Optum Store
Directed by Kevin Bray (HBO’s Insecure, Succession,) here’s one of a new series of spots illustrating what we all go through with our mental “to do” lists. A special shout out to production company Independent Media, who made this shoot first-rate (especially amid Covid protocols.)
Silk Almond Milk
The voice of the almond character is performed by one of the nicest people I’ve ever met in the business – William H. Macy. Shows up to sessions on his own, no “handlers.” and just plain likes to work. He’d pitch us ideas & give us more than we’d hoped for.
Kellogg: Spider-Man
Who wouldn’t love to have the power to disable a nemesis with a flick of the wrist? Kellogg was always willing to let us have some fun. ‘Nuff said.
Invesco: Town square
Directed by Academy Award nominee Mike Mills. We shot several spots with a great cast & crew in Mexico City. Rehearsed choreography for days. It paid off.
Planters Peanuts
Nothing looks more like real stop-motion animation than real stop-motion animation. Models & sets lovingly handcrafted by the artisans at Portland’s House Special, all articulated one frame at a time to capture timeless magic. And, that’s Bill Hader providing the voice of Mr. Peanut. A tip to any producers lucky enough to work with Mr. Hader: no need to book a lot of studio time. He’ll nail it on the first take.
Cheez-It
There’s a reason this campaign is still running more than 10 years later: we got it off to a great start. My biggest contribution was pitching & hiring director Christopher Guest. We let him do his thing, and ended up with enough funny to make double the amount of spots we’d intended.
Invesco: Passion to succeed
How do you make financial products interesting? This was an elegant solution. A great concept from two of the best creatives in the business, Eric Routenberg and Amanda Butts.
Kellogg: Frosted Flakes
Frosted Flakes on The Super Bowl? Yep. Kellogg commissioned this piece to spread the word about funding sports parks for kids around the country. Animation by New York’s Psyop Studios. And, those dulcet tones you hear on the VO are courtesy of Mr. Robert Duvall. A sweet man who gave us as many takes as we needed.
Nexium: You Become Someone Else
Armed with parody lyrics by Craig Shparago, we had a blast filming this in Vancouver with a wonderful ensemble cast.
United HealthCare
United HealthCare asked us to imagine “A Day In Health” in the very near future. First-rate graphics provided by the Culver City team at MPC.