Short but sweet

Call it a series of animated billboards, or deceptively simple photographic portraits, the banner 1994 Metro campaign, ‘Grocers By Profession,’ profiles each of the food chain’s departments – from a to z – in an original, clean and pleasingly understated pool of 26 10-second spots.

The lighting approach avoids the normal studio glare associated with the category, and most of the spots are direct single or two-shot setups. For example, in ‘Butcher,’ we open to an unusual, near-overhead shot of a butcher trimming a cut accompanied by the v/o, ‘A real grocer knows when good enoughÉisn’t,’ as the camera closes in on the Metro meat man discarding the extra fat.

In another of the mini-spots, a regional Metro staffer is seen coaching a kids’ baseball team, while in ‘Packaging Date,’ a meat manager examines a product-freshness date through a magnifying glass. The simple piano line effectively paces the visuals and adds more than just music.

The pool, which also includes six 30s, was codirected by Greg Gold, who handled the institutional portion, and Jean-Marc Vallee, who keyed on the retail. Cinematographers were t.o.-based Paul Sarossy, who often works with filmmaker Atom Egoyan, and Montreal shooters Eric Cayla and Yves Belanger.

Producers were Michel Fortin and Jacques Langlois of Jet Films. Agency is bcp.

Producer Langlois is especially pleased with the work of Vallee, a young director who is making his feature film debut this month with a thriller called Liste noire.

‘This kid is going to be a super director. He’s original and should be able to make some money and compete commercially with directors like (Jean-Claude) Lauzon,’ he says.

bcp plans to appropriate commercial breaks by slotting the mini-spots at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of pauses.

Agency credits go to producer Stephanie Lord, art director Carolyn Jarvis and copywriter Michele Leduc.

The first Metro campaign, created by bcp in 1992, opened more than a few eyes in the u.s. earlier this year when it was named best campaign at a National Grocers Association convention.

The 1994 Metro pool was shot at a client location and at the Moliflex/ White studio. Graphics and transfer were done in the Renaissance Suite at Supersuite.

The original music was composed by Sylvain Boudreault. LRB