The Goetz Brothers Directs Raging Kids for Airborne

From the point of view of stressed out parents, raising children can be a bit like dealing with a pack of raging bulls. That, at least, is the premise of a new spot directed by the Goetz Brothers of bi-coastal production company The Joneses for the herbal health supplement Airborne.

Conceived by Pittsburgh agency TenUnited, the spot promotes Airborne’s ability to boost the immune system by comparing germ carrying kids to the bulls of Pamplona, Spain. A group of parents mill around outside a school building stretching and loosening up as if preparing to run a marathon. A bell sounds, kids pour out the front door and the parents run for their lives. A breakneck pursuit carries on through alleys and narrow streets. One mom rolls under a bus, another crashes into a fruit cart. The voice-over tells how the stresses of modern life can lower immunity and make adults vulnerable to diseases born by their hygienically-challenged progeny and suggests Airborne as a first line of defense.

The atmosphere of chaos and terror is heightened through quick cuts and radical shifts in perspectives. It helps to make an 8-year-old waving a tutu seem as menacing a half ton of beef. The Goetz Brothers recreated the feel of narrow Spanish streets by having the chase pass between lines of parked buses. “We added a lot of little touches to suggest connections between individual kids and their parents,” recalls Michael Goetz. “We didn’t want it to seem as though it was random adults running away from children.”

The Goetz Brothers shot the spot on the backlot at Universal Studios in a one-day production that was almost as frenzied as the action they were recording for the screen. The shoot employed more than 100 extras—more than half of them kids—and a half dozen stunt personnel. Because the kids were restricted to an 8-hour day, the directors had them arrive in two overlapping shifts to maximize their availability. Special effects were used to create the illusion of a crowd of more than 400.

The Goetz Brothers further maximized their resources by recording some scenes with five separate camera crews shooting from different angles. “We shot 67 set ups in one day,” notes Kevin Goetz. “It was a testament to our crew that we were able to pull it off.”

Superadgrunts, click below to see the Director's cut:

Credits:
Agency: TenUnited, Pittsburgh.
Steve Smith - creative director/copywriter
Frank Longo - associate creative director/art director
Mark Shenberger - director of broadcast production/producer

Production: The Joneses, Santa Monica, Calif.
The Goetz Brothers - director
Mel Gragido - executive producer
Beth Aranda-Hodzic - producer
Brandon Mastripolito - director of photography
Mark Oppenheimer - first assistant director

Editorial: Jigsaw, Santa Monica, Calif.
David Trachtenburg - editor

Music: 740 Design, Santa Monica. (Director’s cut)