Paul was responsible for the (in)famous frying pan, THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON DRUGS commercial. Paul called me and said that the then nascent ‘partnership’ was having trouble coming to grips with anything.
Just do it.
We went off on a Saturday to shoot something. I called the terrific actor John Roselius and asked if he could crack an egg with one hand.
‘Joe, I’m a Marine and an ex-Longshoreman.’
We shot the spot and John gave a terrific performance as a voice of reason and truth. He later complained that the spot was so famous that it was hurting his movie career, so I shot a version that was just a closeup of the pan and it was almost more effective.
Paul’s idea was brilliant and he hasn’t been given enough credit for it. The spot is unsurpassed because of its simplicity. Paul described the spot ‘as a sarcastic, last-chance warning about self-evident stupidity and irreversible injury that people — particularly young people — are kidding themselves about.’
Its power and logic has never been equaled.