Veddy, Veddy Ethnically Ambiguous

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THE CLIENT: Citi
THE AGENCY: Fallon
THE SELL: Citi combines banking and credit card points so consumers can earn rewards faster than ever.
THE TEAM: Art director Joel Rodriguez, copywriter Susan Treacy, director Jared Hess
SEE IT: All over TV, magazines

Fallon hired Jared Hess, the quirky Mormon director of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre to sell Citi’s new program integrating rewards points for both banking and credit cards. After an extensive search for an “ethnically ambiguous” actor, Hess cast fifty-something Roman X (in the spirit of keeping his ethnicity ambiguous, Fallon wouldn’t release his last name), an Eastern European–born New Yorker, as the lead. Roman, in a somewhat distinguished-looking maroon track suit, earns rewards points alongside his trusted, and silent, companion, Victor. “Jared is great at finding a character and creating a character,” says art director Joel Rodriguez. “Roman had very little acting experience, so Jared would read a line and then we’d shoot it before he could think about it too much.” The results are funny, but Citi needed convincing that we could understand Roman’s thick accent. “Most people got it,” says copywriter Susan Treacy, “after seeing the spot a second time.”