'Tis The Season

it's Rosh Hashanah, but the look and feel is all Christmas, courtesy of Lowe. The New York agency has brought in eccentric director Tony Kaye of Supply & Demand to create a holiday ad for Macy's. The shoot is at the Macy's in Herald Square, and Kaye—who once brought a rabbi, monk and priest to a meeting about his film American X, and post-Sept. 11 appeared in New York comedy clubs dressed as Osama bin Laden—tonight bounds around the set in a yamaka, a long, curly beard and a long-sleeve black-and-white shirt. During breaks he sits by himself and plays guitar. Herald Square has been transformed into a winter wonderland. White lights forming a giant Christmas tree extend over Macy's facade. Manufactured steam rises from a fake hot dog stand outside the building, and more than 100 extras swelter in winter coats in the mild autumn weather. The street isn't closed, but people crowd behind barricades on the sidewalk in front of the store, craning their necks to see if they can spot anyone famous. "What movie are they filming?" asks a passerby to a security guard. It's not a movie, and the only celebrity of sorts is the filmmaker on the set. Across the street, Kaye uses a boom on a dolly to shoot signs that read "Holiday" and "Spirit." "He's able to shoot great looking film that doesn't look like a commercial," says creative group head and co-copywriter Seth Fried. "And he's got a great sense of humor."As for Kaye, he decided to shoot the spot because of Macy's meaning to New York—"It plays a central part to the life blood of 'the city of cities,'" he says, adding that doing the spot is helping him come back from a difficult period, including a bankruptcy and divorce, and get back on his feet in the advertising world."I can now see a large candle at the end of what has been a very dark tunnel," he says. "Macy's is definitely a little part of that light. [Creative group head] Steve Kashtan of Lowe wanted me to gently move a camera around the store, highlighting certain words that would be placed accordingly and catching customers and Macy people living their connected lives—so I gladly did."The 30-second spot, breaking this week, centers on the holiday-themed signs. In addition to the signs outside, the shoot, which stretches until 7 a.m. for two nights, also goes on inside the store, where signs read "Naughty" and "Nice" and point in different directions (while a man contemplates them and looks confused). Other signs include "Peace on Earth," "Goodwill Toward Men," "Goodwill Toward Women" and "Comfort & Joy." In the spot, a voiceover states, "Because everyone has a gift to give."It's the first national holiday ad Macy's, owned by Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores, has done; traditionally they create TV ads for each market. The chain spent about $355 million on advertising in 2003, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMR. It was time for a national ad because Federated has begun to use the Macy's name on all of its department stores, according to Ronnie Taffet, vp, public relations for Federated."This year all of the divisions have Macy's with their name, so it follows what we've been working to accomplish all year long, to speak with one voice," she said. "The store, especially at holiday time, can be a very magical place," adds Gary Goldsmith, Lowe chairman and chief creative officer. "That's why we wanted to shoot there. We couldn't duplicate the way the inside of that store looks."Inside the store, indeed, is a scene like few others. The left aisle on the main floor is filled with Christmas decorations: presents wrapped in gold foil bedeck the tops of shelves; pink ribbons garnish the aisle. A sign alerts confused customers, still drifting around the store before the 9 p.m. closing call: "Excuse us while we temporarily decorate a little early this year to film an exciting new Macy's holiday commercial."On set, it gets later and later, but the crew keeps shooting, and onlookers keep gathering. "There were a lot of people who walked up to the store in the middle of the night, at three or four in the morning, and thought it was open because they saw everybody inside," Goldsmith recalls. "Others were commenting how [Christmas promotions] just get earlier and earlier every year."

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'Tis The Season

Mae Anderson

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Mae Anderson