CHICAGO-Story's Brian Johnson has directed a new campaign for Midwest Airlines and Chicago agency Noble BBDS that shows why the airline occupies a special place in the hearts of travelers. Each spot presents a series of testimonials with passengers in airline seats against a blue background. A woman describes her love for the airline's fresh baked chocolate chip cookies as images of the treats appear in the space behind her. Other passengers express their appreciation for the airline's extra leg room and low fares. The campaign includes four spots, but Johnson designed the testimonials to be modular so that they can be quickly recut into new ads.
Cutters handled editorial for the project, with SOLdesignfx providing visual effects and graphics. Sound design and audio post services were provided by Another Country.
Christopher Gotschall, who edited the spots for Cutters in Chicago, said that Johnson's presence
helped in shaping the spots and in meeting the project's tight deadline. "Brian and I were on the same page and were able to put together the edits very quickly," Gotschall said. "We wanted the performances to be the focus and not to be upstaged by the design work. The key was finding the takes that felt natural and right. Having the opportunity to work with the director one on one made the process incredibly efficient."
The campaign's aim is to elaborate the qualities that have brought Midwest Airlines success in an airline industry beset by rising fuel cost, downward pricing pressures and Wall Street mergers. "Midwest has found a unique niche in the market by delivering premium service at coach prices," noted Noble BBDS Senior V.P./Creative Director Dennis Gillespie. "We wanted to articulate that in different way that moves beyond the airline clichés of planes in the air and smiling passengers."
"It's the little things that Midwest Airlines does that make the difference," added Johnson. "It provides amenities that people remember and makes them feel special." Johnson shot the spots on a special effects stage using an Arriflex D-20 digital camera. The newly-developed camera accommodates common film camera lenses and gave Johnson the flexibility to shoot the way he would using a film camera. "We chose to add a lot of the camera moves in post production," Johnson noted. "That gave us more freedom to use the vignettes in a modular way, while retaining the fluidity and rhythm of the spots."
For Johnson, the key to the campaign is the sincerity of the testimonials. In order to achieve a natural delivery, the director allowed his actors to improvise. "I initially let the actors talk about the airline in their own words," he said.
For additional information re: Cutters, SOLdesignfx, and Another Country contact:
Hesh Rephun
Raging Artists PR
(323) 930-0199
hesh@ragingartists.com
For additional information re: Brian Johnson/Story, contact:
Linda Rosner
Artisans Public Relations
(310) 837-6008
lrosner@artisanspr.com
SPOT CREDITS
Title: "SIMPLY MY STYLE"
Production: Story, Chicago. Brian Johnson, director; Mark Androw and Cliff Grant, executive producers; Suzy du Four, producer; Gary Katz, director of photography.
Agency: Noble BBDS, Chicago. Dennis Gillespie, senior v.p./creative director; Susan Schmidt, creative director; Marc Sherman, copywriter; Paul Brusatori, senior v.p./group account director; Susan Mews, senior account executive; Kimberly Kubiak, producer.
Editorial: Cutters, Chicago. Christopher Gotschall, editor; Jeremy Fenske, assistant editor.
VFX/Graphics: SOLdesignfx, Chicago. Neal Cohen, executive producer; Chris Markos, creative director; Matt Crnich and Todd Whatley, motion graphics designers; Chris Kreynus, VFX compositor/finisher; Danielle Woods, assistant VFX compositor.
Sound Design: Another Country, Chicago
Robert Marshall, sound designer/mixer
Elliott Traeger, assistant sound mixer