Suffocating Creatives to Show the Value of Air with Cash Studios

Digging into the creative stereotypes that exist in the advertising industry, production company Cash Studios recently produced a very meta online film for software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, Air. The film shows ‘creative directors’ being interviewed, beginning a series of pretentious monologues about their creative processes before being cut off by a sudden lack of ‘Air’. The physical comedy from the gasping actors presents an engaging metaphor for a creative company struggling to organise and automate its tasks without the SaaS company’s help.

Describing it as a ‘social experiment meets dark comedy’, the spot’s director Ivan Cash spoke to LBB’s Ben Conway about how the film came to be, the fun process of writing for and casting archetypes of creatives he had encountered in his career, and shooting in a “subtly sinister” Soho office.

LBB> Your prerogative for this project was ‘make fun of the creative industry and kill everyone off’ - how did you reach this idea? What were your initial creative thoughts upon receiving the brief?

Ivan> Our client Air, a creative ops solution for creatives, came to us with a wide-open brief, with big aspirations. They knew they wanted to make some noise and get the attention of their target: creative directors. Luckily, we know CDs very well. We wanted to be playful and irreverent about our own industry, so all our ideas played with tropes - tropes in character, tropes in form, tropes in aesthetic. And all our ideas were a little insane. This was the insane idea that stuck.

LBB> How closely did you work with Air’s team on this project? How does the campaign continue/develop its existing branding?

Ivan> We worked closely with the Air team, who were fantastic collaborators. They trusted us implicitly and were able to take big risks and back us up 100% on the creative. The campaign utilises their namesake - which is so spectacular we had to lean in and highlight it - and branding, while deviating in terms of high-concept, cinematic storytelling.

LBB> What creative stereotypes did you identify in the ideation process? And how did you decide to represent them visually as characters?

Ivan> It was genuinely therapeutic to dig into the creative stereotypes that exist in the industry - including ourselves! We made a long list and then narrowed it down to four archetypal creative directors. We wanted it to feel like we touched on radically different yet relatable industry characters. From there, it was a stream of consciousness, texts in the middle of the night, jotting down a line while in another meeting, a process of mainly trying to make each other laugh. If there was anything more fun than the writing, it was the casting. Everyone that auditioned had us in stitches, but our selected actors immediately made the characters pop off the page. 

LBB> Were these characters based on creatives you’ve encountered as a director? Do you have any funny/interesting anecdotes you can share of such an encounter?

Ivan> I don’t want to get myself in trouble here, so I’ll just say that each one of these characters is based on direct experiences myself or my co-writers Julienne Jones and Matt Kalish have had working with and as creative directors, who are sometimes guilty of taking ourselves too seriously.

LBB> The set is very ‘mid-century dystopia’. How did you find and design the set? What were your inspirations for its look?

Ivan> I’m so glad you asked because set design was a huge component of this and mid-century dystopic is the exact vibe we were after! We scouted every office space in New York City before finding this conference room at a venture capital firm in Soho. Inspiration-wise, we wanted a set that would feel reminiscent of Netflix’s ‘Abstract’, while still giving off a subtly sinister vibe. Thanks to DP Soren Nielsen and production designer Celina Arslanian for taking the conference room and elevating it into something beautiful and subconsciously sinister.

LBB> What was it like to write for and direct the different stereotypical creative director characters? How did you bring each of their unique characters out?

Ivan> Casting was difficult because that was the moment we had to commit to the nuances of the characters. But we were able to really work with our actors in the audition and play with these details, which made directing easier (and more fun). We did multiple takes as written, but also did a couple of fun-runs so our actors could go wild. The final edit is a reflection of both.

As a director, I love helping an actor get into a specific mindset/role and then setting them loose! We love the tiny details like Amaranth’s sigh after ‘finding fashion drab’, Luk’s toothpick, Louise’s reaction to the air compressor, and Sven’s final gasp of air.  

LBB> What was the hardest challenge you faced on this campaign - and how did you overcome it?

Ivan> While it was a small part of the shoot, getting the air gauge right was key... and incredibly difficult. We went back and forth on a couple directions, and ultimately ran out of time with our terrific production designer, Celina Arslanian. So 6pm before the shoot I scoured local bike shops and kitchen stores and bought like nine thermometers. These got sent to Matt, one of the CDs with a background in industrial design, and he spent hours rigging something up. And voila, we had our air gage. Talk about DIY/ down to the wire…

LBB> Equally, what gave you the most satisfaction during this project and why?

Ivan> The collaboration process with the creative team was most satisfying to me. We really got the freedom and permission from our client to get weird and go big, and I think we all loved challenging each other in the writing process. Then casting, as much as it was challenging to make a final decision, was definitely one of the most rewarding days because that’s when the characters start to come to life.