With COVID restrictions continuing to impact commercial productions, Free streaming television service Pluto TV got creative by casting David Hasselhoff to play all nine characters in this infomercial titled “Hoff Multiverse.” Viewers will get to enjoy him as host Hoff on a retro-future studio set, plus hipster Hoff, mom Hoff and more throughout the 100-second spot, which includes a number of eccentric viewer testimonials. Pluto TV knew that Hasselhoff, who is hardly a stranger to poking fun at himself, could dust off some of his most iconic characters in the spot. Yes, Mitch Buchanon from the hit series Baywatch has exactly the over-the-top personality of a vintage infomercial host.
The “Hoff Multiverse” concept was developed in-house by Pluto TV and directed by Jonas Morganstein, with production by Jonas & Co. Media planning and buying was by Mediahub and activation by The Martin Agency’s Cultural Impact Lab.
Pluto TV offers hundreds of free TV channels and thousands of movies and television series on-demand including titles such as Narcos, CSI, Star Trek and a 24/7 James Bond channel. With over 100,000 hours of premium content available on the platform, Pluto TV is available across all major mobile, connected TV and web-based devices. Should one continue to scroll through their easy-to-use platform, they will find many hit TV shows and movies from past decades, which perhaps defined generations, available on an all-day viewing schedule–including Baywatch, Three’s Company and The Bob Ross Channel.
CreditsClient Pluto TV Agency Pluto TV (in-house) Fran Hazeldine, SVP, marketing; Mathew Brian, VP, brand; Elizabeth Anderson, brand manager; Caspar Nonner, creative director; Jeremy Frigo, Mike Truesdale, Andrew Corbet (J&Co), writers; Jory Federighi (Tangent), animator. Production Jonas & Co Jonas Morganstein, director; Hema Mulchandani, exec producer; Lisa Dabao Meyer, line producer; Stoeps Langensteiner, DP; Rob Fox, production designer; Michelle Thompson, wardrobe stylist; Laura Calvo, makeup artist; Theresa Broadnax, hair stylist. Postproduction & VFX Jonas & Co Daniel Reitzenstein, editor; Marshall Plante, colorist. Sound Design Milos Zivkovic, sound designer.
Top Spot of the Week: Samsung, BBH Singapore, Director Rhys Thomas Get Fit For A Surf Holiday
Samsung’s new global campaign from BBH Singapore, featuring Samsung Health and Galaxy AI, tells the story of a young professional couple who compete to get fit for a surf holiday.
Titled “A Samsung Health Story: Racing to Fiji,” this film taps into Gen Z’s wellness dilemma and the fact that they can often find health information overwhelming; in particular, BBH Singapore took inspiration from young people who reference their “quarter life crisis” on social media. This film tells the story of Stacey and Steve who decide to go surfing in Fiji, something they did five years ago but haven’t done since they started their jobs. However, there’s one problem: they need to get fitter first.
Featuring a range of Galaxy products powered by Galaxy AI, they rebuild their fitness to prepare for the trip, competing playfully to spur each other on. We see them comparing their Energy Scores (a new feature on the Samsung Health app), recording their runs and swims on their Samsung Galaxy Watches, trying and failing to get fit at work and on their commutes and striving to improve in the run up to the trip. When they get there, however, there’s a fun twist, and the film ends on a cliffhanger.
The ad is expected to be the first in a series, which will develop the characters and their “world” in future episodes. This longform (two-and-a-half-minute) version of the spot delves deeper into the storytelling, in a fresh approach for Samsung’s product campaigns, while the shorter edits focus on driving exposure to specific features.
BBH Singapore also leaned into the entertainment aspect of the spot; it was directed by comedic specialist Rhys Thomas at Stink Films, who has a major TV background. Best known for his work on Saturday Night... Read More