This is tasty. In a fun new spot for Land O’Frost’s Bistro Favorites and Chicago agency Merge, STORY director Ky Dickens shows that, when it comes to sandwiches, beauty is in the eye of the maker. In this case, makers.
Featuring a good-looking, flirty couple prepping sandwiches in a split screen, each applies special touches and ingredients to produce a personal masterpiece. She likes tomato. He likes coleslaw. They both love the sandwich.
“We wanted to inject a flirtatious feel between these two very different people making very different sandwiches,” explains Dickens. “So, we looked for moments where it made sense to break the wall between them. It took a good amount of prep work to marry their two worlds.” Watch below:
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Behind The Scenes
Dickens is best known for her highly acclaimed documentary work and her endless list of questions. She received the Focus Award for Achievement in Directing from Women in Film and the Ford Foundation FV@W Change Maker Award for influencing social change through art and film, which she accepted in Washington DC.
Her 2019 film, The City that Sold America is about Chicago’s crucial, yet often-overlooked, place in American consumer culture.
According to the filmmaker, the creative had to be tightly choreographed to allow the banter between the two actors to flow smoothly. It also required clever art direction to ensure the two kitchen sets aligned.
“Food and performance go together quite well,” Dickens says. “In this case, I wanted both the performances and the food to feel authentic. Instead of having food stylists design the sandwiches to the nth degree, we taught the talent how to do it. We gave them general instructions and then told them, ‘You’re on your own.’ It was great fun and the results are more natural.”
The STORY spot succeeds as it has a ton of fun with the split screen, witty banter and of course the dude knocking a tomato from his frame into hers.
That ‘ol rolling tomato trick. And that’s why it’s our REEL AD OF THE WEEK.
CREDITS:
CLIENT: Land O’Frost
AGENCY: Merge
- Brent Fagerburg, Creative Director
- Kevin Sheehan, Creative Director
- Jessica Burkart, Sr. Art Director
- Alissa Tulacro, Sr. Copywriter
- Toby Smalley, EVP Client Services
- Jason Sommerville, Assistant Account Executive
- Jami Gettings, VP Production Leader
PRODUCTION COMPANY: STORY
- Ky Dickens, Director
- Cliff Grant, Executive Producer
- Mark Androw, Executive Producer
Colin Costello is the West Coast Editor of Reel 360. Contact him at colin@reel360.com or follow him on Twitter at @colinthewriter1
