A Facebook First
October 10, 2012 by Screenmag
Social networking site Facebook recently released its first-ever commercial, the :90 “The Things That Connect Us.”
Produced by Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, OR and Directed by Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Amores Perros, Babel), the spot debuts as Facebook reaches an active user base of one billion.
“The Things That Connect Us” opens on a solitary red chair floating in a forest. Next we see a series of seated individuals: an old man, a young man, kids playing with a chair in the middle of the neighborhood street. The music begins, accompanied by a deliberate, female voiceover, “Chairs. Chairs are made so that people can sit down and take a break. Anyone can sit on a chair. Anyone can sit in a chair and if the chair’s large enough, they can sit down together. And tell jokes or make up stories or just listen.” We see interpretive dancers, children, people across the globe settled in seats. The voiceover continues, “Chairs are for people and that is why chairs are like Facebook.” Next we see other inanimate objects: doorbells, airplanes, bridges. “These are things people use to get together so they can open up and connect about ideas and music and other things that people share,” she says. Then we see other artfully depicted things and activities: dance floors, basketball, a great nation. She continues, “A great nation is something that people build so they can have a place where they belong. The universe: it is vast and dark and makes us wonder if we are alone. So maybe the reason we make all of these things is to remind ourselves that we are not.” We see a couple delicately holding one another’s hand and we cut to the Facebook logo, closing out the spot.
New York/Portland, OR-based Search Party Music partnered with the band Explosions In the Sky to produce music for the spot. To compliment Iñárritu’s highly cinematic approach to the project, Wieden + Kennedy brought Search Party Music onboard to leverage their extensive music supervision experience, bringing an equally vivid sonic element to the spot. Search Party Music Executive Producer Sara Matarazzo worked closely with Iñárritu and the agency to select a band that would deliver something more modern than the traditional orchestral score. Explosions In the Sky was a natural fit, well known for their guitar-based harmonics and textured soundscapes.
“It was an amazing experience working on a project with incredibly smooth collaboration among this group of highly talented and seasoned individuals,” says Matarazzo.
Credits:
Client: Facebook
Title: “The Things That Connect Us” :90
Post date: currently online
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, OR
Creative Directors: Karl Lieberman, Danielle Flagg, Eric Baldwin
Copywriter: Eric Swanson
Art Director: Brad Trost