The Visitor

Best Jack in the Box commercial EVER

The Visitor, also known as Jack's Visit, is an award-winning 1997 Jack in the Box commercial spoofing the TV show Cops.

Synopsis

At night, Jack Box and a camera crew arrive at a house and knocks on the front door, asking for a "Mr. Brad Haley." The cameraman pans up to the house number - 696 - and pans back down as Jack knocks a second time. Haley opens the door and angrily tells the visitor to relax. Upon seeing the camera, he asks "Did I win something...?"

Jack informs him that, according to his “sources”, he's been disparaging Jack in the Box by calling it "Junk in the Box." Haley is unapologetic and asks "So?" Jack replies that he takes such matters "personally." Haley becomes incensed and tells Jack to "get lost" and attempts to slam the door on him, but Jack pushes the door back open and says he'll leave if Haley simply tries his food and apologizes. An unseen assistant attempts to hand him a bag of Jack in the Box food.

Haley shoves Jack, yelling "I said beat it, clown!" and retreats into his house. Jack follows him inside, and angrily insists his employees have been "working their buns off" improving their food. Haley accosts Jack, calling him a "psycho," and runs out an open sliding glass door. After a brief chase, Jack tackles him to the ground as two neighbors (whose faces have been censored) cheer him on from behind a chain link fence.

With Haley pinned to the ground, Jack twists his arm and forces him to drink a milkshake, which Haley says is "very yummy." Jack then forces him to try a fry and asks "Better than Mac's, right?" Haley agrees. Finally, Jack feeds him a burger and asks him to give his honest opinion. Haley replies "Tasty!" Jack asks him "You're not just saying that because I can snap your arm like a twig?" Haley denies any distress and apologizes for dissing his food.

The Jack in the Box logo appears over a black background as the dialogue continues. A seemingly chastened Jack says he's sorry about the grass stains, but immediately takes it back when pressed.

Alternate version

An alternate version opens with Jack and the camera crew arriving at the house, with Jack remarking "That's it. That's the house." A different shot of the neighbors cheering on Jack is used. In this version, Jack only forces Brad to try a burger.

Jack in the Box "Junk in the Box" commercial (1997)

Notes

• The commercial is filmed in a gritty, cinéma vérité style, possibly a first for a fast food commercial.
• The derogatory nickname "Junk in the Box" seems to be a cleaner version of the more common "Jack in the Crack."
• In the alternate version, Jack forces Brad to try his "best burger ever," but doesn't identify it by name.

Gallery

Cast

• Jack Box - Rick Sittig (voice)
• Brad Haley - Courtney Gains

Crew

• Production Company: @radical.media
• Director: Rick Sittig
• Director of Photography: Larry Fong
• Executive Producer: Frank Scherma, Jon Kamen, Robert Fernandez
• Advertising Agency: Kowloon Wholesale Seafood Company
• Agency Creative Director: Rick Sittig
• Agency Art Director: Rick Sittig
• Agency Copywriter: Rick Sittig
• Agency Producer: Helen Erb
• Editorial Company: Oasis Editorial
• Editor: Brendan O'Carroll

Behind the scenes

Director Rick Sittig has called The Visitor his favorite Jack in the Box spot. He recalled the commercial fondly in a Spring 2007 interview: "Anytime you can have your company mascot go to someone's house and beat the crap out of them, you know you're not copying McDonald's."

According to Sittig, it took two years to make the commercial - one year to obtain approval, and another to get it produced. Due to its mature tone, it only aired after 10 p.m.

Brad, the character Jack accosts, was named after Brad Haley, Jack in the Box's vice president of marketing communications at the time. The character was played by Courtney Gains, best known for his performance as Malachai Boardman in the 1984 movie Children of the Corn.

Reception

The Visitor won a Gold Lion at the International Advertising Festival in Cannes in 1998.