New York-based Station Films hit the jackpot when it came up the winner in the three-way bid among exclusively coastal companies for the Illinois Lottery’s two-spot Second Chance comedy package that will shoot in Chicago for two days in mid-June.
Energy BBDO, the agency for the Lottery’s $104 million business, also bid L.A.-based Tool of North America and Hungry Man of New York.
Chicago was the Flyover Zone in this bidding round. No Chicago spot house was invited by the agency to present a bid, although Energy BBDO’s creative department did ask to see reels from local houses. Those who sent reels in said their follow-through calls were not returned.
According to sources, the job is being run through the Illinois corporation of a small Chicago production company to give it the appearance that the spots are an Illinois production.
Ironically, one Chicago production house that was ignored in the bidding process was asked to put the job through its Illinois corporate entity. The company declined.
Station Film’s Harold Einstein will be in Chicago June 15-16 to shoot the commercials. He is an award-winning former agency creative at Energy BBDO, Wieden + Kennedy, DDB and Goodby-Silverstein during his agency career.
He joined Hungry Man in 2007 and stayed with the group that broke away to form Station Films a year-and-a-half ago.
While at Hungry Man, Einstein, acclaimed for his comedy work, was cited by Shoot and Boards as one of the best up-and-coming directors. His first commercial for Hungry Man won a Cannes Lion.
