The Americans has become an iconic show for FX over the past few years. One of the most critically acclaimed shows on television, it never ceases to excite. For Season 3, the show start to progress a bit further into the early/mid 1980s, approaching the height of the cold-war and the showrunners started to ratchet-up the tensions. Our overall concept for the branding and packaging was to illustrate this with a campaign full of freezing ice – a.k.a. reverse time-lapse – "the cold war is getting colder!"
This particular spot we conceptualized as an American's follow-up to the Bridge's "White River" spot we had done a year earlier. Here, a symbol of the United States Government, the seal, is freezing over while a steel soviet hammer falls with all its weight, trying to break it. It is unable to break it in this moment, but the ice is beginning to crack under the weight, and we see the sickle in the source of the cracks.
I drove the concept development and narrative of the piece, and hired Danny Yount & Prodigal to help us shoot both this spot and our "Ice IDs" which would serve as the basis of the package for Season 3. Prodigal and my in-house FX Design team worked together on post, with Michael Parks and Ryan Hunnewell pulling together some pickup shots, the final edit and graphic finishing touches.
FX NETWORKS
President of Marketing & Promotions – Stephanie Gibbons
SVP, On-Air Promotions – John Varvi
SVP, Design / Creative Director – Steve Viola
Sr. Designer – Michael Parks
Designer – Ryan Hunnewell
Production Company:
PRODIGAL PICTURES
Director – Danny Yount
Producer – Grant Julian