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"Bold Choices," a new anthem spot beautifully shot by director Dante Ariola for Jim Beam, features actor Willem Dafoe as he ponders 'what might have been.' The 1:30 second spot from Strawberry Frog is meant to imply that the choices you make, make you.
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above: Dafoe ponders his future; Milwaukee or New York?
The commercial opens with the young Dafoe at a pivotal turning point. Does he leave his small Milwaukee town for the dream of becoming an actor in the "Big City" or stay where he is and let life unfold?
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above: One of Willem's possible futures includes becoming a trapeze artist
The spot has Dafoe reflecting on the possible futures had he made different choices- factory foreman, aging punk rocker, a trapeze artist, a successful businessman, limo driver, a fashion designer, a chess champion, even a sumo wrestler - but as Dafoe notes, in the end, there is really only one choice.
“All choices lead you somewhere,” Dafoe notes. ”Bold choices take you where you’re supposed to be.”
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Credits:
Agency: Strawberry Frog
Chief Creative Officer: Kevin McKeon
Creative Director: Josh Greenspan and Jason Koxvold
Creative Team:
Todd Beeby
Brian Platt
Jed Cohen
Karl Haddad
Agency Producer: Sherri Levy
Director: Dante Ariola
Director of Photography: Emmanuel Lubezky
Editor: Adam Pertofsky @ Rock Paper Scissors
Visual Effects Company: The Mill, NY