The assignment was to create a TV spot that positioned Merle Harmon’s FanFair as the place to buy sports apparel for ANY team — not just the local teams. This was the main difference between FanFair and other competitors at the mall, as well as Kohl’s, WalMart, etc.  Since the media budget was limited, the creative required high visibility. The concept originated as a poster idea showing a California Angels jersey and a Duke Blue Devils t-shirt, with the headline, “CHOOSE WISELY.”  The spot itself was produced very affordably by bidding it out to over a dozen production companies worldwide. The storyboard was drawn by local illustrator Bryan Peterson in exchange for a tabletop hockey game, and the bid package included a fax from God urging participation in such a noble endeavor. (God’s “letterhead” looked suspiciously like IBM, with a themeline that read, “Helping people help themselves.”)  Several directors battled to get the job — one proposal was to shoot on Scotland’s Isle of Skye. This was rejected because we could not afford the flights. All the finalists who did not get the job were Fed Ex’d bottles of Frangelico (a hazelnut liquor in a monk-shaped bottle.) The actual spot was shot in and around Toronto in two days.