Threaded Pictures helped Frito-Lay Rick Roll into the New Year with the one and only Rick Astley in their latest “Snack a Little Smarter” campaign from The Marketing Arm.
The main spot, which pairs Astley’s 80’s hit “Never Gonna Give You Up” with a woman’s healthy New Year’s resolutions, was shot in mid-December by Threaded’s Chad Ostrom and swiftly turned around by sister company Republic Editorial in time for the holidays.
“This was a fun one to finish out the year with,” says Ostrom, who joined Threaded in early fall. “Rick came ready to play, and showed why he was the perfect guy for Frito-Lay’s New Year’s message. The agency brought us a killer script and tasked us to make it a reality. With the complexities of shooting in two countries and a storyline that had to be told quickly, it was great to have an agency partner who trusted us from jump street in order to execute the creative plan.”
“Sometimes you find yourself working on an idea that’s just as silly as the amount of time you have to produce it,” says Mason Viera, Creative Director of the Marketing Arm who spearheaded the project. “Chad, the crew at Threaded and the team at Republic knew almost immediately how we needed to shoot this spot to bring all of the cuts to life in time. Everybody being aligned and on the same page is almost an understatement – everyone just got it.”
The spot was shot over three days – the first two on location in Dallas, and the third with Astley in London, with Ostrom running point virtually for his crew overseas. “It was extremely important for me to make this feel like Rick was there in the room with our hero mom character. Working with Republic’s finishing team and our DP in London, we were meticulous about taking the technical measures to set us up for successfully marrying Rick’s performance with the background plates shot in the US,” Ostrom adds.
“From a story standpoint, it was a lot to pack into a 30 second spot,” states Keith James, Republic and Threaded partner who also cut the spot. “Getting involved with Chad early on – something we always do with turnkey work – really helped knock out the complexities of the cut at full tilt on the back end.”
The turnaround for post was so quick that AdWeek was already teasing the finished project even while dailies were still being downloaded back in Dallas.
“Chad has been an incredible add to our Threaded roster,” notes Brian Hwang, EP at Threaded. “Beyond his strong directing experience across many genres, he has the intangible traits that make him a pleasure to work with – he’s collaborative, has a calming demeanor, respects the entire team who helps make the work possible, and is able to adapt quickly.”
About Threaded Pictures:
Launched in Dallas in early 2019, Threaded Pictures (threaded.pictures ) is a diverse collection of filmmakers with vast experience in all aspects of the advertising pipeline. Through creativity and collaboration, they tell stories with character driven performances, stunning visuals and clever comedy. As the production arm of traditional post-house Republic Editorial (republicedit.com) and design and animation studio Infinite Fiction (infinitefiction.tv), they are able to provide a high-end seamless creative solution for any project.
