December 27th, 2006

Commercialization

Being involved with the improv group has given me opportunities I probably wouldn’t have had otherwise. I’ve met people I would never have known, I’ve performed places I never would have been, and I’ve made (a little) money I never would have.

One of the members of the group works at the local TV station. He “produces,” which I’m still not entirely clear on what that means. What I do know, though, is that he also creates commercials for local businesses. He’s used other members of the improv group in some commercials and I always thought it would be neat to be in one.

About a month ago I got an email from him: “Hey, I have an idea for a commercial with a place for you – interested?” I tried to respond in a calm, cool, and collected manner and failed horribly. I think my response was along the lines of, “YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” with maybe a few more exclamation points.

He explained that his idea was a sequel to a commercial he’d made that was already running. In it, a college student has bought a CD player that turns out to be defective – it shoots CDs out of it like rounder, less-pointy throwing stars. The end of the commercial has him getting hit in the face with an ejected CD. The point of it is that… uh, the store sells used books. Or something. I’m not entirely sure. It’s a commercial for University Bookstore, so it had something to do with textbooks. In the sequel, I’d be playing the part of a sleazy shop owner that the student was trying to return the CD player to.

We filmed the commercial at the local TV studio, and it was neat to see behind the scenes. He gave me a quick tour and I saw the set where the newscasters… uh, cast the news. I also saw the control room and the editing rooms and even the extra sportcoats and ties they have available for the anchors.

Our “set” was the storage room upstairs. There wasn’t much room – the camera was set up on the stairs, there was a guy under the table the CD player sat on, and the two of us “actors” in a little area, crouched down so we could fit in the frame. After a few takes, someone came and told us that they could hear us in the studio where they were prepping for the 5:00 newscast. Whoops. We went outside and ran through it a few times and killed some time until they were done, then went back up to the “set” and got it on tape… after 15-or-so takes.

A couple weeks later at improv rehearsal I asked the producer how it went. “Uh…,” he started. “The good news is I brought you a copy!”

The bad news, as it happened, is that the business opted not to use the commercial. He didn’t know why, as they hadn’t given any reason. Since it was a direct sequel to a commercial they had opted to use and it used many of the same elements and addressed the year-end issue of returning textbooks, there was really only one reason they could possibly have had for rejecting it. It had to be because I was in it – I was the only changed variable, so it must have been the reason.

Ah, well. It was a fun experience, and I’m glad I had the opportunity. He’s said he’ll try to get me in something in the future, but I’d guess if he wants to stay in “the biz” he’ll realize his folly and steer clear of me.

I have two options for you to view the commercial if you’d like. First I have a downloadable file (4Mb, requires Quicktime to view). That’s a little higher quality, but the following YouTube video might be more accessible for the average user.

And there you go: an exclusive, never-aired and never-to-be-aired commercial starring yours truly.

10 Comments on “Commercialization”

  1. TheBon says:

    I enjoyed it. Much better than most of the low-budget commercials we see here in Eugene. And it made me laugh.

  2. ZiggyTQuirk says:

    I already glee'd at Muppy via IM. I like to frame by frame the bit with the CD to the face.

    What?

  3. wew says:

    I liked it and I also laughed…
    I am in a video that was made for security purposes at the airport here; however, my part was cut out because I couldn't "act"… HAH

  4. A person says:

    That was really pretty awesome!! I'm glad you got a copy & could share it with your true fan club. :o)

  5. BNick says:

    I don't understand why they'd pass. If they do like you, they should air it. If they don't like you, they should enjoy seeing you get hit in the face.

  6. ZiggyTQuirk says:

    …my word, bnick is RIGHT!

  7. Meags says:

    Hilarious! Loved the maniacal laughing.

  8. Angela says:

    Oh my gosh! That's awesome! And hilarious!

  9. Abe. says:

    Most enjoyable. They're nuts not to use it.

  10. Wahooty says:

    I know why they didn't use it…it's actually funny. University Bookstore frowns on such things in their commercials…

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