An obsession with Obsession
1986 was a crazy year. The Iran Contra Affair, Chernobyl, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster– a lot of shit exploded. Especially the Calvin Klein Obsession commercial. Which was so weird that people couldn’t tear their eyes from it. See the original here. It was such a phenomenon that even SNL did a parody, with the genius Phil Hartman, rest his soul.
I was over the moon when Bark Productions asked if I wanted to work on a parody of the spot for the Nebraska Lottery. The parody used "Ignition" as a hook to introduce the idea of winning a Ford F150. Of course, I said, but" Why Obsession? And why now?" And lots of other whys. But really, who cares? Perfume spots are obtuse, and the consumer's takeaway is usually, "What in the Sam Hill did I just watch?" Well, why can't a lottery spot do the same?
The oddness is what made the Obsession ads so compelling. You couldn't look away from it. We were both repelled by its pretentiousness and attracted to its audacity.
This confusing polarity sets us up for a big truck reveal from the lottery — an average guy, an outsider — drives through the set, exposing the pomposity of the situation to the viewer, breaking the spell.
The original was over 30 years ago, so I knew that any parody would have to mimic the original set perfectly. I love puzzles, but I'm horrible at math; forced to use 6th-grade geometry. "If the guy on the stairs is an average height of 6" then we need a 12ft staircase with 16 stairs at 9" each...and on." So now we needed a set with a white sweep big enough for the stairs and the F150.
The original spot had a stark geometric set with severe contrast, playing with light on both set walls and the actors. A manicured look with action kept to a minimum, using composition to tell the story. We followed the original idea, giving foreground elements importance while maintaining the focus of background elements simultaneously using an old-fashioned split-field diopter – a relic of cinematography introduced to me by Jason Cantu, used in old movies to simultaneously bring the main character and a tertiary character into sharp focus. Framing with a diopter must be carefully thought out because it creates a fuzzy line between the subjects and is easier to hide with more rigid set lines. You can see it in this frame from Star Trek.
We put together a fabulous cast from Kansas City. I started by lifting actions and details from the original spot: the anguished but blank faces, the black and white dresses, black suits, and the awkward blocking. I also wanted to add some ridiculous Easter eggs from the Obsession series. Elements that people at home may not see the first time but discover during subsequent viewings. The people in the background fencing? And, of course, we’ll need people playing a rousing game of Bergmanesque chess.
A fantastic cast gave me so much more than I could put into a : 30-second commercial, so I decided to add a few of my favorite bits into the director’s cut. Enjoy.