"Sloppy Summer"
Video Ad for HEADLINE
Role: Creative Direction & Writing
How's this for a free gift? A loose sloppy joe sandwich, shipped in the same bag as your t-shirt. Don't worry. It gets worse. I created this (thankfully fake) "Sloppy Summer" promotion for HEADLINE, working with Seven Summit Studios, to showcase the humor of our brand. The point here is not how wonderful the t-shirts are. The product is on display, but never discussed. It's about finding those people who connect with the silly humor of our brand.
We come out swinging — literally — in the first few seconds, to grab the viewer. The fling of sauce lands, followed by the splashy graphic hitting the screen. We're off and running.
*WARNING (Just in case you thought we were serious.) We used some "fine print" in this spot to add an extra dash of humor without overwhelming the viewer.
We found the perfect pitchman in Ray Hobbs (now of the sketch group Killing My Lobster). Fortunately, Ray was a great sport about us hurling coleslaw, mashed potatoes & bbq sauce at him for three hours.
I love the subtlety of the final gag — an errant squeeze of the ranch sauce, followed by a nonchalant bag drop. The deadpan performances by both Ray, and his ambivalent helper Patty, really make it shine.