In an age of streaming services and tiered subscriptions, the idea of watching ads falls somewhere between a tempting "come hither look" and a spell of "post-traumatic network TV disorder." But, as Chinese and The Simpsons teach us, where there is crisis there is opportunity. And this new commercial for TextNow takes a very meta look at this media "crisitunity."
Now, films crews often get asked if they think they can pull off all sorts of odd things on set, but popping into the frame – something they typically go to extraordinary lengths NOT to do – isn't usually one of them. Luckily our crew for this shoot was up to the terrifyingly daunting challenge of "acting" like themselves as if doing exactly what they do professionally day in and day out. A tall order indeed. And they were such good sports that they brought their own black outfits without even being asked.
For a one-day shoot in a single spot in a single location, this project had more twists and turns than you might expect. And we ended up having so much fun leaning into them that we made we made two versions of the commercial – one to the storyboards, and one with a moment of quirky improvisation we just had to keep.
All things considered, it's an ad we think you won't mind watching watching itself.
