A 4-Star General Needs to Get Away on Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines’ new commercial in the “Wanna Get Away” campaign strikes comedy gold. “Password,” directed by Anonymous Content’s Tim Godsall via GSD&M, features a general called in to a situation room erupting in chaos. Turns out security breaches are the issue and we see them causing mayhem across multiple computer screens—including one spanning the situation room’s entire front wall. The general’s password saves the day. Unfortunately, it won’t save him face, but Southwest Airlines comes to the rescue. MPC handled VFX, shaping the suspenseful build up to the very funny reveal.

According to MPC LA VFX Supervisor Gizmo Rivera, the studio was tasked with a quick turnaround to create and construct a realistic composite and then integrate it into the live action. “Our goal was to make sure the screen structure did not become part of the narrative, so they had to look constructed and properly exposed to the lens,” Rivera explained. “We tried to show imperfection on the screen, which allowed it to fall into the background and not distract from funny scene unfolding.”

Mark Driscoll, MPC Producer on the commercial, added: “We were able to have open and constructive creative conversations with GSD&M throughout, so they knew we had a strong grasp on their creative vision.”