The 2014 NFL season is almost upon us. And while Duracell may have a tough time producing advertising on quite the level of its masterly Derrick Coleman spot from last winter, the pair of ads below—also by Saatchi & Saatchi New York—are neatly linked and should get your blood pumping for another season.
Directed by Christopher Sargent of Anonymous Content, the spots look at the same play from scrimmage in a game between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks—the foes in last year's NFC Championship Game. (Coleman's Seahawks, of course, went on to win the Super Bowl.)
The message isn't revolutionary: Duracell Quantum, the P&G brand's snazzy new battery, powers critical game-day communications for both teams (in devices like coaches' headsets). But the execution is nicely handled, ratcheting up the drama and leading both ads to the same violent, ambiguous conclusion.
For Saatchi, it's a nice beginning to a season that's ending prematurely, as Duracell recently selected Anomaly as its new lead creative agency in the U.S.
CREDITS
Client: Duracell
Spots: "Duracell Quantum Powers The San Francisco 49ers," "Duracell Quantum Powers The Seattle Seahawks"
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Chief Creative Officer: Jay Benjamin
Executive Creative Director: Peter Smith
Creative Directors: Garrett Jones, Billy Jones
Senior Copywriter: Lincoln Boehm
Senior Art Director: Nathan Wigglesworth
VP, Executive Producer: Bruce Andreini
Production Company: Anonymous Content
Director: Christopher Sargent
Executive Producer: Jeff Baron
Producer: Paul Ure
Editorial Company: Whitehouse Post
Editor: Shane Reid
Assistant Editor: Sam Perkins
Senior Producer: Melanie Klein
Executive Producer: Lauren Hertzberg
VFX: The Mill
Executive Producer: Melanie Wickham
Producer: Alex Fitzgerald
Shoot Supervisor: Tony Robins
2D Lead Artist: Danny Morris
3D Lead Artists: Wyatt Savarese, Emily Meger
Colorist: Fergus McCall