Mono and Spike Lee Insist MSNBC Viewers ‘Lean Forward’

By Bob Marshall 

Though this spot from Mono directed by Spike Lee says, well, nothing about in particular about MSNBC, it does a great job of tugging at viewers heartstrings here in the good ol’ “United States of Come As You Are” as they put it. When you think of MSNBC, doesn’t your mind immediately conjure up images of John F. Kennedy, gay marriage and bull-riding?

If you answered no, you’re probably not alone. That being said, the only time you’ll see this ad is either when you’re already tuned into MSNBC or another one of NBC’s affiliates. Really, it will mostly serve as reassurance that the channel you’re viewing is tangentially related to the cultural forces responsible for shaping this country. Also, as is the case with most of Spike Lee’s directing for television, it’s really pretty to look at.

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Another new spot from Lee for the cable network does a similar thing, using the channel’s reporting of current events as a reflection of human understanding of social progress. Or, people are afraid of what they don’t understand, so good thing MSNBC’s there to make interpret newsworthy phenomena to the frightened American public.

But, again, the spot’s easy on the eyes, and it’s easy to forget that it’s for the third most watched cable news network in the country. (Fox News just marked its 100 consecutive month at number one by the way). Credits after the jump.

Production credits:

Agency: mono
Production Company: Pony Show Entertainment
Director: Spike Lee
EP: Susan Kirson
EP: Jeffrey Frankel
Line Producer: Fern Martin
DP: Ellen Kouras

Editorial: Lost Planet
EP: Gary Ward
EPL: Krystn Wagenberg
Producer: Jaclyn Paris

Editors:
Declaration of Forward: Hank Corwin
Hard-Wired, Cursor, Alive and Kicking, The Last Work: Max Koepke
Devotion, Through it All, Always on: Paul Snyder

Finishing & Visual Effects: Liquid VFX
Finishing/VFX Lead Artists: James Bohn
AE Artist/Designer: Vincent Rogozyk
VFX Producer: Romi Laine

Telecine for Talent Spots:
Mike Pethel, CO3

Music:
Elias Arts

Mix:
Mitch Dorf, POP Sound

More:MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ Gets Starbucks Sponsorship

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