Tears of joy win candy contest
By ERNEST HOOPER
Published October 4, 2006
If Sean Sanczel told you that Hershey's Take 5 is the greatest candy bar ever, you might immediately start arguing about the virtues of your favorite candy bar.
If Sanczel insisted that it's so good it makes you cry like a simpering idiot, you would engage him in a long debate.
However, I'm not sure there is anyone who can convince Sanczel he's wrong. After all, thanks to Take 5, Sanczel has $10,000, a developing relationship with a major Hollywood director and an huge box of candy bars.
That sounds like the greatest candy bar ever to me.
Sanczel, a 40-year-old playwright, animator, actor and graphic artist who lives in Town 'N Country, owes his good fortune to a clever commercial he produced with a little help from his friends. His comedic take on why Take 5 is the greatest candy bar earned him first place in a contest staged by the Hershey.
Borrowing from the theme Take 5 used in a series of commercials this spring, Sanczel produced an ad that shows two strangers running on the beach beside the Courtney Campbell Causeway. One of the men, played by Sanczel's friend Billy Martinez, insists that the other man, played by Sanczel, try his Take 5.
Martinez's character forces the candy bar into Sanczel's mouth. It's so good that Sanczel's character begins to cry. Sanczel forces another bite into Martinez's mouth and they both begin blubbering.
The commercial ends with the announcer asking: "Simpering idiots? Or The Greatest Candy Bar Ever?"
Yes, it's as funny as it sounds, but if you don't believe me, go to www.thegreatestcandybarever.com, click on "Win" and judge for yourself.
What's even more impressive is that Sanczel quickly put the commercial together this summer before he went out of town on a trip.
"If it's the greatest candy bar ever, I had only two choices," Sanczel explained. "You would either drop dead after eating it, and I didn't think that would play very well, or you would burst into tears."
The idea came together nicely, and Sanczel had a feeling the commercial might win.
Veteran comedy director Peter Segal picked five finalists and consumers voted online. Among the other commercials was a spot that showed a woman who gave away practically everything she owned to trick-or-treaters because she didn't want to part with her last Take 5.
But the Sanczel effort won. I think the key was that his commercial was edgier and more unpredictable. You just don't expect these guys to burst into tears.
And then there was the nut.
When Martinez takes a bite, a little nut from the candy bar ends up hanging on his lip. It was just a coincidence, but it added to the impromptu nature of the spot.
"We did it a couple of times and I didn't even notice until we looked back at the footage," Sanczel said. "But when we saw it, we knew that would be the one we would use."
The Take 5 win adds to what has been a pretty good year for Sanczel. For several years, the product of Hillsborough High and the New York Center for the Media Arts wrote and acted in several plays produced locally, including The Importance of Being Ernie, a production about 1950s comedian Ernie Kovacs, and The Big Finish, a musical comedy about the end of the world.
He also developed an animated character called Pencilman, which can be seen at www.sanczel.com, all while working as a multimedia and graphics specialist for Aubrey Organics, a company that makes all natural hair and skin products.
This year, however, he stepped out on his own and became a freelance graphic artist. It's working out well. In addition to the Take 5 prize, he won an iPod for being a finalist in the American Express/Tribeca-15 second film contest, which was judged by Martin Scorsese.
Perhaps most importantly, Sanczel got a chance to speak with Segal, the comedy director, and the two hit it off. Segal extended an open invitation to Sanczel to bring out his scripts, and he's hoping for a big breakthrough.
All of this tells us what a lot of folks already know about when it comes to the local performing arts scene: Maybe Tampa Bay isn't as far away from New York as you might think.
"It's kind of a pet peeve of mine because I work with a lot of theaters around here and some of them have started hiring outside talent from New York or L.A.," Sanczel said. "They say the couldn't find any good talent here, but there's plenty of talent right here."
That's all I'm saying.
Ernest Hooper can be reached at 813 226-3406 or hooper@sptimes.com.