Some would argue that a hard-hitting game like football deserves a hard-hitting ad campaign.

That’s just what the Canadian Football League got from Toronto’s Bensimon Byrne D’Arcy and Spy Films. The pool of eight ads (one for each CFL market) is the brainchild of art director Jamie Way (now repped as a director by Generator Films) and BBD creative director/writer Glen Hunt. Ironically, where Hunt’s high-profile ads, ‘Rant’ and ‘No Doot Aboot It,’ apparently united the country in patriotism, the new CFL campaign pits many of Canada’s cities against one another in the true spirit of the game.

The spots, themselves mini-rants where team diehards run down enemy football towns, have violent undertones in the way fans are dealt with by the teams they are berating. And the word ‘losers’ in reference to rival teams is heard often.

According to Spy director Wade Sherman, the eye behind the spots, very little of the dialogue was changed, although some lines were cut on the shooting days because the spots went long. There was apparently little time to spare, as all eight spots were shot over four days in and around Toronto on a very low budget. However, Sherman says he was affected little by timeline and pinched pennies.

‘I didn’t feel it,’ says Sherman. ‘I pretty much got everything I wanted and I don’t think I needed more time. Originally, I think it was going to be less time, but I pushed for more. Usually, it would be more like one spot a day, but probably because of the simple execution, it worked with two a day. They pretty much gave me everything I wanted.’

Art director Way (at BBD on a freelance basis while Hunt is on sabbatical) says the spots certainly are not for everyone, but they will appeal to the hard-core CFL fans – and maybe move some armchair quarterbacks into the stands.

‘Not everyone is going to like them, but I think the target audience is going to definitely love them,’ says Way. ‘If you’re complaining about them, then you probably aren’t watching football. The idea is to drive traffic and get people so wound up that they’ll go out and watch the game.’

For commercials like these, casting is extremely important. Eight over-the-top performances were required to make the ads successful. Sherman says he found his actors in one session, and was so confident in the talent he saw that there was no need for any callbacks.

‘Because it was one shot, everything was all about performance,’ he says. ‘What I like about them is they don’t look like actors or models. They look like semi-real people.’

Way says special care was taken with the suggestively violent endings to each spot, many of which emulate famous film scenarios viewers will recognize and appreciate. He also says that despite the very dark humor in the ads, the client has been ‘brave’ in allowing the potentially controversial creative work.

‘People want it both ways; they want [their ads] to stand out, but they also don’t want to upset anybody,’ says Way. ‘You can’t have both, only one. The die-hard fans we are speaking to probably won’t take offence to the humor. I’ve seen football fans toward Grey Cup [time] and they are of a different mentality.

‘We are going after the young kids that like the CFL,’ he continues. ‘The older fans of the franchise will watch it regardless, so you can’t really put them off. We are trying to start some growth in the younger generation.’

‘Logical choice’

Sherman says he enjoys shooting ads like the CFL, working closely with talent and dialogue. Way says Sherman was a logical choice for the campaign and admires his eye for casting and his ability to visualize the spots without the benefit of a fully developed storyboard.

‘We worked with [Sherman] on a couple of projects now and he shares our vision and he was actually able to bring the humor together. It was a good team, and a good combination,’ says Way. ‘When you use a storyboard and you shoot exactly that storyboard, there is usually no spontaneity. We had a lot of collaboration on the day of the shoot. That’s how you create magic on a TV spot.’

Way also hopes the ads will merit a sequel pool.

‘You always hope they will be cult commercials so people will ask for them again,’ he says. ‘You can’t just go out and make a cult commercial. You have to allow people to get word of mouth around, saying, ‘Did you see that spot?’ That’s the idea.’

The eight spots are currently airing during CFL programming nationally.

Writers Joe Musicco and Troy Palmer both contributed their talents to the campaign with Way and Hunt. Lori Estabrooks, BBD’s head of production, produced. Sean Valentini served as cinematographer, with Sam McLaren producing and Liane Thomas executive producing on behalf of Spy. School’s Alison Gordon handled the post.

-www.bensimonbyrnedarcy.com

-www.spyfilms.com