Eaton’s ‘Construction Worker’ introduces a whole new way of ogling women and puts actor Joe Pingue in the Top Spot for performance.

One of the originals in Eaton’s new image campaign out of Roche Macaulay & Partners, the spot shows two gruff, flannel-clad yet fashion-conscious men perched on a beam discussing ‘the great Nine West pumps’ and a ‘to-die-for Kenneth Cole bag’ sported by a female passerby.

Familiar face

A familiar face on the commercial scene, Pingue’s big-guy physique has scored him a slew of different roles, from a football player for Imodium to a construction worker again in Labatt’s ‘ymca’ to a big, pink bunny in a campaign for the Metro Toronto Zoo.

Aside from his commercial work, the York University Theatre School grad has appeared in the features Boondock Saints for Miramax and Pushing Tin. Pingue is currently rehearsing for a stage show at the New Yorker called Ladies Night.

A favorite

‘Construction Worker,’ Pingue says, is one of his favorite spots. He says he had a good time with it, something he attributes partly to his fashion-savvy sidekick, played by Bruce McFee, who he says is a great actor, and to the encouragement and openness of Maxx Productions director Larry August.

When it came to shooting the spot, the actors were given the artistic freedom to bring their own comical inventions, such as sniffing a sandwich to see if it’s okay, which August says added to the story.

Being a comedy dialogue specialist, August says he most often works with trained actors something he says ‘makes a huge, mega difference.’

Casting crucial

‘Casting is about 70% of the performance equation,’ says August. ‘You have to have the right actors who have an affinity for what is going on and have an interesting take on it, in addition to a good and funny script. If you pick the wrong actors, you’ve got a long day ahead of you. It won’t be good and it won’t be easy.’

For the director, working with small groups of actors before actually casting is a key part in a commercial’s success. It is at that point where he sees how the performance is going to play out, where the camera should be and what the production design should look like to match the story.

As the relationship between the rugged duo on the muddy site evolved, so did the script. The original punch line was substituted for a funnier ‘I can’t wear that color’ and ‘It makes you look pale.’

While the lack of elaborate camera moves and fancy lighting combined with the ease of the two actors sitting down for lunch and having a chat looks simple, August says this type of spot is the hardest to pull off.

‘The ads that are without any idea are the ones that have the most dressing, flash and production values thrown at them to dress up the fact that there isn’t much there,’ he says. ‘To get that natural performance, we are talking about really good commercial or theatrical actors to achieve that level of making it look easy.’