- The Puttermans
Directed by
Barry Sonnenfeld , The Puttermans starred in a series ofadvertisement s for Duracell Batteries in the 1990s. Made to combat the successfulEnergizer Bunny ad campaign, the Puttermans were a family of plasticrobot s, who outlast the others, thanks to their Duracell brand batteries (a playful reference to their deadpan 1970s ad campaign which featured head-to-head competition between toys). The company slogan was "No battery is stronger longer."The campaign was developed by special effects wizard
Steven Johnson working with the New York-based firm, theOgilvy & Mathers Agency . Theactor s were made up to look as if they wereclay animation orcomputer animation cartoon characters. The costumes consisted of boxy modular units of stifffoam rubber , coated withurethane . Their faces were made of state-of-the-art latex prosthetics designed to heavily caricature their own features, and complete character wardrobes.The family consisted of:
* Herb, the father (Keith Langsdale )
* Flo, his wife, the mother (Marla Frees )
* Son Zack (Debi Derryberry )
* Daughter Trish (Krystee Clark ) and (Constance Zimmer )
* Grandma Putterman, who was actually played by a male actor.Each character had a large copper top battery protruding from their backs. The actor identities were not revealed, to preserve the family's mystique.
Some of the earlier commercials included:
* The Puttermans attend afamily reunion picnic. A talkative relative freezes up mid-sentence and falls face first into a plate of spaghetti, and the Puttermans jokingly accuse her husband of switching her Duracell battery with an off-brand.
* Trish Putterman and boyfriend Bruce sit on a porch swing, and hope that their romantic night could go on forever, with the help of Duracell.
* Grandma Putterman is so filled with energy, she can't stop dancing.
* Jess Putterman is the sweet cousin. Her degree in comparative sociology aids her fashion sense. At the family reunion, Jess complains about the terrible spaghetti and throws her own plate in the trash.
* Drew Putterman is the little brother. His interests include print-making, the alternative uses of common weeds, crochet, hand writing and bluegills.In all, these characters tended to alienate viewers, due to their non-human yet non-toy or cartoon appearance, and the series of commercials were abandoned.
Genre-defying band Primus wore Putterman-like costumes of themselves made up like cowboys for their video for "Winona's Big Brown Beaver".
Halloween costumes with latex masks, of Herb and Flo were released in North America.
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