Writing, Producing, Directing, that pretty much sums up how I make a living, though I rarely receive the opportunity to wear all three hats on the same job. I was lucky to receive just such an opportunity recently from Sunrise Advertising and their client Cincinnati Regional Tourism Network. (Full disclosure: I teamed with Sunrise’s Tim Hogan on the writing duties.) The spot above is one of a campaign of four commercials and my personal favorite of the bunch. The creative team at Sunrise, lead by CD John Young and the aforementioned Mr. Hogan, developed the campaign around an enthusiastic spokesperson. Someone who reminds you of your cool aunt who knows all the best attractions in her city and cannot wait to show them off. I like this spot because I think we get to see a little more of the characters quirky personality.
We shot all the commercials in a single, very windy spring day and experienced some monumental sound challenges at Great American Ballpark. The Reds were busy prepping for opening day and had all hands on deck scrubbing, hosing, raking and generally making enough noise to bring a sound man to tears. In between the pressure washers and the jack hammers we were able to squeeze in the copy. Barely… hey, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.