This spot affirms that GEICO insurance can cover homes, cars, motorcycles, even accordions. You’ve heard of dueling banjos. Well this charmingly offbeat commercial gives us dueling accordions, pitting a squeezebox-playing woman passenger in a car against a male who’s in the sidecar of a motorcycle, playing the instrument to his heart’s content. While the woman ends up victorious, everybody wins with GEICO coverage.
Aptly titled “Accordion,” this spot was directed by Ulf Johansson of Smith and Jones Films for The Martin Agency.
Credits
Client GEICO Agency The Martin Agency Danny Robinson, CEO; Jerry Hoak, chief creative officer; Ashley Marshall, executive creative director; Neel Williams, group creative director; Kim Nguyen, Kate Placentra, creative directors; David Gibson, associate creative director/copywriter; Jennifer Yi, associate creative director/art director; Melissa Wiseman, sr. studio artist; Judd Burnette, design director; Heather Collier, executive producer; Liza Miller, sr. content producer. Production Company Smith and Jones Ulf Johansson, director; Philippa Smith, exec producer; Mark Berg, producer; Andrzej Sekula, DP. Editorial Cut+Run Frank Effron, editor; Ramon de Souza, cutting assist; Brian Mulvey, sr. producer; Amburr Farls, managing partner. VFX Framestore Kamen Markov, VFX creative director; Karch Coon, Jonathan Jobin, VFX supervisors; Eric Rosenfeld, VFX shoot supervisor; Elaina Brilliantes, Noah Catan, Em Hackley, Christopher Halstead, compositing; Amanda Harris, Matt Dobrez, Flame finishing; Antara Ghosh, Nathan Zankich, design; Callum McKeveny, Benjamin Walant, Menelaos Peristeridis, DMP; John Dimare, FS VFX editor; Alexia Paterson, sr. producer; Madison Bullock, production coordinator. Telecine Company 3 Jean-Clement Soret, creative post lead; Matthieu Toullet, sr. colorist; Edwin Elkington, sr. producer. Music Tempest Original Music and Sound Ian Jeffreys, exec producer; Aaron Kotler, Mike MacAllister, executive creative directors; Michael Levey, accordion showdown. Sound Design & Mix Heard City Mike Vitacco, sound designer & mixer; Jackie James, exec producer.
Rappers Khuli Chana, Blxckie and 25K team up with Patriot Films director Sam Coleman, who is repped by Ridley Scott Associates (RSA) stateside, to celebrate the power of inspiration for KFC Streetwise and Ogilvy Johannesburg.
Every groundbreaking artist has a story, a moment of inspiration that drives their next wave of creativity. But this doesn’t happen in isolation--original needs to feed original. “There’s a wealth of creative energy bubbling up in the youth of South Africa,” said Coleman. “Everyone is out to try and make a dent in the creative landscape. Inspiration is everywhere you look and all a creative person needs is that spark to go to the next level.”
This 90-second spot features a stellar cast of South African artists riffing off each other, and while KFC Streetwise has long been a mainstay of the country’s youth culture, an authentic approach was critical. Ogilvy turned to Coleman whose experience includes fashion and street culture.
Notable South African creators who appear in the commercial film include Kind Kid toymaker Sanele Qwabe, “Nail Pimp” Nailed Ntswembu, the Island Gals skaters, fashion designer Ruberto Scholtz, visual director Rowan Sakarombe, custom car pimper Ofentse Mphatsoe and metal band Botswana Metalheads. The transitions from one innovator to another were important considerations for Coleman. He explained, “You’re really talking about a ripple effect and how one idea sparks another, so I wanted to create seamless uninterrupted progressions that would evoke that feeling of inspiration and flow.”
KFC’s chief marketing officer Grant Macpherson said, “From a brand perspective, I want to work with directors who have a strong, passionate point of view – someone who brings bold... Read More
