Nate De Leon and Jane Ackerson entered a contest called “Optimus One Shot” which asked them to “Write a script that shows what it feels like to be done.” The contest was open to creatives in Chicago with five or fewer years experience, and De Leon and Ackerson were the big winners. Their prize? Chicago edit house and production company Optimus brought their ad to life. We posted it above. The “making of” is after the jump.
Says De Leon, “Jane and I, at the time were working at DDB Chicago and decided to enter. So we sat around for a bit and wrote up a script and sent it in. It was to be judged by top creative directors at goodby and fallon.” And then they won. Yippee!
Right after the spot was released, “we both got laid off…along with our entire group working on Wrigley’s Extra.” Bummer. But it’s cool that ONE, the Optimus production co. delivered. The whole thing was set up by Optimus ad agency ScottandVictor.
You know what’s cool about this project is that it spawned from an idea and wasn’t restricted by a client and therefore falls into the category of art. And when there’s no money behind a campaign, it’s art. In fact it’s more arty than maybe even some commissioned works — which are arguably serving the same purpose as ads — somehow defining a company or brand or whatever.
More: “US Young Lions Selected”