Droga5 NY created a new brand platform–”This Is Me”–for Pier 1, which includes this spot directed by Nadav Kander of Chelsea Pictures. Titled “Story of Me,” the commercial puts the customer front and center as the individual who makes home a special place. It’s not four walls and an address that makes a home–but the people in it whose stuff tells a story unique to them.
The campaign puts Pier 1 in a new light overall–a store that doesn’t tell consumers the one way to decorate their home but one that gives them everything they need to make a home that truly reflects who they are. It’s about embracing what their customers know and love because for them “decorating never ends” and they are always are looking to define their “little slice of earth.”
Credits
Client Pier 1 Agency Droga5 NY David Droga, creative chairman; Neil Heymann, chief creative officer; Kevin Brady, executive creative director; Emmie Nostitz, Donnell Johnson, creative directors; Alyssa Georg, Eloena Knox, Adrian Chan, associate creative directors; Matthew McCoy, director of content. Production Chelsea Pictures Nadav Kander, director/DP; Lisa Mehling, exec producer; Jeremy Barrett, producer. Editorial Final Cut Rick Russell, Miky Wolf, editors; Sarah Roebuck, exec producer. Music Keith Kennif, composer. Audio Sonic Union Steve Rosen, mixer.
Director Marc André Debruyne--who’s handled by production house Open Swim for U.S. representation--brings Coca-Cola’s legacy of celebrating holiday traditions to life in this campaign spotlighting Filipino Balikbayan boxes. The spot--out of Toronto agencies Taxi and VML--features Tita Rosita, owner of the oldest Filipino-Canadian grocery store in Toronto, whose much-adored shop was wrapped like a massive Coca-Cola-themed Balikbayan box as she prepared hundreds of boxes for customers to send their loved ones, with Coca-Cola paying for the boxes and the cost of shipping them to the Philippines. The spot is a testament to the brand’s prevailing facilitation of cultural and generational connectivity, especially during the holiday season.
The collaborative project--produced by Toronto production company MOWAD--was particularly special for Debruyne, who’s Filipino, because of the large presence of Filipino crew members on set. “It’s a totally surreal feeling when a work project crosses over into your personal life. It’s not too often that happens,” shares Debruyne. “The number of Balikbayan boxes I’ve sent home since I was a child, being surrounded by so many Filipinos on set – both crew and cast, and even being served pancit by Tita Rosita for lunch (and getting yelled at after because I didn’t have seconds) brought back so many wonderful memories of my mom. It was such a fun vibe on set. This wasn’t even a job, it was truly something special.”
