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Allstate Spots See People in Miniature and Finds Hope in a Down Economy

The Whitehouse, Bicoastal/Chicago/London editor/partner Marc Langley sees people in miniature in the new :30 "Multiples," and finds hope in a down economy in another :30 "The Great Recovery," both out of Leo Burnett, Chicago. "Multiples," which features how-did-they-do-that in-camera effects, was directed by Partizan's Keith Loutit, while the affecting "The Great Recovery" was helmed by DNA's Marc Webb of 500 Days of Summer fame.

Says Langley, "Cutting 'Multiples' was a welcomed challenge as Keith's inventive filming technique is completely new. Both Keith and Marc [on 'The Great Recovery'] were great collaborators throughout post, which I think really strengthened the work." Langley and the "Multiples" team have been getting strong reactions to the spot. Continues Langley, "It takes a second to wrap your brain around the visuals. It's been fun screening it for people and hearing, 'Are those real people or are they models? How'd they do that?'"

"Multiples" opens high above a suburban home. From this vantage point, we can see a small family enter and exit their home and multiple vehicles in stop-motion-like movement. The high angle, pace of action and focus points are such that it's difficult to tell whether the scene is composed of miniature models or a real house and people. The voice and face of Allstate, Dennis Haysbert, begins in voiceover, "You have multiple cars and multiple toys with multiple places to go. So be smart. Simplify." A super appears over the bustling scene, "Combine & Save," and Haysbert continues, "Get all of your insurance from one Allstate agent and you can get multiple discounts on your multiple policies. Simpler is smarter." We cut closer to see soccer games in the yard, motorcycles revving their engines in the driveway and the mother retrieving mail from the postman; life on fast forward, all unfolding under light transitioning from morning to afternoon. Haysbert concludes, "That's Allstate's stand. Are you in good hands?" The Allstate logo closes out the spot.

The look in "Multiples" was created entirely in-camera, which required special considerations in both production and post. Adds director Keith Loutit, "First, our location needed to be a north-facing house to show the transition from morning to afternoon light--the frame being too wide for artificial light. Then, the house had to have a driveway big enough to fit the action and our equipment. The house we found must be the only one in LA that meets these requirements because we saw them all." With the location locked down, Loutit and team captured the choreographed action above the location in time-lapse with specialized lenses.

The shoot lasted from 10am to 3pm, then the over 70,000 frames were sent to Langley at the Whitehouse, Chicago. Langley traveled from New York to Chicago to work locally with Leo Burnett given the short project timeline. Says Langley, "I wanted to make sure there were stages in the action and a certain degree of fluidity. I experimented a lot, which was tricky because changing one frame created a domino effect that required I change every subsequent frame to keep the lighting and angles consistent." For the music, Langley chose a hypnotic track from London-based music shop Aardvark that countered the manic visuals. Adds Langley, "We wanted music and sound that drew you in. I also added subtle sound design, like the postman's squeaky wheel, to make the wide shots seem more intimate."

"The Great Recovery" opens on Haysbert standing atop a platform overlooking downtown LA. He asks, "Years from now, how will we look back on today? As the Great Recession or the recession that made us great?" We then see a series of shots of Americans going about their day eating, riding their bikes to work, putting up new business signage. Continues Haysbert, against a moving score, "Allstate has seen 12 recoveries. But this one is different because we're different. We realize our things are not as important as the future we're building for the ones we love. Protect yours. Put it in good hands." The Allstate logo closes out the spot.

Langley completes the Allstate campaign on the heels of his Silver Cannes Lion win for the Liberty Mutual webfilm "Father's Day," directed by RSA's Laurence Dunmore out of Hill Holliday, Boston, MA. Also for Liberty Mutual and Hill Holiday, Langley recently cut the webfilm "Lawyers," directed by Independent Media's Roger Donaldson.

About the Whitehouse

The Whitehouse is a film editing company. It opened in 1990, in a little white house in Soho, London. The company had three editors, some rented equipment and a sofa bed from Ikea that wouldn't fold out. They worked hard, won some awards and had a laugh. Life was good. Life was simple. Then some smarty pants invented a computer to edit film on. They bought one, because everyone else had one and they didn't want to be left out.

Twenty years later, The Whitehouse has provided the editing on Oscar winning movies, award-winning commercials, Emmy-winning TV shows, documentaries and music videos.

The Whitehouse now has offices in London, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Many people have come and gone over the years. Some have come, gone and come again. But one thing has remained constant.

The Whitehouse cuts film.

Credits:
Client: Allstate
Titles: "Multiples" :30, "The Great Recovery" :30/:60
Airdate: January, 2010
Where shot: Los Angeles, CA
Editorial Company: The Whitehouse, Bicoastal/Chicago/London (all spots)
Editor: Marc Langley
Assistant Editor: Colin Loughlin
Editorial EP/Producer: Carrie Holecek

"Multiples"
Production Company: Partizan, Worldwide
Director: Keith Loutit
Producer: Stephan Mohammed
Production Designer: Evan Rohde
Production EP: Sheila Stepanek
Agency: Leo Burnett, Chicago
Creative Director: Jeanie Caggiano
Copywriters: Chris Warmanen, Britt Nolan
Art Directors: Ed Odyniec, Mikal Pittman
Agency Producer: Bryan Litman
Agency EP: Veronica Puc
Music: Aardvark, London

"Great Recovery"
Production Company: DNA, Santa Monica, CA
Director: Marc Webb
DP: Jonathan Sela
Producer: Paul Ure
Production EPs: Patricia Judice, Missy Galanida
Agency: Leo Burnett, Chicago
Creative Directors: Michael Pitman, Britt Nolan, Jeanie Caggiano
Copywriter: Britt Nolan, Jeanie Caggiano
Agency Producer: Bryan Litman
Agency EP: Veronica Puc