Press Release from TEAK

Building on a successful string of projects - including an award-winning documentary and a recent lively brand video - TEAK further cemented their status as the go-to production company for backpack giant JanSport with a pair of entertaining promos advertising their innovative bag designs. TEAK, led by CD Greg Rowan, conceptualized, wrote, directed, edited, and post produced the two wildly different spots, showcasing TEAK's depth of talent and versatility.

"JanSport undoubtedly can count on TEAK to always innovate and create new ways to effectively and engagingly connect our brand to our consumer," notes JanSport Brand Marketing Director, Courtney Blacker. "They approach each project with thorough understanding of our brand and our brand voice but with a fresh perspective that breaks through the clutter. Our latest collaboration exemplifies how well an agency/client relationship can work when there's mutual trust and respect built in."

The Annie Sloan-directed Sasquatch is a 1:19 mock science documentary finished in the grainy style of decades past, starring the mythical bigfoot wandering remote meadows and woodlands with a red JanSport strapped to its back. A voiceover marvels at the creature's wood-gathering habits and the technological sophistication of its backpack, which harnesses an advanced SuperStrap system to eliminate slack, reduce bulk, and even out the load for a more comfortable fit. Elaborate color charts illustrate the bag's mechanisms as the awe-struck narrator analyzes them, remarking, "One can only hope that the Sasquatch will share other such wonders with humankind."

Stop-motion wiz Mike Sloat took over direction for Reversible Pack, a voiceless, imaginative demonstration of JanSport's reversible backpack. The pack, with black checks on one side and multi-colored checks on the reverse, enters stage right unassisted by human hand, stopping before a wavering, paper-cutout montage of sun, waves, and sand dunes. A small army of beach paraphernalia - flip flops, sunscreen, a visor - creeps into the screen and leaps into the bag's various pockets. The bag summarily dumps this load and turns inside out, straps and all, to reveal a red-blue- and yellow-checked pack as a big-city skyline with moon and stars displaces the blue sky and sunshine. The accoutrements of a night on the town - high heels, cosmetics, hairspray - trample onstage and fill this retooled bag.

"When you find a relationship that works, you stay with it, and TEAK has built a very special relationship with JanSport," noted TEAK Founder and EP Greg Martinez. "The partnership works because they are a dynamic client with diverse needs that TEAK is uniquely suited to meet. From stop motion to live action, from concept to completion, we've assembled an incredible crew that can execute any project on time, on budget, and on point."

Credits:
Client: JanSport
Spot Title: Reversible Pack, Sasquatch/SuperStrap
Air Date: August 2010

Concepts by TEAK
Client: Courtney Blacker

Production/Post Co: TEAK
Director(s): Annie Sloan (Sasquatch), Mike Sloat (Reversible Pack)
Editor(s): Tony Saxe (Sasquatch), Nan Pierce (Reversible Pack)
Creative Director: Greg Rowan
Written by: Greg Bell (Sasquatch), Ken Ackerman (Reversible Pack)
Set-design: Nathan Rapport (Reversible Pack)

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