Ever watch those funny, quirky television commercials and wonder, ‘Who in the world came up with that idea??
Well, if you happen to see one for Famous Footwear involving some talking sneakers, it sprang from the minds of Nathan Bunker, a 2002 Oxford High School graduate, and his partner, Ruby Cantu.
Created by Bunker’s California-based company, 03 Productions, the commercial features a conversation between two old pairs of sneakers and two new pairs from Famous Footwear. It can be viewed at www.poptent.net/media/54366.
The Los Angeles-based Poptent is an internet social network that connects brand advertisers with talented videographers to produce low-cost, high-quality commercial videos for use on-line or for television. Poptent’s produced everything from polished national TV spots to quirky viral videos.
Poptent boasts a community of 33,000-plus filmmakers, directors, actors, comedians, grips, animators and others who connect with each other and companies that want to pay them for their talents. Members can show off their work, build a portfolio, collaborate with other creators and earn money doing what they love.
As one of two commercials selected for Famous Footwear, 03 Productions will receive $7,500 for its work and the ad will be used in the company’s Back to School 2011 campaign.
‘We were pretty stoked,? said Bunker, who provides the voice for a pair of old sneakers. ‘We weren’t really expecting too much.?
Bunker’s ‘not exactly sure? when the commercial will air. ‘They haven’t really talked about it. I’m still filling out all the paperwork,? he said. ‘I believe they said it was going to be (a) national (ad).?
While the money’s great, Bunker and his partners, which include Devin Marble and Jeoff Hanser, produced the commercial because they ‘wanted to get back in the creative mode? and this was the ‘boost? they needed to get them going again.
‘We felt like we hadn’t shot anything in a while,? Bunker explained. ‘All we’ve been doing is writing scripts and trying to get this film (‘The New Republic?) into festivals.?
‘The New Republic? is O3 Productions first feature film. Set in the near future, the 96-minute movie is about a young journalist who is blackmailed by a powerful government agency to spy on an underground nationalist group.
Bunker and his partners are busy trying to get the movie screened at as many film festivals as possible including one in Flint.
‘We’re really hoping and gunning for a handful of them to say yes,” he said. ‘We had a screening for it and got some really good reviews.”