Se7en Sunday Films Looks to Take Indonesian TVCs to a New Level
Its provocative "Friends" PSA is a way to make the global ad industry take notice of what's happening on the creative scene in Jakarta.
Se7en Sunday Films Looks to Take Indonesian Advertising to a New Level
Its provocative "Friends" PSA is a way to make the global ad industry take notice of what's happening on the creative scene in Jakarta.
By Anthony Vagnoni
A controversial public service ad broke recently in Indonesia that immediately got people talking. In the spot, a young man and his girlfriend arrive at a home where they’re greeted by a surprise party for the man. Drinks are hoisted, cake and candles appear, a good time is had by all. Interspersed are shots of the birthday boy being hugged warmly by his best friend, who’s throwing the party. More drinks are shared. Finally, the evening over, the man and his girlfriend get in their car to go home. Before they can leave, however, their host stops by to bid a final farewell, then pulls out a pistol and shoots them both in the head.
The message behind the spot, of course, is that if you let your friends drive drunk, you’re responsible if something happens to them—but in this instance, the story is told with all the impact of a gunshot.
The spot, titled “Friends,” has been featured on advertising web sites and blogs around the world. It’s the work of the Jakarta agency Advantage Advertising, and was produced by a young Indonesian production company, Se7en Sunday Films, that’s purposefully hoping the spot not only draws attention to its work, but to Indonesian advertising in general.
Se7en Sunday’s was co-founded by Executive Producer Rodney L. Vincent in 2009. A native of Malaysia who’s been living in Indonesia since he was 23, his career path has been eclectic—he studied advertising in college, and worked both as a writer and a publisher in the trade press, co-owning a magazine that covered the ad biz. The publication, Adoi Magazine, sponsored its own ad competition, which Vincent says enlisted some of the top Asian and global talents to evaluate Indonesian work. “Neil French, David Droga, Piyush Pandey, they were all judges,” he recalls.
After four years running the pub, Vincent realized it was time to move on, and the production world beckoned. He moved to the production side and spent four years as the Chief Operating Officer of the Malaysian production house Passion Pictures. But then, he says, “I needed to find my wings, so I took the big leap and jumped off the mountain.” He teamed with partner and fellow Executive Producer Ajeng Istiadi to open Se7en Sunday Films, which also includes in its brain trust EP Rachel Srisumarsih and a new addition to the team, Erwin Villanueva.
What’s behind the name? Vincent pauses, and I can see him smile over the grainy Skype connection. “Well, mate, it means we’re trying to tell our clients that because they’re working with us, every day can be Sunday!” he says. “They can sit back and relax, the production will go smoothly, because we’re doing all the work and doing it well!”
And work they do. Since opening, Se7en Sunday’s has produced work for a range of brands, including the Indonesian cigarette brand Gudang Garam, Sugar Group’s Gulaku brand of cane sugar and a variety of Unilever brands such as Ponds, Lux and Clear. They’ve worked for agencies both local and international, such as the Indonesian offices of Lowe, JWT and Ogilvy, and their work reflects world-class production values and craft, featuring everything from breathtaking cinematography to high-end visual effects.
Among this work, the “Friends” PSA is one of Vincent’s favorites. The concept came from Advantage Advertising, one of Se7en Sunday’s regular agency clients.
“When Rajesh brought me the script, I just clicked with it immediately,” Vincent says, referring to Rajesh Menon, Partner and Executive Creative Director of Advantage. The production company was so committed to the project, that they put their own money into funding the execution. “A lot of times, when an agency comes up with a great idea that doesn’t have the funds, a production company will just shoot it with the hope of getting more paying projects in the future,” he adds. “In this case, we felt we needed to put extra attention into this project than we might ordinarily, since we believe it’s a great opportunity for us to create a name for ourselves in the international production market. We believe the story behind this spot is a great example of what makes our brand special.”
Menon explains that the idea for “Friends” came about because Indonesia does not have particularly strict rules on traffic safety. With the booming economy and more nightlife, Jakarta is seeing an accompanying rise in the number of auto accidents. The agency wanted to attack the problem, and got a local cable channel to provide them with free air time for the spot. Next came the script.
“We had this idea of shifting the onus of responsibility for drunken driving onto the friends of the driver,” Menon says. “After all, if you let your friend drink and drive, and he has an accident, that's pretty much akin to killing him yourself, right?”
Menon’s agency produces a lot of its TVC work with Se7en Sunday, he explains, “because they're one of the more dedicated and professional production houses in Indonesia. And besides, Rodney is one of those guys who sometimes sees an idea for its creative worth and runs with it, even if there's hardly any budget to speak of, as in this case.”
