The Colonie’s Ackerman Cuts To The Chase For Kay

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Thu, 04/30/2015 - 12:10 -- Nick Dager

The Colonie's Bob Ackerman recently cut a new spot for Kay Jeweler.When Stern Advertising wanted to create a memorable Mother’s Day spot for Kay Jewelers, they once again partnered up with The Colonie editor, Bob Ackerman. Director, Harry Patramanis, captured the playfulness and tone of the spot. Ackerman then weaved the footage into an endearing storyline that conveys the emotional connections and family moments that make Mother’s Day special.

The :30 commercial, entitled Chase, opens with a seven-year old boy playfully running through a house with his mom in hot pursuit. He races down hallways, hops over a toy and evades her in a hiding spot. The child sees that the coast is clear and takes off again. He evades his mother as he makes his way to the kitchen, where he runs straight into his dad, who scoops him up in his arms.

Mom catches up, smiling at her husband and son as she opens a Kay gift box, revealing the Diamonds in Rhythm necklace. Thrilled with the present, she shows her gratitude, smothering her son with kisses. The spot cuts to a beauty shot of the Diamonds in Rhythm Selection and a Kay Jewelers storefront.  Back in the kitchen we see the mom, who is now wearing the necklace, turn to her husband and thank him with a kiss.  The spot ends on a musical note, with retailer’s signature tag line, Every kiss begins with Kay.

"In the Kay campaign, when you give a gift, you're going to get kissed. And little boys go through a stage where they think kissing is icky. We thought it'd be fun to play there," says Bob Merlotti, creative director at Stern.

“We wanted the opening chase scenes to just be about the boy having fun running through the house as his mother playfully chases him – leaving viewers to wonder why she was wanting to catch him. The ‘chase’ builds anticipation and draws the audience into the storyline as it unfolds,” says Ackerman, who significantly crafted the story in the edit.  "Keeping all the moments as real as possible helped make the spot fun and avoid clichés."  

“All three actors had a very spontaneous, ‘real’ quality and delivered natural performances.’ says Ackerman  “I’ve done a fair amount of acting myself.  Bringing that unique perspective to the editorial process helps me find those special moments in a performance."

The agency also took advantage of the full range of The Colonie’s one-stop approach to postproduction and executive producer Mary Caddy’s skill at guiding projects from editorial through delivery. 

“Complimenting our in-house services and amenities, we maintain strategic partnerships with top-caliber color grading, audio and music companies that enable us to take the reins of every phase postproduction," says Caddy. “That seamless pipeline made working on the Kay Jewelers’ spot an efficient and stress free experience.”

Caddy and her team provided fluid remote workflow with the Cleveland-based agency. They were also able to keep the director in the loop, even though he was in Iceland and Greece shooting another project.

"Coordinating international projects while maintaining seamless workflow is nothing new for us," continues Caddy. "Our editors have cut spots throughout the US, as well as all over the world – from Europe and South America to the Czech Republic. 

“Working with Stern Advertising’s Steve Romanenghi, the agency’s executive vice president/executive creative director, is always a great experience,” adds Ackerman. “He’s a highly skilled industry veteran who appreciates storytelling and is always able to elevate an idea and an edit to its greatest potential.” 

Credits

Client: Sterling Jewelers, Inc.

Product: Kay Jewelers

Spot:  The Chase, (:30 + :15)

Air Date: April 28th – May 10th 2015

Advertising Agency: Stern Advertising

Executive CD/EVP - Steve Romanenghi

Account Manager/EVP: Doug Cohen

Creative Director/Senior VP: Tom Papadimoulis

CD: Bob Felty

CD: Bob Merlotti

Producer: Chastity Soltysiak

Production Company: Company Films / Los Angeles                      

Director - Harry Patramanis

Executive Producers: Robin Benson, Richard Goldstein

Head of Production: Robert Nackman

Producer: John Nguyen

DP: David Lanzenberg 

Editorial Company: The Colonie / Chicago

Editor/Partner - Bob Ackerman (Avid)

Assistant Editor- Graham Chapman

Executive Producer/Partner: Mary Caddy

Visual FX Company: The Colonie /Chicago

Flame Artist: Tom Dernulc (Audio Desk Flame Premium)

Transfer Company: Apache / Los Angeles   

Colorist: Steve Rodriguez  

Audio Post Company: Commercial Sound + Image / Cleveland 

Mixer:  Ed Wolff 

Music Company: Hum Music / Los Angeles

Composer: Jason Miller

The Colonie www.TheColonie.com

 

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