Chief creative officer Tommy Henvey and executive producer Patti McConnell launched Brooklyn-based independent creative marketing agency Something Different last year as “an alternative to traditional advertising agencies whose rigid structures can slow the creative process and get in the way of the work,” according to a release. The agency’s approach involves assembling creative, production and media planning teams for specific projects, working with clients on an assignment basis.
This week, Something Different debuted its first work for Charter Communications with a broadcast campaign featuring fictional monsters such as a werewolf, mummy and the Grim Reaper. What does this have to do with a cable company? Well, it takes a while to get around to the brand pivot, but even these monsters have complaints about satellite TV.
You see, while satellite TV might go out during bad weather, death is
“out there rain or shine, harvesting souls.”
The debut spot, directed by O Positive’s David Shane, concludes with the message, “TV that cuts out in the rain is evil. Spectrum is reliable” and the tagline, “Satellite TV bad. Spectrum good.”
“We all just laughed at the idea of these evil people thinking someone else was horrible” Henvey said in a statement, “and it gave us a way to make our point that felt a little more unusual.”
“It was fun to take tropey clichés of 30s and 40s movie monsters and dimensionalize them for the modern world,” explained Shane. “We gave them everyday problems and below the surface emotions to create a sense of long-standing relationships between old friends, co-workers, wives and husbands.”
“This is what we set out to do when we started the company,” added McConnell. “We felt that there was a better, simpler way to make stuff and this campaign showed us that we weren’t actually out of our minds. We can bring in the most talented people, do big campaigns with great directors, and deliver great results. And, have a good time doing it! That’s all we ever wanted.”
Credits:
Credits:
Client: Charter Communications.
Joe Leonard, SVP, Marketing & Creative Strategy
Jim Obermeyer, VP, Marketing & Creative Strategy
Amy Kantrowitz, Sr. Director, Marketing & Creative Strategy Lindsay Hittner, Sr. Manager, Marketing & Creative Strategy
Brand: Spectrum
Agency: Something Different.
Tommy Henvey, Chief Creative
Patti McConnell, Managing Partner/Executive Producer
Richard Ryan, Group Creative Director
Garrett Crabb, Senior Producer
Christine Dodd, Marketing Director
Jamie Eisman, Production Coordinator
Production: O Positive.
David Shane, Director
Ralph Laucella and Marc Grill, Executive Producers
Ken Licata, Producer
Marc Laliberte-Else, Director of Photography
Dan Ouellete, Production Designer.
Edit: Crew Cuts.
Jake Jacobsen, Partner/Editor
Jake Trill, Assistant Editor
Sara Arnold, Producer
Stephanie Norris, Post EFX Producer.
Music: JSM Music
Joel Simon, Chief Creative Officer
Jeff Fiorello, Executive Producer
Joel Simon and Seamus Kilmartin, Composers