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July 2003

RING OF FIRE LAUNCHES INTO THE SUMMER WITH WITTY SPOTS FOR WHISKAS

Digital effects and design studio Ring of Fire kicks off the summer with a campaign for Whiskas. The company also contributed to the Rob Reiner-directed romantic comedy Alex & Emma, which premiered on Friday, June 20th.

For the Whiskas campaign, ad agency TBWA\Chiat\Day commissioned Ring of Fire to create two visually striking spots which feature cats in their so-called natural habitat: the grassy ranges of Africa. The spots "Buffalo" and "Zebra" present a comical twist as house cats are placed in the wild and feature the tagline "What Cats Want." "Buffalo" opens on an orange-and-white cat that peeks out from behind a rock at a herd of water buffalo. Tribal music enhances the suspense as the feline makes eye contact with one of the buffaloes. While the cat dashes across an open space to hide behind another rock, a mother buffalo and her calf watch wearily; a bell jingles from the cat's collar. The orange-and-white predator stealthily moves through the green grass towards the herd. A buffalo halts in fear when it sees the cat. The cat meows in attack, the buffalo cries out and the chase begins. "Your cat has an inner beast," states the voiceover. "Feed it." The high-energy spot concludes with a product shot of Whiskas cat food on a rock as the cat peeks out from behind. "Whiskas. Made to satisfy a cat's natural instincts." The second spot "Zebra" follows the same premise with a black-and-white cat that preys on a zebra in the wild.

According to Ring of Fire Creative Director Jerry Spivack, the main challenge was to match the stock footage shots to create a feeling of uniformity in terms of time and place. Some stock shots came from different stock houses so matching the quality of these shots together to be as one was also challenging. Along with the stock footage researchers, the agency, Ring of Fire and Bikini Edit also participated in the search for the right footage.

"The collaborative process on this project was amazing," comments Spivack. "The client, agency, production, stock footage research and post all had to be on board from the very early stages to make it work since the job had to be edited before Noam shot anything. The stock footage really drove these jobs. Noam was an integral part of trying to figure out the choreography of the cats based on the story he wanted to tell, and in the end, we all worked together to digitally create an event on film that has the look of some amazing wildlife documentary."

3 FINGERED LOUIE EDITOR WENDY ROSEN NEVER STOPS WORKING IN WITTY CAMPAIGN FOR VERIZON WIRELESS

3 Fingered Louie Editor Wendy Rosen was recently commissioned by ad agency GlobalHue and client Verizon Wireless for a new campaign. Featuring the familiar "Can you hear me now? Good!" Test Man, the clever campaign includes "Remix," which targets the African-American market, and "Pit Stop" for the Hispanic market. The two spots highlight the services provided by the nation's leading provider of wireless communications.

The first spot "Remix" opens with the Verizon Wireless Test Man in an African-American neighborhood where he delivers his celebrated phrase, "Can you hear me now? Good!" in rhythm to the upbeat music. As he walks along the sidewalk and tests the network, an African-American woman and her friends sit on the steps in front of an apartment building. "Verizon Wireless has the largest, most reliable nationwide network," states the voiceover. "You can count on us to do what it takes to make sure your voice is heard." The young woman sings in the background, "Yes, I can hear you" in response to the Verizon Wireless man's query. "It's good to be heard," concludes the voiceover. The hip commercial ends with the tagline, "Verizon Wireless. We never stop working for you."

"Pit Stop," the Spanish language spot, features the Verizon Wireless Test Man as he walks outdoors, checking the reliability of the network. "Me escuchas?" he asks into the phone. "Bien!" he responds, content that his voice is being heard. He tests the network along a dusty stretch of road and subsequently, onto a sidewalk where he is exhausted and sweaty. His watch alarm beeps and he sighs in relief as a van screeches to a halt in front of him. A pit crew leaps out of the van and tends to the Verizon Wireless Test Man -- unzipping his jacket, giving him a chair and umbrella, taking off his glasses, feeding him water, changing his shoes and the battery on his cell phone. After being freshened up, he's ready to go again. The Spanish language spot ends with the Verizon Wireless tagline: "Nunca paramos de trabajar para ti."

THE SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES GO KABOOM WITH DIRECTOR DOUG WERBY

kaboom productions director doug werby recently completed a humorous spot for popular soccer team the San Jose Earthquakes. The commercial opens on an elderly man quietly reading "The History of Salt" and enjoying some nighttime peace and quiet. Suddenly, there is a thump on the wall behind his headboard, followed by another. The banging from the apartment next door continues with greater strength and rapidity, much to the horror of the pajama-clad gentleman. As thuds and grunts rise to a frenzy, the spot cuts to the apartment next door where we see some late night antics of an unexpected kind: two world-class soccer players heading the ball back and forth against the apartment wall. "Need more action?" the voiceover queries. "Think Soccer."

"The moment I read the concept for this spot I knew I wanted to shoot it," says director werby. "Two things appealed to me about this project right away: One was the opportunity to work with professional athletes on a humor-based spot. The other was the wonderful simplicity of the concept. It was also a pleasure to work with pro soccer players Landon Donovan and Jeff Agoos -- two star players that led last year's U.S. team in World Cup Soccer play."

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