Music enhances BoomThrift’s kids vitamins spot

Scene from Flintstones’ spot

Producer Leigh Jones seamless transition from the world of indie films to the world of advertising is demonstrated in her BoomThrift company having completed projects for two major advertisers so far this year.

Breaking the week of March 3 is a digital / social media comedy campaign for Frito-Lay’s new Funyuns onion snacks that follows a Flintstones’ vitamin spot for Energy BBDO.

BoomThrift is comprised of a collaborative of a uniquely qualified group of artists from all facets and genres of transmedia production. 

Consequently, Jones says, “I’m able to pull from a local production talent pool of A-list professionals whom I have worked with over the years, to work on spots.”

Frito Lay’s in-house D Three Dallas agency created and BoomThrift produced the Funyuns series consisting of one five-minute short film and six pre-roll spots. 

Director was Larry Ziegelman, who had the ideal combo of agency creative and indie film experience for the series.

“I was in my element, working with top-notch improv actors and under a tight deadline,” he says.

“Leigh knows how to make things happen. For the amount of work we had to deliver, we only had two ten-hour shoot days. So we definitely had to use an indie approach.”

DP on both assignments was Joe Fitzgerald, currently shooting on “Empire,” “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago PD,” who also has shot reality TV. “He was used to working fast,” Ziegelman says. “If we acted like a normal ad agency production, it would have never happened.”

The Flintstones’ spot, “Let’s do More,”was directed by award-winning filmmaker Justin Hayward and focuses on research that states 90% of children lack the proper nutrition they need from food alone.

To get the message across, Leigh and Hayward recruited a choir of ten kids from the
Merit School of Music
 on the Near West Side to help punctuate the message of how beneficial it is to participate in music and have a healthy lifestyle supported by vitamins.

Senior sound designer/audio mixer Peter Erazmus of Stir Post Audio was on the choral set to consult on how to get the best quality recording and ensure it would work seamlessly for the editor later.  He also handled the final mix.   

“Flintstones” was Jones and Hayward’s second assignment for the agency, following Quaker Oats’ “Learn to Speak Self-ish,” also airing now.

BoomThrift is a collaborative of uniquely qualified group of artists from all facets and genres of transmedia production and is .represented by Julie Vargo & Associates.

D Three credits: Troy Jones, ACD; Chris Hoover, senior AD; producer, Andrea Salinas.

Energy BBDO credits: Jeff Drooger, VP/EP; Hassan Ali, copywriter; Hannah Oates, AD; Elena Robinson, producer.

BoomThrift credits: Leigh Jones, EP and line producer; Funyuns’ editor, Chris Collins, 3008, Dallas; Flintstones’ editor, Tom Pastorelle, The Colonie.

Former Chicagoan Colin Costello is a working screenwriter living in Los Angeles, whose recent work includes the 2013 family comedy “The Stream.”