Vincent brought in a top team to work on the spot, Menon says with appreciation. “They roped in Jon Gwyther, who’s one of those super-passionate, perfectionist directors who’s just this side of crazy, so he was perfect for the job,” he notes. “It was posted at G1, one of the top post-production houses in Jakarta, and the music and sound design was done by Yaya Mando at Little Audio. It was a really great team.”
The approach Vincent took with “Friends” reflects how he likes to structure everything Se7en Sunday’s does. “We have creative producers on board who are focused not only on production but on the creative aspect of each job, that’s how we add value to the process,” he says. “We’re passionate about this, and we feel that’s what sets us apart from other production houses that just execute jobs.”
They’ve tapped directorial talent from all over the world, adds Vincent, people such as Mark Toia, who’s from Australia, and Jon Gwyther, who’s from the UK. (Toia is with Zoom Film & TV in Brisbane, while Gwyther is freelance.)) Toia shot Se7en Sunday’s Gudang Garam spots titled “Black Box” and “Fair Play,” and “Crunchbox,’’ all big productions with major production values that would play well anywhere, while Gwyther also shot a spot for Vincent titled “Spirits” that features ghost-like versions of men chasing after a beautiful woman.
Vincent says the directorial talent they work with, like everyone else at Se7en Sunday’s, are chosen not just for their taste and skill but for their character and personality, too. It’s about creating the right vibe for the company, one marked by the desire to add value and to respect clients. “Having the right people on board helps us bridge cultural gaps, which is important as we do more work for agencies abroad,” he offers. “It also helps us keep a really high energy level around the office.”
The choosing of partners based on qualities like ethics and morals isn’t works both ways for Se7en Sunday. What struck Toia most about working with Vincent and his team was their honesty. “It’s first and foremost for me when I deal with companies overseas, and I think Rodney feels that way as well,” he says. “Since I'm a freelance director and work all over the world, forming honest relationships is important. Rodney, Ajeng and Rachel from have proven their honesty to me and shown me their passion and enthusiasm with every project we work on. I need a production company that’s as creative asI am, so we fit well together. I only do the bigger projects with them, so they know I come in with big guns blazing and I take no prisoners when it comes to production. So far, so good.”
Se7ven Sunday’s is starting to shoot for agencies outside Indonesia, which is the next step in its evolution, Vincent believes. This work is of international quality and puts them on a par with production company peers in other countries, he adds, which is important, because the creative product from most Indonesian agencies, while improving, still has some catching up to do.
“In a nutshell, no Indonesian agency has ever won a medal for film production in any major international awards show,” Vincent states. “Not in Cannes, not at D&AD, not at the London International Festival, nowhere. We still have a ways to go to compete with agencies in Singapore, Thailand or India. It’s my dream to see us as a community rise on that international platform and make a name for ourselves.” He notes that the country’s ad community is seeing an influx of talent, from the types of directors, first ADs and DPs working on spots there to the creative work coming out of its agencies. “We have to take advantage of this influx of big ideas and capitalize on them.”
Another area where Vincent feels Indonesia is poised for a higher profile is in the area of production service, which is something he’s looking to do more of at Seven Sunday. “We have lots of great locations here, from pristine beaches to dense jungles,” he proclaims. “No one is selling these resources to the global production industry, and we need to.”
Vincent sees a future where a locally based production community has reached the level of talent in everything from crews to gear to facilities that it can produce work as good as anyone’s. “We have so much talent here, but a small pool of skilled talent,” he says. “We’re working to surround ourselves here with top tier people, as that helps make the local talent stronger. On top of that, we want to get people trained, and get more top level production under our belt. “We really want to see Indonesian talent rise, so that we can give back to this wonderful country that has so blessed us.”
What’s the outlook for Se7en Sunday? Toia feels the company, after some ‘teething pains,’ is poised to compete on the global stage. He notes that they’re quick studies, and have benefited from the experience of the international talent they’ve been working with. “They have a great production team in house now, which is capable of producing anything,” he observes. “They’ve adopted some great production techniques from working with people like myself, and have developed their own systems as well.
“One thing that Rodney and his team are good at is growing and bettering themselves after each project,” Toia continues. “Even though they’re a new company, they pack a punch like seasoned pros. I'm proud of them all, and love working with them.
Vincent says a lot of the credit goes to his partners, as well as to the contributions made by Richard Kwan, the studio’s Finance Director and business consultant. “Even though I kind of function as the CEO, Seven Sunday’s would not be what it is today without Ajeng, Rachel and Richard, and that’s a fact,” says Vincent.
Says Advantage Advertising’s Rajesh Menon, “Rodney and his entire crew are really driven people. I've known Rodney for near on ten years, and the guy is like that Energizer bunny -- he just keeps going and going! Together they’ve built up Se7en Sunday from nothing to one of the better production houses in Indonesia within a couple of years, and I personally think they’re not going to be satisfied with just being one of the best in Asia. Watch out, world!”
Published Aug. 30, 2010
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