Aussie director Mark Molloy shoots ‘Shoulders of Giants’ spot for Nissan via TBWA\Chiat\Day LA
You don’t see many commercials where brands namecheck their rivals but that is exactly what viewers see in Mark Molloy’s captivating new spot for Nissan ‘Shoulders Of Giants’ via TBWA\Chiat\Day\LA.
A wonderfully directed piece told from the perspective of children idolising parents, firefighters, astronauts and athletes, representing the idea of Nissan honouring their more established foes, saying ‘To those who go before us, Chevy, Ford, Dodge. Thank You, We see the way forward.”
The 90 second commercial is out of TBWA\Chiat\Day, Los Angeles, and was produced through Smuggler. Beautifully photographed by director-of-photography, Chayse Irvin, (Samsung ‘Every Day is Day One’, Qantas ‘Feels Like Home’). Molloy has a unique way of creating work that effects people, his instincts as a director and storyteller so effectively pull on emotions, feelings and memories, that he ignites peoples imaginations.
Client: Nissan
Agency: TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles
Creative Directors: Liz Levy, Jason Locey
Creatives: Scott Reedy (CW), Chase Madrid (AD)
Agency Producer: Carrie Schaer
Director: Mark Molloy
Production Company: Smuggler
Executive Producer: Shannon Jones
Line Producer: Donald Taylor
DOP: Chayse Irvin
Editor: Stewaer Reeves @ RPS
Grade: Mark Gethin @ MPC VFX: A52
13 Comments
Cracking tagline. Not sure about the rest.
Only slightly better than than the recent Qantas wallpaper, only slightly.
do not attempt….a laugh out loud moment
Saved by DOP yet again…there is no story telling yet again…just like the last feels like home garbage…compare the orginal feels like home spots to the latest ones.
You guys do know that 95% of the time the director doesn’t come up with the concept or write the script. It’s a vignette ad, by nature not much storytelling can really come of it. Lazy writing by the agency in my opinion. The shots look good though.
Are the previous comments from people in advertising?
This spot highlights a brand openly acknowledging the quality of its competitors’ products historically, and praising their good work as the very basis for the contemporary excellence of its own . . . that’s a pretty innovative and downright clever turn of strategy and copy.
It’s also written economically and executed, as Malloy always does, with striking visuals, a strong visual narrative of like motion and emotion across the cyclical series of vignettes, and a real economy of visual language.
So exactly what more do these commenters want?
Seriously, you have to have some knowledge, some education, some experience, and some ability, even some taste in your chosen field of endeavor to be able to competently critique your colleagues, especially your betters.
Sadly the anonymous user experience of social media has eliminated those qualifications from the list of prerequisites for comment, and we’re all forced to experience the results . . . individuals without portfolio judging those whose work they are unprepared and completely unfit to make comment upon.
The state of things, and the general coarsening as well as the dumbing down in public discourse.
More’s the pity.
Hi Carl I agree.
What a client and beautifully directed.
What Carl said.
Sorry ‘Carl’, you’re wrong. This is simply American shmultz. Of course the pictures are nicely shot. That’s the price of entry. The rest is cliche and wallpaper.
Agree also. The spot is really well directed and anyone who can’t see that, or think the absence of a strong idea in the script comes down to the director have no idea what the hell they’re talking about and have probably never made anything half decent in their entire life.
Love it. Resonates with me as well.
Stupid but genuine question – do Australian directors oversee the edits in the US or is it left to the creative teams / in-house editor dude?
How exactly does that work, and how do you end up with Tom Kuntz / awesome stuff if it’s overseen in-house?
Does that mean the Art Directors / Writers are essentially mini directors assistants in that regard?
Mup – in the US they oversee it initially until presenting, either in person or remotely working with the editor through the offline stage. Then the editor who is an editor in his own right usually working for a post house and not in-house at an agency presents, then does back and forth with the agency / client from there. Overall, the editor becomes the directors voice through this process. For the cut to come out unscathed from what follows is a near bloody miracle without a director involved, so when good work is done out of the US it makes that work even better in my opinion as it is a much tougher place to get good stuff through.