Summer is here and the programming on Nat Geo is heating up, ignited by a newly released batch of promos for upcoming shows.

Andy Baker, SVP/group creative director for the National Geographic Channels, took a minute from his busy schedule at The Conference and elsewhere to walk us through the strategy behind spots for four of Nat Geo’s most anticipated new offerings: the documentary “Miracle on the Hudson”; Season 5 of “Drugs, Inc”; the spinoff “Wicked Tuna: North vs. South”; and a special two-hour follow-up to last year’s hit series “Inside Combat Rescue.”

With each program swinging its own brand of emotional wallop, Baker’s team largely let footage from the shows themselves lead the charge. “When you can use the show itself, that’s always the best,” he told Brief. “You don’t have to work to get supplemental materials to tell the story. It’s all right there in the show – it’s just our job to find the best emotions in it; the best way to tell that story.”

The results, whether pulling the curtain back on the drug trade or following Gloucester fishermen as they venture into foreign waters, share a visceral, immediate quality that unites them as thrilling products of the Nat Geo brand.

“Miracle on the Hudson” (Premieres June 22, 9:00pm)

Baker’s team partnered with Viewpoint Creative in its promotion of Nat Geo’s account of the dramatic 2009 Hudson river landing of US Airways Flight 1549. For their first promo effort, he said, “we had a bit more straightforward, gripping [spot] about here’s the crash and here’s what it felt like.”

“Then as we were exploring edits we discovered maybe there’s a bigger emotion to be sold,” Baker continued. “It’s a story that we all saw play out live a few years ago [but] there was a part of the story that we hadn’t heard as much and that was, what if you were on this crash? What were the passengers thinking? What would you be thinking of in those moments that you think are your last? That was the big emotional sell.”

“As those two spots played out we liked them both very much,” Baker said, “We wanted something visceral and intense but also thoughtful and thought-provoking… and they both told two very different stories, which helped broaden the appeal of a story you think you’ve seen [before].”

“Drugs, Inc” (New season premieres July 2, 9:00pm)

“We’ve certainly heard stories about the drug trade,” said Baker. “What’s unique about “Drugs, Inc” is it follows every link in the chain, whether it’s the grower, the user, the dealer, the cop – all the pieces in the puzzle. We wanted to reflect that but unlike the previous season where we did a great campaign that sort of sold the business aspect of the drugs, this season was so visceral and strong it was like, ‘man, we should just use the shows to tell the story.’ It’s really hard-hitting and you feel like you’re somewhere you’ve never been before – maybe not somewhere you’d want to go by yourself but we’re putting it on TV for you and giving you access to that place you’ve heard about but never quite seen.”

“Wicked Tuna: North vs. South” (Premiere TBA)

For this upcoming spin-off of Nat Geo’s popular “Wild Tuna” series, the Gloucester fishermen will head south to try their luck in the strange waters of the Outer Banks. Its initial promo aired during the June 8 finale of the current “Wicked Tuna” season, which means the spot had to create an air of anticipation just as everything seemed all wrapped up.

“You think the season’s done, but now the captains have to go and make more money, put more food on the table, and go where the fish are, which is down in the Outer Banks,” said Baker. The spot below is the world’s first glimpse of that new chapter, and “just the beginning of a really fun campaign featuring all the new captains down south as well as our Gloucester favorites.”

“Inside Combat Rescue: The Last Stand” (Special airs June 15, 9:00pm)

“We had done a full series of this show last year and it was really successful,” said Baker. “This season we went to go shoot with them and in the middle of shooting this other story broke out and everything changed.”

That story involved Reaper Team 5, an elite team of airmen tasked with tracking down and capturing a wanted Taliban leader allegedly responsible for rockets fired onto the main U.S. operating base and trafficking of weapons used against U.S. and Afghan forces.

Crafting a promo for the resulting two-hour special “was a challenge,” said Baker, “because the show started out in one direction and then took a left turn. We wanted to reflect that in the promo and tell our story like, ‘hey, we went to follow these guys but just like in war, it’s unpredictable.’ It went from parajumpers to [catching] this high-ranking official from Al-Qaeda. The promo touches on a frightening situation and [the idea of] ‘thank god we have these guys to help stop terrorism.’ It plays a little different than a traditional war-based show might. It’s a bit more haunting and there’s a bit more soul to it.”

With the help of an eerie revamp of Pat Benatar’s song “Invincible” (re-scored and re-voiced by music agency Jingle Punks), the new “Inside Combat Rescue” spot is the rare military show promo to be almost entirely impressionistic, forgoing plot teasers to focus solely on the feelings of the men involved and sweeping images of the world they risk their lives in. The results are powerful and unforgettable.

“Viewers get hit in the head with so many different promos, so to occasionally come form a different angle can be very effective in getting their attention in a different way,” said Baker.

CREDITS

“Miracle Landing On The Hudson”

SVP/Group Creative Director: Andy Baker

Creative Director: Tyler Korba

Creative Director, Design: Brian Everett

Executive Producer: Erin Newsome

Viewpoint Creative –

Executive Creative Director: Michael Middeleer

Director of Design: Ted Roberts

Editorial & Composite Director: David DiNisco

Designer: Jonny Ouellette

Designer: Jason Taylor

Animator: Matthew Barretto

Editor: Jon Anderson

Assistant Editor: Jack Sheehan

5.1 Audio Engineer & Sound Design: Todd Hrinda

Executive Producer: David Shilale

Producer: Penny Benatovich

“Inside Combat Rescue”

SVP/Group Creative Director: Andy Baker

Creative Director: Tyler Korba

Creative Director, Design: Brian Everett

Art Director: Jeremy Tate

Editorial: South District Films

Music: Jingle Punks

“Wicked Tuna: North vs South”

SVP/Group Creative Director: Andy Baker

Creative Director: Tyler Korba

Creative Director, Design: Brian Everett

Writer/Producer: James Introcaso

Cinematography: Evolve, IMG

“Drugs, Inc”

SVP/Group Creative Director: Andy Baker

Creative Director: Tyler Korba

Creative Director, Design: Brian Everett

Senior Writer Producer: Katie Smithson

Art Director: Jeremy Tate

Editorial: Ultrabland

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