76 Ltd's Peter Lydon Breaks Out for Carlsberg

76 Ltd's Peter Lydon Breaks Out for Carlsberg
 
UK agency Fold7 and the 76 Ltd director pull off a classic parody in
the 90-second epic "The Crate Escape," another of Lydon's
masterful homages to iconic film genres.
 

Director Peter Lydon's "Crate Escape" hero for Carlsberg is almost there.

Cover versions are a risky proposition. Even with the best intentions, getting one wrong can desecrate the memory of a classic and serve no purpose other than reminding fans why the original was so good. Anyone who's ever heard William Shatner murder Bob Dylan's "Mr Tambourine Man" will understand what we mean. 

So it was with a degree of excitement and trepidation, then, that director Peter Lydon of London-based production company 76 Ltd read the script for the Carlsberg commercial "The Crate Escape" from ad agency Fold7. In a very funny homage to the 1963 John Sturges film starring Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Richard Attenborough, the spot would tell the story of a young man dragged along for a weekend spa break by his girlfriend.
 
It quickly becomes clear that the Storm trooper-like spa staff is subjecting other 'prisoners' to excruciating treatments like hot rock massages and chest waxing.  The hero soon hatches a plan to tunnel out and retrieve some much-needed Carlsberg to soothe the captives' pain.
 
In the spot, which uses the original and iconic theme composed by Elmer Bernstein – in this case updated with sound design by Massive Music – we see the captives as they meticulously devise their escape, moving water fountains, rearranging exercise equipment, digging tunnels, cleverly disposing of the dirt in mud baths and during yoga sessions.

Peter Lydon's directorial approach calls for 'developing the world' in which his narratives live.

"When I first saw the script I thought, 'Yeah, I want to do it, but it's a challenge," recalls Lydon.  "You could really shoot yourself in the foot if you don't get it just right."
 
Like all good cover versions, though, Lydon found there was room in the brief for him to put his stamp on it. "Fold7 were very collaborative and open to ideas," he says, "particularly as we developed the world and the premise."
 
'Developing a world' is something Lydon often refers to, and that's no surprise; he's become very adept at it during his career. He established a reputation for comedy and drama by directing the cult TV series "Shameless," "Teachers," "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" and "Vincent," then won a Royal Television Society Award in 2010 for his gripping four-part period drama "Garrow's Law" for BBC1. Set at the Old Bailey in the 18th century, the Garrow's world created by the Lydon was a hit with audiences and led to two more series.
 
It also opened the door for his extensive collaboration with WCRS and Sky, for whom he shot the entire Sky Broadband campaign, putting a humorous twist on classic fairy tales and legends, investing them with a rich, cinematic feel.  Among the spots are those sending up such old favorites as The Princess and the Pea, Aladdin, The Emperor's New Clothes, the death of King Arthur, The Wicked Queen and others.
 
As evidenced by these gems, Lydon is an expert at creating entertaining alternate universes.  His challenge with the Carlsberg spot, which takes place in the present, was how to convince an audience to buy into a world that reads as both a beautiful spa and a prison camp?

The king takes an airy walk in Lydon's "The Emperor's New Clothes," for Sky and WCRS.

"You have to get the audience to put logic to one side and just go with the absurdity of what's happening," he explains. "The ultimate key to winning the battle is to be funny. We put in a lot of visual gags that evolved as we developed the world."
 
Another key weapon in drawing people into the story is the commercial's captivating aesthetic, he adds. "The production values here are very high. It's very filmic. Like with the Sky fairy tale ads, we placed the comedy in a beautifully realized world."
 
This visual approach was aided by the use of anamorphic lenses to create the widescreen, cinematic feel, and Lydon gives credit where it's due to Director of Photography Alex Melman. "He brings a great eye to it as well as enormous energy and a collaborative spirit," he enthuses.
 
There were other factors that contributed to achieving a look that did justice to Sturges' original, including production design, costume, location (the spot was shot in Budapest) and, not least, selecting certain moments from the original film to reference and parody. So, for example, the stove in the original prison camp barracks becomes a drinking fountain in the locker room, under which the chaps dig their tunnel. Lydon describes it "as an iconic moment that I hope the audience will pick up on immediately and take pleasure in. In the process, it helps them suspend their potential disbelief."
 
The most memorable aspect of "The Great Escape" is undoubtedly the infectious theme tune, which helps set the scene and the expectations in the commercial from the very first note. "You play that music and people understand what you're dealing with immediately," says Lydon.  "It is a great shorthand." This meant that the spot could tell its story with almost no dialogue whatsoever, a feat helped along by Lydon's ability to coax deft comedic performances from the cast.

Stone cold spa attendants kept watchful eyes over the boyfriends in "Crate."

"I was adamant that we cast the lead actors in England, but I was cautious about casting the escape gang in Budapest," he remembers. "It actually worked out very well, as we were able to tap into a pool of excellent theatre actors in Hungary."
 
The biggest difference between Carlsberg's "The Crate Escape" and the original movie is that the Carlsberg guys aren't actually breaking out at all; instead, only their leader breaks out, soon to return with their salvation: a crate of cold Carlsberg.

Lydon sees it as a nice twist that helps keep the humor playful and non-misogynistic. "Ultimately, the guys can't be running away from their girlfriends," he explains.  "It's about how can they have the best of both worlds - to have their beer and drink it, too."
 
Making an homage to a celebrated, classic film was undoubtedly a risky proposition but thankfully, when it comes to cover versions, for every cat-frightening butchering of an original hit, there's also a successful reworking. With "The Crate Escape," Fold7 and 76 Ltd have put a refreshing twist on an old favorite. Seems that, like Lydon suggests, they got to have their beer and drink it, too.

Published 19 July, 2012