The Teleflora crew is counting down the hours until the Super Bowl (6:25 p.m. ET Sunday on CBS) when the Colts and the Saints show their stuff. That’s because, for the second year in a row, we’re running a commercial with the snarky Talking Flowers. This year, comedy legend Don Rickles provided the voice of the bad blooms. Be sure to tune in during the second quarter so you hear him in action.
Director Tim Hamilton also lent his talent to the commercial. Tim has quite the impressive resume -- short films and features; Crash Test Dummies and Barenaked Ladies videos; ads for the likes of Nintendo and Levi’s. Here we chat with him about his experience with Teleflora and Don Rickles.
Q Have you done a Super Bowl ad before – is there extra pressure to be funny or distinctive?
A Yes, I've done a couple of Super Bowl ads before. There may be some extra subconscious pressure with a Super Bowl spot, and certainly the process feels a little heightened in terms of the client and agency. At the same time, I am always trying to be as funny and distinctive as I can with each spot that I do. My attitude tends to be a balance of putting a lot of pressure on myself while still trying to be playful with the process to allow things to spontaneously evolve.
Q Were there any funny stories behind the scenes or with the ad in general?
A Well, shooting this spot was really a lot of fun. The actors were all really funny and the feeling on set was very up. We all knew we were working on a good spot. And, although the voice of the flowers in the ad is Don Rickles, he was unavailable for the shoot day. I always like to have the actors react to something, so they were playing off an actor who had voiced the flowers in a previous spot. Now, I often like to inspire genuine surprise in performers with off-camera lines and performances that are different and more provocative than what is written. However, once I gave this off-camera actor that freedom he went to some pretty shocking and hilarious places, none of which can be repeated here. The actress was a real pro about it and it worked wonderfully, but was also very amusing for the crew.
[Scene from Teleflora's 2010 Super Bowl commercial
Q How did you get into directing in the first place?
A After studying Film and English Lit at University, I started at the bottom of the ladder as a Production Assistant in a very small company owned by a Director of Photography. I did everything from answer the phone, to keeping track of his camera and lighting gear. He also had an editing suite which I taught myself on at night, and then began cutting music videos and documentaries for him, while also Production Managing and Assistant Directing. I then stalked a local band in Toronto until they let me do their video for them. It was a big success and it went from there.
Q Who are your top 3 favorite film/TV directors (unless you have a No. 1 fave)?
A It would be very hard to limit it to three let alone one. I would also make a distinction between comedy directors and directors in general, which might include people like Ingmar Bergman, Stanley Kubrick, Orson Welles, Martin Scorsese, Francois Truffaut. Comedically, I grew up on Monty Python and later the mid-period films of Woody Allen (Annie Hall, Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters) have been a touchstone, as has the film Withnail and I by Bruce Robinson. I'm also a huge admirer of the English version of The Office (directed by Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais and Christopher Guest's films particularly Waiting for Guffman.
Q
Have you received flowers as a gift before and were you familiar with the Teleflora Difference before making this commercial?
A I have received flowers, but embarrassingly was not familiar with the Teleflora difference. I live in Toronto, and don't recall seeing the earlier ads here. Now I know better than to send my wife obnoxious talking flowers!
Q You’ve made a number of music videos and feature films including “Truth in Advertising” and “Mama’s Boy” with Jeff Daniels and Diane Keaton. I imagine these projects give you more freedom and creativity. What are the upsides to commercial work?
A The nice thing about working in commercials is that the level of the craft is extremely high. You have a very short story to tell and so each second is fine tuned very exactly, which is satisfying. I've been able to work with amazing collaborators on the agency side (as in this spot) and also in the acting, shooting, production design departments etc. It's also nice to shoot something and see it on air a few weeks later and to know that millions of people are seeing and reacting to it.
Q Can you share a few details of a current/upcoming project of yours?
A Being a busy commercial director it's easy to let other projects fall by the wayside, so my New Year’s Resolution was to try and develop a number of my own projects, which include Perverts Anonymous a romantic comedy, about a self-help group for people with odd sexual habits, and How I Spent My Summer Vacation a bedroom farce with twenty-somethings backpacking through Europe.
Q Who will you send flowers to this Valentine’s Day?
A I will send them to my wife, being the dutiful husband that I am.
