Staff report, The Examiner
2008-01-28 11:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

SAN FRANCISCO -

The Examiner showcases an advertising campaign by a local company.

Agency: Hub Strategy & Communication, San Francisco

Principals: D.J. O’Neil and Joe Oh

Other clients: Sega of America, MacGregor Golf, Konami Digital Entertainment, Lombardi’s Sports, Crackle, Energy 92.7 FM

Creative team: D.J. O’Neil, director; Andy Lilien, DP; D.J. O’Neil, creative director; Peter Judd, art director; Sam Pond, copy writer; Nat Kidder, editor; Ed Bogus, music/sound

The plan: Create a 30-second TV spot that would stand up and be noticed.

The theme: Watch and control your living-room TV anywhere.

The concept: The spot opens in a dentist’s office. The patient is watching a horror movie on his laptop via the Slingbox, a device that lets you watch your home TV over the Internet. The dentist reacts loudly to the movie, laughing and saying things like “Oh, no — this is going to be gruesome” and “Would you look at all that blood!” We then see the reactions of other patients who can only hear his remarks and don’t know he’s talking about a horror movie. A patient in another chair leaves and runs through the waiting room. At the dentist’s final comment — “That’s going to leave a mark!” — the biggest, burliest looking guy in the waiting room slinks out the door in fear.

Sam Pond

Age: 42

Position: Copywriter and founder

Education: Colorado College

D.J. O’Neil

Age: 29

Position: Creative director

Education: University of Colorado

What drove your development of the concept? Aren’t misunderstandings in the dentist’s office funny?

Working on next: Getting some new business. Know anyone?