It could be a classic documentary of turf-war gang violence: characters striking imposing stances, a driving rap beat in the background. You half expect one of them to whip out a knife, except that these menacing figures are...lemurs.
Not many would equate lemurs with rap, but for the guys at Blue Room, who produced this promo for the Animal Planet series Lemur Kingdom, it was a natural fit. Blue Room recently followed up that hit with another — the hip-hop-dancing meerkats for Animal Planet’s current mammalian soap opera, Meerkat Manor.
What’s their GIG?
Blue Room is a creative services agency, according to Chris Gargani, president and CEO. They’ll provide a television network with a graphics package, help launch a new show, produce promos or even re-brand the entire network. They pride themselves on the multi-faceted abilities of their staff; not one comes from advertising or other production houses. Gargani started in radio and as a DJ; Brian Aumueller, creative director and partner, is a classically trained pianist; and Dave Gargani, Chris’s brother, editorial director and partner, is a filmmaker.
They’ve produced show opens for Emeril Green and The Whitest Kids U’Know, as well as a gritty new graphics package for ESPN College Football, and they recently refreshed The History Channel’s on-air brand, now simply called "History." Chris Gargani is especially proud of Blue Room’s work conceptualizing and producing "NFL Fantasy Files." These spots show NFL athletes pulling off seemingly impossible stunts to prove their worth for fantasy football teams. The spots have been viewed over five million times on YouTube alone.
The Cool Factor
The three principles were roommates when they started Blue Room in their Bayside, Queens, apartment, having converted their living room into a production facility. When neighbors complained of the noise, they put down blue carpeting, and since the walls were already blue, the name stuck.
"The first time we went to ProMax, we were begging clients to work with us," says Gargani. It worked. ESPN hired them to produce a "very small piece of music" and from there they got work at Video Helper Music Library, followed by a gig at TBS. When they were asked to do something they couldn’t do, they went out and hired someone who could do it.
The Geek Factor
Their first success, which they only reluctantly admit to, was producing a dance record that made it into Billboard’s Top Ten dance chart. The record (the name of which they prefer to keep off the record) was based on an Italian folk song and Gargani says it will likely haunt him forever. "I was at an Italian wedding just last week and they played it," he says, cringing.
Which might be why the guys at Blue Room now prefer to keep their musical backgrounds in the background. When they went in to pitch their promos for Lemur Kingdom, they initially didn’t even show the network the gangsta spot, offering up two standard-issue but respectable versions instead. Almost as an afterthought, they played the network their alternate version. It was an instant hit.
Blue Room's promo for Meerkat Manor (top) and show open for Emeril Green (above)
the show open of The Whitest Kids U'Know
part of a graphics package for ESPN College Football
