A conversation with Chris Akers, a commercial director who “unbranded” his lottery spec spot and sold it to the Jackpocket App through X4Y.
When director Chris Akers shot a spec spot to help advance his career, he never thought he might sell it to a brand one day, let alone recoup his investment and turn a profit. But then he discovered X4Y, the content marketplace that connects creators directly to brands.
We sat down with Chris to discuss why he shot the original spot, how he worked with Jackpocket to rebrand the commercial, and what’s next for the director.
Chris Akers: I shot the original commercial because I wanted to put it on my reel and get signed with a production company. The commercial was actually a spec spot. Like many directors, we’re trying to get found, we’re trying to get with production companies. I was trying to get more work and that’s often a challenge. It’s competitive, and there’s a lot of gatekeepers. I was trying to find and shoot quality commercials that showed off what I could do as a director – smart and funny and a little subtle, a little nuanced, comedy stuff that I gravitate towards. So just trying to get together some representative work and make a living out here doing what I love.
X4Y: Tell us about this particular story.
CA: In this spot, we meet a regular guy who’s going through his day quite happily. He’s leaving for work, he says “hi” to his neighbor, a smile on his face, another day. He commutes to work, says “hi” to his office mates, and we’re getting the sense that it’s a pretty enjoyable, regular workday like many of us would have. As the spot progresses, it becomes increasingly more uncomfortable and a little weird. He seems to be at the center of this realization that all of a sudden this can’t be real. He’s never this funny, never this good at his job. Something’s wrong.
Then it sort of reaches its crescendo. He’s woken up from what we learn is a dream by his butler. So we see that he’s extremely wealthy and what he’s just experienced is actually a bad dream, because this man is filthy rich from winning the lottery and a regular workday is actually a nightmare.
The concept worked really well for a lottery app, of course, but the idea of a regular guy who is happy in his job suddenly waking up from it and having a different opinion actually could work for a lot of brands.
X4Y: Tell us how you prepared the spot for the X4Y marketplace.
CA: The process of getting the spot ready for X4Y was relatively straightforward. Essentially, I removed the brand-specific stuff: logos, tags, anything that pointed to a specific brand so the concept could speak for itself. This way, brands can see themselves in it, like, “Okay, that idea works for me,” and they’re not distracted by any other logos, graphics or other branding. So I got it ready and submitted it to X4Y. Then, Jackpocket, a lottery app, saw the spot, loved it, and wanted to buy it. It’s great for them, it lines up with their brand, their concept, and they were able to see themselves in that spot.
X4Y: What is Jackpocket?
CA: It’s a lottery app that allows you to play the real state lottery on your phone. Jackpocket does the same thing for the lottery as if you’re going to the convenience store, but you get to do it from your phone. They’re taking that step out of it. It’s easy, it’s secure and it’s fun.
X4Y: What was it like working directly with the brand?
CA: Once I connected with Jackpocket, they hired me to put the finishing touches on the spot. It was a really easy process: I talked to their creative director and their team, and the process was simple to get it ready for them. Jackpocket also needed a cut-down for digital, so there’s the 30-second spot for TV, which is going to run regionally in their markets, and I cut a :15 as well for online. They got exactly what they needed, I got to deliver my spot – it’s a win-win.
The concept worked really well for a lottery app ... but the idea of a regular guy who is happy in his job suddenly waking up from it and having a different opinion actually could work for a lot of brands.
CA: We invest so much time and energy in our spec spots and building a reel, and it never occurred to me that this spot could end up with a brand and go on TV and be online. It’s a beautiful thing. We put a lot of energy and hard work into creating a reel, and it never occurred to me that this spot would end up with a brand like Jackpocket.
It was really a win-win for creators like myself, and for brands that need that type of content that’s ready made for them.
Before X4Y, there wasn’t always a great place for great storytellers to have their work be recognized in the commercial format. And so what X4Y has done is, it’s allowed storytellers to make those stories available and have them work for brands. For me, I know it’s opened up a whole new opportunity, another channel for me to do more, to continue to tell great stories.
X4Y obviously worked for me and I think it’s a great place for creators like me: directors, writers, composers, musicians – anyone who has content that is brand-ready, that’s quality. It’s an invaluable resource for us to have that direct line to those brands.
I’ve got some other things I'm going to be uploading soon, other things I can shoot. Now I know what kind of content is going to sell on X4Y, and that makes it a lot easier for me to shoot that content. It opens up a whole new opportunity for us beyond production companies and the gatekeepers, so it’s been invaluable for us.
Edited for length and clarity.
It was really a win-win for creators like myself, and for brands that need that type of content that’s ready made for them.
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