Minute Maid Love Fest

In an earlier post, I shared my tale of auditioning for and landing a Minute Maid print ad.  When the shoot day came, I arrived a little bit early and as expected, the studio was already abuzz with activity.  A series of people introduced themselves to me and welcomed me graciously.  I was hearing a wonderful mix of accents from America, Britain, and more all around me.  Everyone I met had a big smile, and was very eager to have the day’s shooting underway.  It turned out they were shooting one other actor for the campaign first, so while the photographer and executive creative director worked with her, I was escorted back to wardrobe and asked to try on a selection of three different geeky outfits.  The fashion stylist Jennifer Hitzges and I favored one shirt & tie combo in particular, and happily that one was ultimately chosen by the client.  Then, it was time to have lots of kisses applied to my face.  It was decided that drawing them on looked better than actually having people kiss me, so the talented make-up artist, Bertha, set to work.  It took a couple of tries to devise a “kiss” that all the stakeholders felt was just the right size, but then Bertha set to work covering my face with hand-drawn kisses in multiple lipstick colors.  Then she added a couple the traditional way, just for good measure.  People walking by cracked up on seeing my new love-covered countenance, and a number of them asked me to pose with them for pictures.  Stylist Wesley O’Meara put the finishing touches to my hair, and I was ready to go!

When it was my turn to go before the cameras, I found myself striking an unending cavalcade of silly poses, egged on by super-nice and super talented Scots photographer Finlay MacKay, and Doner agency executive creative director Murray White.  Everyone watching was cracking up a lot, and I can’t even remember all the funny things Finlay and Murray said or did to promote an ever-escalating variety of wacky expressions.  They were both fantastic at getting what they wanted for the shots.  Finlay’s three assistants were also great about protecting me from the hot lights when we weren’t shooting, which I greatly appreciated, as we didn’t want all those bright red lips melting.  Props maestra Janine Trott (who is also a wonderful graphic artist) was ready at hand with whatever accessory was needed.

Over the course of the shoot, I found myself romancing various sizes of product packages, from quart to half gallon to family-size jug.  At the end of it all, everyone shook hands enthusiastically; it seemed like everyone was happy with the way the shoot had gone.  Monica Tysell, Doner EVP Account Management Director, and Ashley Schmidt (Brand Director), Sara Litton (Associate Brand Manager), and Andy Deutsch (Advertising Manager) of Minute Maid, all said very gracious and complimentary things.  I did see a few of the many images popping up on the monitor as we said our farewells, and they looked like a lot of fun.  This is a bunch of people I would love to work with again.  It was my first major print shoot, and I couldn’t have had a better experience.  There were also other friendly and efficient people who helped keep the shoot running smoothly as well, including Simone Silverman of 3 Production Inc, and many others.  My thanks to everyone for including me in the project.

My agent called last week to let me know that Minute Maid has decided to run at least one of my images, so I could soon be appearing on a web site, magazine page, or the side of a truck near you!  I have a couple of cute pix from the shoot that I’ll post once the ad campaign has launched, so let me know if you see my ad running anywhere!  The food by NOZ catering, by the way, was really good.

Published by Andrew Sellon

I am a professional actor living in New York. This web site will provide you with an overview of my career, as well as with the details of what I'm up to currently.

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