A couple years ago we made a short for the American Cancer Soceity called “The Turnoff”. This year, they contacted us again to help with their “xoutcig” campaign, and we made another fun piece to promote a clean lifestyle free from cigarettes. Check out the new short!
CONCEPT: When we were coming up with an idea for this short we started off by choosing what angle we wanted to take. Last time with “The Turn Off” we took the stance of, smoking is gross and unattractive. This time, we thought, let’s not take the negative route of pointing out how “bad” cigarettes are because once you get on the offense, people who smoke or support it get defensive, and automatically will not listen to what you have to say. Also, everyone already knows that smoking is bad for your body, there’s no point to further push this point. Everyone who smokes knows it’s bad and has already made the choice that the health effects are something they’re willing to sacrifice. So, we decided to go on the flip side…instead of pointing out how harmful or negative smoking is, let’s point out the BENEFITS of quitting. And so the story of “The Allergy” came about. Henry (Chris’ character) is a smoker, and you’ll notice that no one ever tells him NOT to smoke, not even Jill (his girlfriend). Everyone’s fine with it, she just has a “special” allergic reaction. This way, it’s totally up to Henry to decide what he wants to do. If he quits, he gets his super gorgeous gf…if he doesn’t quit, he get’s an annoying David Choi. The choice (eh eh) is easy.
Sad that yes, it takes a girl for him to quit, but we also asked around and most guys said that they’d quit for a girl. lol. Guys are such tools (for girls).
Check out the blooper reel. It was pretty hilarious having David step in everytime in Kelley’s clothes.
CAST: It was great to work with a cast of all friends. We all know and love David, and it was so great that he was down to play this part. I kept asking him, are you sure you’re ok with this, will this hurt your image or your branding. But c’mon, if you know David Choi…the guy wears coconut bras in his videos. haha
Cathy was also super cool to step in for the short role in the beginning as Phil’s friend. Cathy is definitely a natural actress. You’ve seen her already in “Hitting on Cathy” and most recently “Picture Day”. Wouldn’t you agree? Singing talent aside, her acting ability is very impressive. Plus she’s SUPER nice and fun. Easy choice to work with her.
Recognize Kelley? It’s so funny, we’ve known her for such a short period of time, but she’s already been in 3 recent projects. She had the small role of “shybabenicole143″ in Funemployed, she was featured in “Dance to this Song”, and now here. We’ll be honest. Yes the script called for a girl in a bikini, pool side, and we don’t have that many “model” friends. (We make videos, we’re couped up inside all day. Think we ever see the beach?) But we remembered that Kelley was a really fun, enthusiastic, and a professional model/dancer plus a friend of ours and David’s, so she was an easy choice. Working with friends is always the best.
And finally, by now you all recognize Chris. He’s been in quite a few WF projects. Initially Phil was going to play the main role like he did in “The Turn Off”, but he didn’t want to pretend to smoke again. Chris actually smokes. Yes, but trust us, we’re working hard to get him to stop. Since he actually smokes, it made the short a lot more believable. Phil just looks awkward holding a cigarette. By the way, that was actually Chris’ mom in the short, and his uncle played his dad.
