CoMPANY Director Paul Fox Doubles Up the Humour for OnStar

CoMPANY Films director Paul Fox helps OnStar highlight its new Guardian smartphone app in a new four spot campaign for agency Campbell Ewald – Detroit. OnStar Guardian is an offshoot of the popular subscription-based OnStar safety and navigation system installed in numerous General Motors (GM) vehicles.

Fox, known for his directing prowess on the hit shows Schitt’s Creek, Workin’ Moms, and most recently, Amazon’s The Lake, applies his quirky, low-key humor to each “Adventure Safely” scenario. Each spot highlights a particular use, from mobile crash response and roadside assistance to location status. “I really enjoyed being able to bring a light, somewhat absurdist approach to the potentially serious issue of getting lost or breaking down on the road,” says Fox. “The notion of having an internal argument between the cautious and more adventurous aspects of your personality is something everyone can relate to; what we’ve done is make that internal argument external, and comedic, by having the same actor play both personality traits, and having them debate each other over the safety concerns of a proposed hike or road trip. Of course, what the OnStar app provides the user is a safety net of sorts which allows them to feel more confident about taking on those adventures. The trick was in the casting, because each talent had to be funny, twice.”

To maximize the effectiveness of each spot. It was decided by Fox and agency creatives to go with a lo-fi approach to the ‘twinning’, inspired by a certain style of Tik Tok video, in which only cross-cutting is used to suggest that the same actor is playing two characters. As a result, no actors are duplicated in the same frame, so no VFX were needed.

In the spot titled, “Cabin In The Woods,” a female motorist is startled by an animal darting across the dark road.  A vocal debate between her cautious and adventurous sides begin. The cautious side declares, “I almost hit one,” while her adventurous side loudly proclaims, “We love nature!” The woman resumes her trip with confidence, protected by immediate mobile crash response via OnStar Guardian.