IDEA: Pardon me, are you a brand whose only real equity comes from a campy TV spot made 30 years ago that's been parodied to death in pop culture? Grey Poupon, of course, is exactly that brand. And that 1981 "Pardon Me" ad loomed large over Crispin Porter + Bogusky as it began rebuilding the Kraft Foods brand after 15 moribund years. "That was the first thing everybody was saying. When are you going to do 'Pardon Me'?" said CP+B creative director Robin Fitzgerald. "Of course, that was the first thing we loved about the brand, too." The agency came up with the umbrella idea that Grey Poupon was back to "Spread good taste" in a culture that had grown vulgar in its absence. After an initial Facebook effort (the Web being the biggest culprit of bad taste), agency and client looked to TV. "They asked for a Super Bowl spot," said Fitzgerald. "We figured, the Oscars are their Super Bowl. It's the classiest night." They knew they had to do something with "Pardon Me." But what?
COPYWRITING: The original ad ended on a freeze frame of the Grey Poupon jar being passed from one luxury car to another. The new ad was open ended—they just didn't want it to be a spoof. "We wanted something that lived up to the original spot and could be just as iconic and memorable," said executive creative director Jason Gaboriau. In the end, they chose a remake of sorts, but one that extends the story into a two-minute mini-epic, as the Grey Poupon borrower absconds with the jar—leading to a crazy car chase.
The vehicles turn out to be weaponized: One has a gun that shoots champagne corks; the other dumps caviar slicks in its wake. There are decorative-egg grenades and a golf-club sword fight. Eventually, both cars jump off a ramp and crash into a supermarket, where there's plenty of Grey Poupon for everyone. "It's a little more Matt Helm than James Bond," said Fitzgerald. The dialogue is comically snooty. "The tone has a cheek to it," said creative director Cameron Harris. "It's never too serious. Like when the one guy says, 'Time to pop some bubbly!' "
ART DIRECTION/FILMING: Bryan Buckley shot the ad in four days on location and sets around Los Angeles. "He can handle the bigness of a production, especially with action material," said Harris. Buckley had the idea to crash the cars through the supermarket ceiling—though they had to do it twice, as one car got hung up the first time. He pushed the actors hard, and also bought into CP+B's vision for the look of the piece. Everything is vintage, from the props and costumes ("We raided Jason's wardrobe," Fitzgerald joked) to the degraded film quality—achieved by transferring it to VHS and back. "It's a bold thing to do, to shoot it on expensive cameras and then strip it away," said Harris. "But it makes it warmer. It transports you back."
TALENT: Instead of look-alikes, the agency went with actors who had a dry wit and could handle the physically demanding roles. "I especially like the older guy," Harris said. "He can be serious and dramatic, but it still comes off as funny. That's a subtle thing that's hard to find." One of the actors from the original has a cameo—he's the guy on the golf course who leaps out of the way of the speeding cars.
SOUND: The original music, Boccherini's famous string quintet, returns in the new ad before switching to a dramatic original score by JSM Music. Sound design was crucial in bringing the explosive car chase to life.
MEDIA: A :30 trailer was posted online and aired on the Oscars, pointing to the film at GreyPouponChase.com. Short interviews with the characters are also posted to YouTube.
THE SPOT:
The original 1981 "Pardon Me" spot:
CREDITS
Client: Grey Poupon
Spot: "The Lost Footage"
Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Worldwide Chief Creative Officer: Rob Reilly
Executive Creative Director: Jason Gaboriau
Creative Directors: Robin Fitzgerald, Cameron Harris
Associate Creative Director/Art Director: Mike Kohlbecker
Associate Creative Director/Copywriter: Alexandra Sann
Art Director: Tushar Date
Copywriter: Jamie Toal
Integrated Head of Interactive Production: Ivan Perez-Armendariz
Integrated Head of Video: Chad Hopenwasser
Executive Integrated Producer: Aymi Beltramo
Senior Integrated Producer: Katie Porter
Group Content Director: Kate Frazier
Content Management Supervisor: Laura Likos
Content Supervisor: Spencer Holmes
Content Manager: Eric Alexander
Business Affairs: Rebecca Williams
Production Company: Hungry Man
Director: Bryan Buckley
Executive Producers: Kevin Byrne, Mino Jarjoura, Dan Duffy
Line Producer: Mino Jarjoura
Production Supervisor: Josh Rothfield
Production Designer: David Skinner
Director of Photography: Scott Henriksen
Editorial: Cut & Run
Editor: Jay Nelson
Assistant Editor: Russell August Anderson
Second Assistant Editor: Brooke Rupe
Producer: Christie Price, Carr Schilling
Managing Director: Michelle Burke
Music: JSM Music
Creative Director: Joel Simon
Executive Producer: Joel Simon, Ross Hopman
Composer: Joel Simon, Doug Katsaros, Koki Saito
Mix: Lime Studios
Audio Engineers: Mark Meyuhas, Dave Wagg
Audio Engineers' Assistant: Matt Miller
Executive Producer: Jessica Locke
Sound Design: Machine Head
Sound Designer: Stephen Fletcher Dewey
Executive Producer: Patty Chow Dewey
Visual Effects: The Mill
Executive Producer: Sue Troyan
Producer: Jess Ambrose
Visual Effects Supervisor: Phil Crowe, Kathy Siegel
Visual Effects Creative Director: Phil Crowe
2D Lead Artist: Narbeh Mardirossian
3D Lead Artist: Adam Carroll
3D Artists: Durfor, Mike Maker, Mike Dinocco, Martin Rivera, Blake Sullivan
2D Artists: Gareth Parr, Adam Lambert, Jim HIllin
2D Artist Assistant: Margolit Steiner, Steve Miller, Patrick Munoz
Matte Painting: Andy Wheater, Shannan Burkley
Animation: Iron Claw
Producer: Greg Talmage
Creative Director: Sean Koriakin
Animator: Luis Vega
Telecine: Company 3
Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld