Amusement-park rides can be fun, and often scary, but it must be some kind of ride if it can turn a young, carefree boy into a screaming, decaying old man. That's what happens in this spot by David&Goliath (and Green Dot Films director Luc Schurgers) for Universal Studios Hollywood's King Kong 360 3-D ride. It opens with a young boy and his parents, all outfitted with their 3-D glasses, getting ready to have their pants scared off them. But it goes worse than expected for our young hero. As King Kong lunges at him, he lets out a bloodcurdling scream—and then suddenly, inexplicably, he begins to age rapidly. Within seconds he is middle aged, and then he gets all wrinkled, and soon he is an old man—still screaming, his life having flashed before his eyes. At this point, he should probably ask for his money back. Instead, the screen cuts to black and a super appears, "The intensity lasts a lifetime," which is followed by the King Kong 360 3-D logo. The logo is then smashed by the hand of Kong, and another super appears, "Ride the world's largest 3-D experience," followed by the Universal Studios Hollywood logo. Schurgers cast five people to play the lead, and most of the aging was achieved in camera with prosthetics and makeup. (Obviously there was also some work in post-production, as the transitions are pretty seamless—so much so that it's hard to pick out five different people.) The ad doesn't really make any sense. The intensity doesn't last a lifetime; it lasts the length of the ride, which is about two and a half minutes. But that's almost beside the point. The visual is so freakishly memorable, it makes you feel that something terrifying must happen on this ride, even if you manage to remain your same age. If you really want to face your mortality, this, apparently, is the ride for you.



CREDITS
Client: Universal Studios Hollywood
Product: King Kong 360 3-D ride
Spot: "Intensity"

Agency: David&Goliath, Los Angeles
Chief Creative Officer: David Angelo
Executive Creative Director: Colin Jeffery
Creative Director, Art Director: Steve Yee
Creative Director, Copy Writer: Ben Purcell
Art Director: James Kierstad
Copywriter: Dan Jordan
Director Broadcast Production, Carol Lombard
Producers: Nicolette Spencer (Senior Broadcast Producer), Nikki Milligan (Senior Print Production Manager)
Production Company: GreenDot
Director: Luc Schurgers
Director of Photography: Roman Jakobi
Executive producer: Rich Pring
Line Producer: Joe Mandarino
 
Editing House: MiniVegas
Editor: Sander van der Aa
Producer: Maarten Boon
 
Visual Effects House: MiniVegas/TBA/LumeFx
Online Editor: David Zaretti
Producer: Maarten Boon
3-D: Klaas Harm de boer
Flame: James Allen, Sheldon Gardner
SFX Supervisor: Sheldon Gardner
Flare: Mike Aveling
3-D: Adam Burnett (lead), Richard Endean
 
Sound Design: Studio Alfred Klaassen
Sound Designer: Jacco Lenstra
 
Music: Massive Music
 
Audio Mix: LA Studios, Margarita Mix
Mixer: Nathan Dubin