Make Your Star Wars

A long time ago, (before COMPEL), in a galaxy far far way, I was an AD on a Star Wars toy commercial…

The product was a toy lightsaber that lit up, red or blue, thanks to a little LED light at the base of the opaque white tube. “Choose your side,” was the tagline. We had a high speed camera that could shoot incredible slo-mo. A nine year mini Jedi old who could flip himself around like Yoda from the prequels. An immaculate looking replica of a Star Destroyer hallway. Polished, reflective, and gleaming. We were all set to make a wild and wonderful 30 second TVC.

But-

High speed cameras need a lot of light. Black sets needs a lot of light. Capturing fast moving action needs a lot of light.  And so, we had a lot of light. The little red/blue LED inside the toy just couldn’t compete. It looked great in person, but on camera, the lightsaber didn’t look red, or blue. It looked like nothing.

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Needless to say this was a huge problem. Turn down all the lights, and set would just fall away into darkness, we couldn’t shoot in slo-mo, and all the motion would look blurry.  Leave the lights on, and the product didn’t work. It wasn’t my problem, per se, but when you are an AD, everything is your problem.

So our gaffer offered what appeared to be an elegant solution. He had these tiny but powerful strip lights that could match the color of the lightsaber.  He could rig one up, so that the product would look right on screen. Problem solved.

"Absolutely not,” said the the client, “that’s false advertising.”

“Fix it post?”

“That’d be worse.”

That sinking feeling set in. This was about to be a disaster.  What kid would want a toy that didn’t work?  And then it hit me. It didn’t matter what we did in this commercial, this product was going to sell like gangbusters, not because of us, but because of STAR WARS.

“It doesn’t have to be a series of nine blockbuster films shot over the course of 42 years, it just has to be good.”

It’s not much a stretch to think of STAR WARS as the greatest series of toy commercials ever made. Think about what that brand can do for (insert almost any product here _____).  STAR WARS sells the products. And guess what else?  Star Wars doesn’t need to deal with FTC regulations about false or misleading advertising claims.

So the next time you have a product you want need to advertise, don’t make a “toy commercial,” make something worth watching for its own sake.  MAKE YOUR STAR WARS. 

It doesn’t have to be a series of nine blockbuster films shot over the course of 42 years, it just has to be good.

Don’t think you can afford your grand vision, check out our previous post.