Kevin Smith Directs Panasonic TV Ads For e-wear

SECAUCUS, N.J.— Panasonic has turned to writer/director Kevin Smith to produce two 30-second television commercials for the company's e-wear SV-AV10 SD A/V recorder.

Gene Kelsey, Panasonic's Brand Strategy Group VP, commented that the director "gives these spots the edge we were looking for." Smith, director of Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma and Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, was selected to appeal to e-wear's target audience, 16- to 24-year-olds.

"We wanted to create a vehicle that is both a little oddball and high energy, to drive home the message that the e-wear product is fun and innovative," Kelsey said.

The e-wear commercials will run on the WB Network, UPN and national cable TV through June, with 823 spots airing on shows such as Felicity, Charmed, WWF Smackdown, MTV's The Osbornes and Comedy Central's South Park. In addition, the campaign includes 1500 Shadow Traffic radio spots on 170 stations in 12 markets. Panasonic said it would bolster the campaign with Internet promotional activities. The company did not disclose the total budget for this campaign.

Introduced at CES during January, the e-wear SV-AV10 SD A/V recorder began shipping in March and has a suggested retail of $399.95. The wearable unit plays back MP3 and AAC audio, recorders and plays back MPEG-4 video, and takes still photos, all stored on a removable SD memory card.

The unit also functions as a voice recorder, weighs less than 3.5 ounces without its battery, and it's footprint is smaller than a business card, Panasonic said.