Aaron Stoller of Biscuit Filmworks directed this three-spot comedy campaign for Dollar Shave Club speaking to the relatable habit of letting razors get old and grimy through overuse. Included in the package is “Zeke the Dirtbag Razor,” a filthy, grungy razor character who comes to life in the shower, scaring the man who’s about to shower and then his wife who enters the bathroom.
Coming out from behind the shower curtain is Dollar Shave Club’s founder and CEO Michael Dubin who reprises his role as company spokesman, advising people not to let old razors stick around past their prime. You don’t have to anymore because Dollar Shave Club offers new razors at an affordable price.
Credits
Client/Creative Dollar Shave Club Alec Brownstein, creative director; Matt Orser, art director; Allan Eakin, copywriter. Agency Zebra Linda Rafoss, executive producer; Maggie Dunn, producer. Production Biscuit Filmworks Aaron Stoller, director; Shawn Lacy, managing director; Holly Vega, exec producer. Editorial Cosmo Street Tom Scherma, editor; Marie Mangahas, producer. Postproduction The Mill John Leonti, head of 3D/creative director; Tara Demarco, 2D VFX supervisor; Anastasia von Rahl, VFX producer; Enca Kaul, exec producer.
Dancer turned director Ezra Hurwitz collaborates with Ailey II artistic director Francesca Harper, featuring movement as museum pieces against the Whitney Museum of American Art’s striking architecture for this short film titled Echoes of Ailey. Commissioned to celebrate “Edges of Ailey” at the Whitney Museum, the film accompanies the first large-scale exhibition on the life and enduring legacy of visionary artist and choreographer Alvin Ailey. “Edges of Ailey” is currently on view at the Whitney until February 9.
Animating iconic images from Alvin Ailey’s 20th-century repertory, the film expands on the exhibition by constructing a visual narrative around his storytelling and influences. Set to Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Right Place,” dancers from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, and The Ailey School capture the emotional core of the company’s history--physically situating Ailey’s masterworks amongst the Whitney’s collection.
“As a child, my grandmother took me to Ailey’s Revelations once a year,” said Hurwitz. “No matter how often I saw it, the work captivated me. There isn’t one specific thing I hope viewers take away from the film--or one way to interpret its images. It’s meant to be an abstract work, like Ailey’s creations.”
Turning to his archive, Hurwitz and Harper illuminate key sequences symbolic of Ailey’s profound legacy, closing on an uninterrupted sequence from "I’ve Been Buked," the opening movement of Ailey’s legendary "Revelations." Carrying a watershed moment back to its own medium, Echoes of Ailey captures the multigenerational impact of Ailey’s work, continued by his organization. The short film first premiered on Nowness.
