Pinnacle Foods
Corporation awarded its Hungry-Man TV creative account
to a small agency,
LaunchPad Media, based in Watertown, Massachusetts.
LauchPad Media’s first commercial production had a
half-million dollar budget. On location in Houston,
the three night shoot took a month of prep, a
30-person crew, and the take-over of a chain grocery
store for one night, which meant the art director and
PA’s had to dress it in short order. The shoot used
two 35mm cameras, a cherry picker, wetting down the
parking lot for outdoor shots, trailers for the
talent, and a Hummer H2 that presented additional
prepping challenges placing camera gear all over it to
get the shots of the players.
Their three
new TV spots feature NFL stars Warren Sapp, Clinton
Portis and Jeremy Shockey doing their own grocery
shopping. All three players are hungry men determined
to buy Hungry-Man in bulk, but each has to tackle an
awkward situation.
In the “5
items or less” checkout line, Jeremy Shockey has to
explain to the irate customers behind him that his
dozens of Hungry-Man frozen dinners count as “only
one item”. Warren Sapp has to tilt a freezer case to
get all the Hungry-Men dinners to slide into his
grocery cart. Clinton Portis, struggling to fit a
mountain of Hungry-Man dinners in the back of a Hummer
H2, has to remove the giant stereo speaker, which is
then seen dragging behind the vehicle.
The TV spots
began airing September 6 nationwide, and project a new
image for Hungry-Man.
“The brand
personality has always been masculine, so NFL players
have a natural appeal to the demographic,” says Alex
Poulos, partner/producer at LaunchPad and co-creator
of the spots. “We’re showing a different kind of
hungry man: hearty, healthy, humorous. We wanted to
personalize the idea that Hungry-Man satisfies even
the most heroic appetites. The product message is the
tagline, ‘It’s good to be full’. But comedy is
also part of the message: enjoy life, play hard, eat
hearty.”
 |
| The Hummer H2 filled with the players and set dressing.
Photo courtesy of LaunchPad Media. |
 |
| Jeremy Shockey gets caught in the 5 item or less lane and has some explaining to do while the
crew captures the story. Photo courtesy of LaunchPad Media. |
“The NFL
stars are happy with the spots,” reports Poulos.
“I think they appreciate that the spots show the
comedic side of their larger-than-life personalities.
We really crafted each spot to fit the personality of
the particular player. And they were real pros during
the shoot, which took place over three nights, 5:00 pm
to 5:00 am. They had fun on the set, and were always
very friendly -- signing autographs and having their
pictures taken with the crew -- but from the time we
said ‘action’ to ‘cut’ they were completely
into their roles. Football is hard; maybe comedy is
harder.
“Sapp,
Shockey and Portis all have a kind of universal
appeal,” says Poulos. “But each also has a
distinct appeal. Warren Sapp is a seasoned 10 year
veteran so he plays well to older male and female
demographics. We have rising stars in Jeremy Shockey
and Clinton Portis, which appeals to younger fans. All
three were Pro-Bowlers and they’re all viewed as
game-breakers; impact players who have real influence
on their teams. They are also known for playing the
game with a little ‘attitude’. And that kind of
edgy confidence is seen in the TV spots.”
LaunchPad is a
small creative agency that first impressed Pinnacle
Foods with its corporate commercial work -- video,
website and marketing. Now LaunchPad is expanding into
advertising.
“We are not
a large, conventional ad agency, and we don’t want
to become one,” says Poulos, co-founder of LaunchPad
with Jacob Eidsmoe three years ago. “Our unofficial
motto is: Better, Faster, Cheaper. We think the
Hungry-Man spots reflect all three virtues. These are
entertaining spots. We produced them quickly, once the
players were signed up. And we estimate we saved
Pinnacle Foods hundreds of thousands from what a
conventional agency would ordinarily charge.
“Comedy can
be an incredibly effective sales tool,” says Poulos.
“The Hungry-Man brand always had a little shtick to
it, but these spots have a flat-out funny kind of
appeal.
“We wanted
to infuse the brand with some attitude by capitalizing
on the players’ personalities. After all, in both
eating and comedy, it’s good to be full.”
The spots were
edited internally at LaunchPad by Jacob Eidsmoe on
their Media 100 system. The offline was done at
National Boston, with their editor Adam Payne.
LaunchPad is
an award-winning creative agency specializing in
advertising, video and multimedia production.
Headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, LaunchPad
creates high-impact, cost-effective solutions for
clients throughout the U.S. From concept and strategy
to post-production, LaunchPad creates advertising,
website and marketing tools to attract and persuade
customers. Current and past clients include Abbott
Point-of-Care, Lycos, Hewlett-Packard, Harvard
University, Boston Scientific, Mobile time, U.S.
Postal Service, Jack Morton, Dunkin’ Donuts, Premier
Incentives, Alkermes, and MindShift Technologies.
Senior partners Alex Poulos and Jacob Eidsmoe founded
the company in 2003.
The three
spots can be viewed at www.launchpad.tv/hungryman.
