Holiday marketing often presents brands with a unique opportunity to tap into the changing cultural landscape as the year draws to a close. Capital One’s latest Christmas campaign, inspired by ‘Saturday Night Fever’, perfectly exemplifies this. According to Scott Brewer, SVP, group creative director at GSD&M, the agency behind the commercial, the aim was to create something more than just a fleeting ad moment. They aspired to craft a “memorable and anticipated cultural icon,” and thus, ‘Travolta Santa’ was born for the John Travolta Capital One Commercial.
GSD&M partnered with Bryan Buckley, a director from Hungry Man US known as the ‘King of the Super Bowl’, and none other than John Travolta himself, to infuse the holiday season with a dose of disco in ‘Holiday Night Fever’. Buckley noted a shift in the US advertising landscape, with Christmas commercials now approaching the creativity levels of Super Bowl ads. He expressed that while comparing its cultural impact to UK advertising is challenging, the response suggests this john travolta capital one commercial resonated deeply with the pop culture zeitgeist in the United States.
Scott Brewer highlights that unlike brands that only ramp up creativity for big events, Capital One maintains a consistently high creative standard throughout the year. This approach made Bryan Buckley, renowned for his Super Bowl work, a fitting and valued partner for both the brand and agency.
“Bryan’s experience on advertising’s biggest stage, his ability to naturally and effortlessly gain the respect of and build quick relationships with celebrity talent, and the level of care and effort he puts into every detail of a production are unmatched,” Scott emphasized. He described the project as a seamless collaboration between agency, director, and client, where Buckley’s early involvement in the script and storyboard stages amplified the overall effort, excitement, and meticulous detail invested in the production of this john travolta capital one commercial.
The Creative Spark: ‘Saturday Night Fever’ Meets Holiday Cheer
Bryan Buckley expressed immense enthusiasm for the project, recalling his teenage years when disco clubs were out of reach. The prospect of recreating the opening of ‘Saturday Night Fever’, the film that catapulted disco and Travolta to global stardom, was irresistible. He admitted to working on the treatment all night, driven by obsession.
This wasn’t the first time John Travolta donned the Santa suit for Capital One. In a 2020 holiday ad, he shared the screen with his ‘Pulp Fiction’ co-star, Samuel L. Jackson. The positive buzz from that campaign made it an obvious choice for Scott Brewer to bring Travolta back, this time as a Saint Nick-Tony Manero hybrid for the john travolta capital one commercial.
Travolta’s willingness to revisit a role from such a significant period in his life was immediate and enthusiastic. The script then underwent refinements to ensure Capital One’s product messaging remained prominent while cleverly integrating Easter eggs and details from the original movie into the storyline of this john travolta capital one commercial.
Bryan Buckley described the opportunity as “the rarest of opportunities,” acknowledging the pressure to deliver when incorporating such a beloved intellectual property into a major holiday advertisement. Scott Brewer concurred, stating that paying homage to a classic like ‘Saturday Night Fever’ carries immense responsibility.
He elaborated that the goal was to honor the original film while fulfilling product placement needs and adapting the tone to the holiday spirit. The central focus quickly became paying proper respect to the iconic scenes, particularly the memorable opening musical sequence, and seamlessly weaving them into the new holiday context for the john travolta capital one commercial.
Paying Homage to a Classic: Recreating Iconic Scenes
To give ‘proper homage’ to the legendary film, the production meticulously replicated and reimagined the classic shots from the movie’s opening credits, including the famous street strut and the iconic dance floor moment, all set to the Bee Gees’ ‘Stayin’ Alive’.
For Buckley, the primary challenge was recreating the famous opening walk through Brooklyn. This proved complex as the sequence needed to be filmed in a single day on a Paramount studio backlot in mid-August.
“We had to nail that opening walk,” he explained. “As we analysed it, we realised they used two different lenses and techniques to achieve it. So, we did the same using both Steadicam and techno crane – I loved the Dutch angles from the movie and we worked them in. The opening sequence of the movie ran over three minutes. We had 60 seconds and we had to get the dance in – oh, and Capital One product moments” for this john travolta capital one commercial.
Grateful for Paramount’s tree-less backlot, which prevented any temporal inconsistencies, Buckley’s team used a combination of practical and CG snow to achieve a wintry aesthetic amidst the summer heat. Despite the 90-degree weather, the team was well-prepared, walking through every shot with John Travolta before his extensive hair, makeup, and wardrobe transformation into the retro, yet warm, Santa costume for the john travolta capital one commercial.
John Travolta and Bryan Buckley on set of Capital One commercial
Behind the Disco Santa Look: Wardrobe and Transformation
“We worked with Legacy FX’s Alan Scott to design the ultimate disco Santa look,” Bryan Buckley detailed. “Crushed velvet bell bottoms, flared collar, leather jacket… a tasteful amount of bedazzle. Alan also handled the wig and beard – the man and his company are simply working at a level no one else is. They are the best.” This meticulous attention to detail ensured the disco Santa in the john travolta capital one commercial was visually striking and authentic.
He continued, “We studied the wardrobe samples in raw form to see how they would move and reflect light before selecting them. John [then] did a fitting and added his own touch, selecting the vest from the prior Santa costume we did. Toss in a fat suit with that costume and it was really hot! But John didn’t blink. He’s a warrior.” Travolta’s dedication to the role was evident, enduring discomfort for the sake of authenticity in the john travolta capital one commercial.
Balancing Tony Manero and Santa: Travolta’s Performance
Learning that John Travolta hadn’t performed the iconic dance sequence from ‘Saturday Night Fever’ since 1977, Bryan Buckley revealed that the actor worked closely with him to find the perfect balance between Tony Manero and Santa. The final result, according to Buckley’s playful calculation, is 54% Tony and 46% Santa in this john travolta capital one commercial.
“Watching him play with that was just incredible,” Buckley shared. “There were misty eyes when Donna Pescow [Annette in ‘Saturday Night Fever’] saw John. It was a surreal moment for them, no doubt, to be back shooting 46 years later.” The reunion and Travolta’s performance added an emotional layer to the john travolta capital one commercial.
Production Challenges and Triumphs: From Dance Moves to Snowy Backlots
With only one day to film all of John Travolta’s scenes, Bryan Buckley’s editor, Andrew Ratzlaff, created a detailed previz to ensure perfect choreography and efficient shot planning. Travolta, concerned about the original dance song being ‘You Should Be Dancing’ rather than ‘Stayin’ Alive’, practiced his moves at his Florida studio before the shoot.
“We were asking him to do the same dance to a slightly slower tempo, in a Santa fat suit, which presented a challenge,” Buckley explained. “We also had to cut down the original three-minute historic dance segment into a 15-second piece. Needless to say, I think it all worked out well” for the john travolta capital one commercial.
He concluded, “We cranked the Bee Gees’ ‘Stayin’ Alive’ on the first take till our last shot. Every take. John just owned it. We were back in 1977 once again.” The combination of Travolta’s commitment, meticulous planning, and creative vision resulted in a john travolta capital one commercial that successfully blended nostalgia, humor, and holiday cheer, resonating with audiences and achieving its goal of becoming a memorable cultural moment.
