Raising the Humor Bar

Raising the Humor Bar

David Jellison has always loved filmmaking.  He knew he wanted to be a part of the business after watching the now-classic film “Bladerunner” while pulling an all-nighter on his rock band’s tour bus.  The movie was so riveting, according to Jellison, that right then and there he decided he would someday be part of the commercial business.

First, Jellison worked for a storyboard artist, then did time as a production assistant on numerous music video shoots.  In just a few short years the director found himself a home directing spots out of TWC.

We caught up with Jellison via telephone last week.

Just finished shooting a Dell spot for RTCRM featuring business people racing down a track, trying to leap over hurdles built from large office machines. Some aren’t successful, and mayhem ensues – it’s like The Office meets Survivor.  Ultimately, the Hero is literally snatched from the race by his collar, lifted over a 12-foot wall of machinery courtesy of the “Hand of Dell” - flown across the city, and returned to the relative safety of his office. I suspect Dwight Schrute will be training with Chuck Norris to pull off this move next season.  I also just finished two funny spots for Barbecues Galore out of Y&R/Irvine that garnered some national attention.

Satirical storytelling is what I really enjoy, with irony, humor, and realistic smartass behavior added for flavor.  Overall, I believe the humor bar has been raised in the past few years by a number of smart, funny people.  

In the advertising world, I am a big fan of the Snickers work out of Chiat; Tony Granger’s inventive approach to the JC Penney’s brand when he was at Saatchi; Fallon’s Holiday Inn spots; and Droga 5’s Steinlager campaign, as well as the Ecko spot that caused widespread aneurysms throughout the Pentagon.  I enjoy pretty much everything that comes out of the Crispin shop, their viral work in particular, and Wieden & Kennedy never disappoint with the ESPN spots. Dark economic times tend to produce more biting, satirical, ironic, and reality-based spots that viewers can identify with.  So, based on the hilarity of gas prices, the sub-prime loan debacle, and the spiraling numbers on Wall Street, we can expect to see more of the same in humor land.

Advertising is a team sport, from the birth of the concept to the completion of the spot, communication is the key. On the first creative call with the agency I drill down into the core of their idea and have them tell me in detail what their vision of the spot is, the creative goals, and how this ad fits into the big picture of the brand and it’s overall strategy.

I then take this information and blend in my thoughts on how to create a funny, memorable spot or campaign that will really give the brand a powerful comedic and visual stamp in the media marketplace.  The competition for the consumer eyeball is fierce, and we all need to work very hard to grab the attention of the TIVO trigger-happy viewer.

Once the spot is awarded, casting is my next critical focus, and this is the category I really lean on. Finding the perfect people to deliver the comedic message is the most important element of any commercial.

As the process evolves, I collaborate with the creatives on all elements of the spot, from set design to shirt choices, but the real payoff comes during call backs when we see the spot come to life.

For me, this is an opportunity to find out how the dialogue is working, and during this process the comedy really evolves as we adjust the script and line reads based on the dynamics of the scene.

On set, I prefer that the creatives hang out at my monitor, so we can make quick decisions and improvements to the spot, trading lines, and ideas as we shoot. My production company, TWC, provides all of the support I could ask for, and my production crew has been with me for years, which is a tremendous creative asset.  I am also fortunate to have worked with a number of extremely talented cinematographers and production designers, and depending on the requirements of the shoot, I select those whose skills I feel will best fit the design of the commercial.

I can’t really judge my own spots, but personally I enjoy the darker side of the humor world. As a result, I enjoyed shooting Snickers November 1st, BBQ’s Galore Pig and Chicken, and Carvel Fridge.  The first rule of comedy still applies today: people getting hurt is funny as long as that person isn’t you.

If you could do a spot for anyone, anywhere on the planet, what would that campaign be?

That would have to be “The Burger King Takes A Vacation” spot in Fiji, featuring the US Olympic Women’s Gymnastic Team.  I hear they are hilarious.

Comedic tastes, visual language, and technology are constantly evolving in the advertising world, so my personal philosophy is that you are only as good as your last spot.  For creative inspiration, I devour as much new media as I can from all disciplines; film, television, internet, print, as well architecture, fashion, photography, theater and fine art.  Fortunately I travel extensively for work and pleasure, and as a result absorb influences from a wide variety of artists and environments. For the future, my aspirations are straightforward: work on projects with funny, talented, passionate people.  Whether it is film, commercials, or the internet, it is really who you collaborate with that will make the project great.