Nissan has had great success with their current ad campaign from Chiat-Day, resulting in both increased sales and critical acclaim. The campaign embraces a wide variety of styles and approaches; from the inaugural "Ken and Barbie" commercial with Van Halen music blaring to the "Dogs love trucks..." commercial where a gaggle of dogs steal a Nissan Pathfinder. Chiat-Day tapped SFPG for their latest, graphic intensive Nissan regional spots. "Pothole" and "Brains" open with the look and feel of an online catalog --- we see The Nissan Store upper right, with various Nissan cars as icons screen left. A live host is present lower screen right. In "Potholes", we see a car cruising down a winding road. An animated pothole appears that swallows a car. Our host tells us how the Pathfinder is well suited for the daily pothole and the more challenging terrain of mountains. A stylized mountain drops down to cover the pothole as the Pathfinder drives up it to plant a Nissan flag. Mr. "K" appears lower right to smile approvingly. The animation style is familiar to anyone who has watched a Monty Python show. "Brains" adopts a similar visual style; with a right brain, left brain animating on screen. A Maxima is shown between the rational and creative sides. Our host tells us how the Maxima satisfies both sides of the brain. As she speaks, the anthropomorphic hemispheres rejoin one another over the live action of the Maxima. In both commercials, Susan Detrie was able to use the Flame and IMC to design, create and give personality to inanimate objects such as brain hemispheres. The spots were comped in both the Flame and in our D1 suite using live action footage, animation supplied by the agency and elements created in-house. SFPG Personnel: Marilyn Warner: Producer Brent Herrington: Editorial Editor Susan Detrie: Design Director TBWA/Chiat-Day Personnel: Producers: Deb Groth/Laurie Brickler Randy Schoonover: Art Director Copywriter: Ken Pappanduros