In a time before face masks and sanitizer shortages, Conde Nast approached director Zack Seckler with an exciting opportunity: create eight State Farm spots to run on digital channels for Conde Nast titles like GQ, Vanity Fair, Vogue and across State Farm’s social media. Conde Nast wanted a partner that could not only direct the spots but also lead all production and creative.
But then came the pandemic and the best laid plans fell by the wayside–locations, shoot days, scripts. Seckler shared, “From March through July we climbed a seemingly endless mountain of production hurdles capped with our pre-pro interrupted by a tornado. It seems disasters have an affinity for insurance commercials (the irony!).
“As pre-production progressed we followed strict safety guidelines built on recommendations from AICP. This required that I as the director, creative director and executive producer needed to do everything remotely. Casting remotely, scouting remotely, rehearsing with actors remotely…everything remotely.”
Seckler continued that the crew assembled was intentionally kept “super small–think skeleton crew on a diet. It turned out that directing from 2,000 miles away was surprisingly smooth. Through a latticework of Zoom calls, Skype feeds, FaceTime calls and specialized walkie talkies I was able to see the camera feed in real time and maintain separate lines of communication with the agency, cast and crew. My voice was virtually projected to the actors and my face was streamed to an iPad that was carried around set like a scene out of Black Mirror.”
The biggest directorial challenge, assessed Seckler, was “blocking socially-distanced dialogue scenes. Creating enough space between our actors to follow safety guidelines while maintaining the perception of normal talking distance. We solved this both practically and in post. In the end I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish, especially given the circumstances. Many thanks to a wonderful cast, crew, agency and client."
This ScreenWork spot from the campaign is titled “Everyone’s Unique,” giving us a humorous take on how State Farm embraces what’s distinctive about each customer.
CreditsClient State Farm Agency Conde Nast Agency The Marketing Arm Production Zack Seckler, director, executive producer, creative director. Editorial Mike Feldman, editor. Audio Post Josh Heilbronner, mixer.
Top Spot of the Week: Samsung, BBH Singapore, Director Rhys Thomas Get Fit For A Surf Holiday
Samsung’s new global campaign from BBH Singapore, featuring Samsung Health and Galaxy AI, tells the story of a young professional couple who compete to get fit for a surf holiday.
Titled “A Samsung Health Story: Racing to Fiji,” this film taps into Gen Z’s wellness dilemma and the fact that they can often find health information overwhelming; in particular, BBH Singapore took inspiration from young people who reference their “quarter life crisis” on social media. This film tells the story of Stacey and Steve who decide to go surfing in Fiji, something they did five years ago but haven’t done since they started their jobs. However, there’s one problem: they need to get fitter first.
Featuring a range of Galaxy products powered by Galaxy AI, they rebuild their fitness to prepare for the trip, competing playfully to spur each other on. We see them comparing their Energy Scores (a new feature on the Samsung Health app), recording their runs and swims on their Samsung Galaxy Watches, trying and failing to get fit at work and on their commutes and striving to improve in the run up to the trip. When they get there, however, there’s a fun twist, and the film ends on a cliffhanger.
The ad is expected to be the first in a series, which will develop the characters and their “world” in future episodes. This longform (two-and-a-half-minute) version of the spot delves deeper into the storytelling, in a fresh approach for Samsung’s product campaigns, while the shorter edits focus on driving exposure to specific features.
BBH Singapore also leaned into the entertainment aspect of the spot; it was directed by comedic specialist Rhys Thomas at Stink Films, who has a major TV background. Best known for his work on Saturday Night... Read More