All around us are messages calling out for attention either to influence or persuade for a larger cause. One of the most effective ways to advertise in this day and age is through TV commercials according to CNBC Catalyst’s Lead Creative Strategist, Katya Ionova, report in 2016. With 75 years of marketing, television had “37% of global ad spend in 2015.” From Super Bowl commercials to a random guy dressed as a clown in a Geico ad, America is captivated by advertisements. Aware of these statistics, the Eastern University Marketing Department is shaking up the way that messages are received.
Michael Thomas, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Eastern, met for a face-to-face interview where he broke down the process on how to make not only an original piece, but also something never before seen. When asked about how many video projects have been produced by EU, Thomas laughed and simply said, “It’s hard to tell. Lots!” The first commercial we examined together was Eastern’s latest video promoting their graduate programs. For those who have not yet seen it, the commercial begins in a classroom in Walton giving a classical look to the setting. As the lecture is given, every student’s laptop along with the room begins to tremble and the view outside of the windows start to shift the environment. Suddenly, the classroom becomes a train with the main character completing her daily online lecture. She briefly states to self, “A classroom doesn’t have to be a building…”
Hold on, let’s rewind for a moment. Many questions are firing out all at once. The trembling? Shifting shadows? A train?! That last one, yes a train indeed. Michael please illuminate us. “It took two full days of shooting, full days being eight to ten hours. We used Walton 3 classroom and wanted to create an evening look, but it was actually the middle of the day. For this effect the team used ‘warm lighting’ which is an orange color and placed them outside of the windows shining in,” Thomas said. Day one was classroom filming, day two was filming underground at Suburban station in Septa’s regional rail train car. Green screens helped create the moving images of the background environment.
The creative team made up of Lisa Woods (Visual Content Director), Aidan Guynes (Lead Videographer) and Michael Thomas spend vigorous hours planning for these projects. The three have worked together on videos for many years. This commercial was inspired by a previous train ad from Eastern featuring the graduate programs. Thomas also revealed the department’s newest method of promotion, video ads. These ads are catching people’s attention as they seem to be still and normal, until a random motion takes place. Some examples of this include bouncing words, moving portraits or taking a selfie. All of this, Thomas says, basically “makes fun of ads. Humor is a great way to reach out to people. Someone even called it Hogwarts Ads.”A sneak peek of what to expect next is a brand new campus tour video and EU seasons.
Source: CNBC
Grace Nealy 
Jason Karch 
Daniel Finegan