FedEx

Information / Credits

For Blue Rock editor Tom Vogt, Fed Exs new web video series/mock-infomercial ''1,2,3 Succeed!'' created by BBDO Worldwide, New York and appearing on YouTube and on FedExs own Web site the project gave him the unusual opportunity to edit something bad, but in a good way. ''Editing bad is hard,'' Vogt jokes. ''It wasn't bad per-se. It was to make the overall feel of it look bad -- bad lighting, bad sweaters, and dumb catch phrases. For this I trusted my natural editing instincts in finding the funny moments and then worked from there. I wanted it to feel like you didn't know what was coming next and when the joke came it was on the surreal, random side. The idea was that viewers would be waiting to see what weirdness came next and the fact it was a commercial was incidental. Its a great combination of being informed and entertained at the same time.'' Marking Fed Exs first Web-video advertising campaign, the five three-minute films feature the actor Fred Willard, perhaps best known for his work in mockumentaries like ''Best in Show,'' ''A Mighty Wind,'' and ''For Your Consideration,'' the videos are tongue-in-cheek infomercials that extol FedExs services including FedEx Mobile, FedEx international services, FedEx Office, FedEx Office Print Online and fedex.com Using the stilted, staged infomercial format to surreal comedy delights such as when Willard asks, Who likes to track things? followed by a camera pan of the audience that lingers on a man applauding dressed in a beaver cap and fringed frontiersman costume Vogt (who in additional to numerous ads, edited eight seasons of South Park and the features ''South Park: Bigger, Loner & Uncut'' and ''Team America: World Police'') approached the project as it were a TV show. ''For me, I approached it as if it were a comedy show rather than an ad,'' Vogt says. ''The creative team at BBDO was very collaborative and the rhythm and vibe of us together lent it self well to making the spots into what they became. The hardest part about the projects for me was deciding what to leave out. We had so much funny stuff to work it was challenge to get it into three minutes.''

Client: Fed Ex Project "1, 2, 3 Succeed" web videos (5 x 3:00) BBDO Worldwide, New York Executive Creative Director: Greg Hahn Senior Creative Director: Michael Smith Producer: David Logan Art Director: Carlos Fernandez, Paul Fix Copywriter: Rick Williams Production Company: Bob Industries, Santa Monica, CA Director: Bob Odenkirk Editorial Company: BlueRock, New York Executive Producer: Cara Cutrone Editor: Tom Vogt Assistant Editor: Laura Bermudez Producer: Jesse Schwartz Post Production: Spontaneous, New York Audio Post: Blast, New York