Megan Gural Oepen ’00, president and senior director of creative at Payne Advertising.
She didn’t think they’d go for it. The concept was too out there, too abstract, too risky.
Perhaps the short film that Megan Gural Oepen ’00 had pitched would be a better fit for some hip, edgy startup. But the client for this job was Chick-fil-A, a stalwart of American business known for its traditional values, customer service and Southern roots.
Oepen, president and senior director of creative at Payne Advertising in Atlanta, told company officials that their vision for a spot featuring executives discussing the restaurant’s humble beginnings and corporate culture might bore the younger audience they hoped to attract, and she urged them to consider a more novel approach, using technology and computer animation.
The idea had come to her while listening to Chick-fil-A employees explain how the company’s brand identity had “unfolded” over many years. That word – unfolded – flitted around in her mind. She imagined pieces of paper folding and unfolding. Sort of like origami. What about an origami world? A paper world … a paper city. A Paper City. That’s it!
Her gut told her it would work, but she knew getting the client’s approval was a long shot. But … still.
Over her 15-year career as a creative director and live-action director, Oepen has developed a reputation for challenging clients to take risks and be bold in the way they tell their stories. She does it by asking why. Why does it need to be that way? Why can’t we look at it from another perspective? Why not focus on telling a story and trust that the audience will get the message?
Oepen believes in the power of words and storytelling to elicit strong responses and stir powerful emotions. From her first producing job at Live 5 News in Charleston while studying communication at the College, to Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta, where she produced and directed documentaries and brand and image campaigns for Turner Sports, to graduate work at Boston University – finding the story, that nugget of gold, has been her mission.
“People who are good storytellers are good storytellers regardless of the content,” she says. “It’s a matter of finding the nugget – and that could be within a horrible story like 9/11 or that could be within an interesting feature story in NASCAR or a cool commercial campaign for the NBA.”
Oepen is the only female director to win an award at the 2014 Cannes Corporate Film and TV Awards.
Her approach has served her well. She’s rubbed shoulders with celebrities and pro athletes, won Emmy Awards and traveled to shooting locations around the world.
Of course, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns. Competing in a male-dominated industry, having her ideas shot down, placating difficult clients: Those are everyday challenges.
“You are putting your heart on the table a little bit because you are being very vulnerable with these ideas,” she says.
Oepen certainly laid it out there when she pitched “Paper City” to Chick-fil-A. Maybe she was just really on that day. Maybe the story she could see gleaming in the undeveloped concept had shined through.
Whatever it was, the decision-makers at Chick-fil-A gave her the green light. And, after months of painstaking creative work– scripts, storyboards, casting, digital animation, sound engineering, even an original musical score – she produced a mini masterpiece, a tightly woven animation sequence that blends seamlessly into live action. (Watch the short film “Paper City,” below.)
It’s fun, heartwarming, innovative and not at all what one expects from a promotional corporate video. The mandatories are all there – the company’s ubiquitous cow, quotes from its founder, old photos of the original restaurant – but they are effectively subtle.
Chick-fil-A loved it. And so did the judges at the 2014 Cannes Corporate Film and TV Awards, honoring “Paper City” with a Silver Dolphin Award. She was the only female director to win an award at the festival and headed the only production team from the United States to be honored.
The dolphin statuette is proudly displayed on Oepen’s mantel. And, when people ask about it, she’s happy to tell the story.
This article was originally published in the Spring 2015 issue of College of Charleston Magazine.
