollar, getting people out to visit Colonial Williamsburg is as easy as batting .400 using a broom handle, but this campaign succeeds in spinning history, which usually smells of mothballs, into something more contemporary. It also fits in comfortably with the wave of comedic spots built around an ensemble of characters in familiar environments (like Burger King and Sierra Mist). View the spots:
Militia
Governor
Burgess
www.toolofna.com
www.arnoldworldwide.com
THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR WALKING> "Stay Perfect", the second spot in the new Boots No.7 campaign, follows "Full Impact", which showed the bullet time shockwave effects of a sexy girl who bats her No. 7 false eyelashes in public. A big part of the original's charm was the underscoring of "Hushaby Mountain", the entrancing lullaby from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang sung by Dick Van Dyke (covered recently by Stacey Kent). Playing to the same strengths, director Dougal Wilson of London's Blink opted for a scratchy, orchestral version of "On The Good Ship Lollipop" (usually sung by Shirley Temple) to sync with a series of complicated and well-choreographed set moves in "Stay Perfect". Achieved through a combination of rear-projected footage and backdrops on wheels, a girl "moves" through a clever series of locations including a car, train, restaurant and bicycle. The rhythm and design are well-conceived and there's a pleasant blend of nostalgia (the music and tinting of some footage) and energy (the girl in red), which ensures that the eye doesn't wander and the imagery isn't graphically stylized like most beauty ads. Agency: Mother, UK. View the spot: Stay Perfect
www.blinkprods.com
www.motherlondon.com
DEAR KABBALAH, YOUR TIME IS ALMOST UP> The latest pair of spots from Virgin Mobile will strike a nerve with anybody who has ever involuntarily done time at a coffee house or an open mic night. Designed to promote Virgin's pay-as-you-go packages, the spots center around a sprightly young singer-songwriter who extolls the virtues of her newfound beliefs ("Paygoism") over top of some of the most wonderfully overwrought acoustisms this side of A Mighty Wind. Directed by Bob Industries' Blue Source, both "Subway" and "Highway" take aim at street performers, made-up religions, bad poets, and women who dress like rejects from German stage performances of Lord Of The Rings. We approve. View the spots:
Subway
Highway
www.fallon.com
www.bobcentral.com
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