Everything is last minute rush! But, a rush none the less.At the wardrobe fitting I asked the advertising agence folks, Motive, what I should avoid blogging about. I expected there to be a tight lid on info until after the commercial airs. But, they seemed relaxed about it. They said not to give details about the story board and the closing tag line. The last bit was surprising to me because the tag line for the new diet dew commercial "Diet tastes better on the Mountain" was circling around for weeks before the commercial came out. Whatever.
The director of the commercial, Vincent Laforet, overheard me talking about it and hustled over to interject "blog about working with me!" At first I didn't know quite how to take this remark. Did he, a pulitzer prize winning photographer, esteem my pitiful blogs so highly that he geniunly wanted the publicity? Or, is he savvy with his SEO and just wants another link to http://www.laforetvisuals.com/? Nah, none of my blogs have a page rank greater than 3, his is a 4. Maybe he felt like my interaction with him would be the only thing worth blogging about? I found out later that not only is he brilliant, but a genuinly nice guy - so I doubt he had any selfish motive behind letting a hobby blogger throw his name around. I am sure I will dedicate a post to him in the future.
Overall, my impression of the commercial shoot was very positive. Everything was organized as well as it could be under the circumstances. I was able to connect with a member of the Mountain Dew brand team, which turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. The advertising agency gave us celebrity like respect, the production company (the Joneses) were curtious even when I was stepping on their toes and asking one too many questions.
9 of us "talent" were flown out there coach class, put up for two nights in the Westin Tabor in Denver, given $150 bucks total for incidentals, $200 for shoot day fees, and three meals. In return, I talked my head off about a subject I love, wore everyday cloths, and just acted like myself.
Much more than the material benifit of going, I felt like for a day I was part of a team. I sincerly connected with my fellow Dew comrades (Jones, Buckman, Maska, Kinch). I would hang out with them any time. I connected with the folks at Motive (Matt, Jon, and the rest) and have come to really respect what they do; I would recommend them to any client. Nate and Loretta from Pepsi, it was SO REFRESHING to talk with you. For the first time I felt like I was being listened to, that I was respected and trusted, that the legal-paranoid-brand-wall was down for a while. What ever doubt about the integrety of the Mtn Dew brand I had is long gone.
I'll never forget the dinner we had together at the end, all laughing and toasting, eating until midnight... the absinthe. Honestly, after dinner I felt better than having just been part of a team... I felt like family.
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