Normally ads for ski resorts simply show skiers and snowboarders carving up the mountain with a smile on their face, but Wexley School for Girls took a very different approach in its campaign for Copper Mountain Resort.
The most memorable of the spots opens on man learning that he’ll have the day off due to snow. This makes him excited about spending a day on the slopes. Very excited. So excited that we cut to a scene with actors clad in yellow meant to represent urine. Yes, urine. When one of these actors announces that he’s going to leave, another woman pleads with him that “there are walls for a reason” and it would be rude, but ultimately her objections are to no avail as we cut back to the man saying, “I think I just peed myself” to no one in particular. The surreal approach, a bit of reminiscent of a scene from Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask, is a far cry from the typical ad in the category — and far more entertaining and memorable as a result. Other spots in the campaign depict a gruff mustachioed body builder type representing an excited heart and a neuron in the brain sending a chill down the spine and a smiling, dilating pupil (yeah, it’s kind of creepy).
“Everyone else in the ski industry shows someone carving down the mountain on a sunny day. Yawn,” agency co-founder and creative director Cal McAllister told Adweek. “When someone is pretty sure they are about to have one of their favorite days of the year, things happen to the body. We wanted to capture the physiological changes that happen when your body has the thrill of hearing your day just got wide open. Copper doesn’t just get that, they live it.”
Credits:
Client: Copper Mountain Resort
Agency: Wexley School for Girls, Seattle
Executive Creative Director: Cal McAllister
Director of Production: Gabe Hajiani
Project Management Supervisor: Dee Dee Jones
Writer: Matt Kappler
Art Director: Lindell Serrin
Associate Producer: Tara Cooke
Account Director: Jordan Karr
Account Managers: Josh Brewer, Nick Minnott
Production Company: Dos Rios
Director: Mark Mirabile
Executive Producer: Paul Breslin
Director of Photography: Ryan Purcell
Gaffer: Vince Climek
Key Grip: Michael LePard
Swing: Issac Lane
Art Director: Oscar Lofgren
Art Assistant: Beth Batson
Costume Designer: Ron Leamon
Wardrobe Assistant: Jerrard Parr
Visual Effects Director: Trent Woolford
Audio Mixer: Matt Sheldon
Production Assistants: Anne Marie Zerba, Mike Wells, Bryce Patridge
Editing Company: Dos Rios
Editor: Trent Woolford
Audio Company: Bad Animals
Sound Designer, Mixer: Dave Howe
Talent: Chip Wood, Max Harris, Jesse LaTourette, Jonathan Shue, Joanna Becher, David Hogan, Ernie Hall, Daniel Deal, Lucy Pearce, Casey Vrla