Droga5 London’s “A voice is all you need” campaign for Amazon’s Alexa voice-activated virtual assistant includes this spot in which a man who’s ironing clothes serves as a quasi-director, asking peeved actors to twice re-do a pivotal death scene in a Game of Thrones-esque epic adventure fantasy.
Directed by Andreas Nilsson of Biscuit Filmworks, the commercial simply titled “Ironing” ultimately shows that the gent crouched over the ironing board is actually at home, watching the proceedings on a TV screen. He instructs his Alexa to rewind 10 seconds so he can finally fully see the demise of the show’s protagonist.
Turns out “a voice is all you need” to be in the director’s chair, simultaneously presiding over two contrasting worlds–the everyday and the epic.
David Kolbusz, chief creative officer at Droga5 London said, “The way we use Alexa is so idiosyncratic and reflective of our own voices so we needed great talent to bring these insights to life. Our actors did an amazing job.”
Credits
Client Amazon/Alexa Agency Droga5 London David Kolbusz, chief creative officer; Shelley Smoler, executive creative director; Jonathan Thake, copywriter; Ethan Bennett, art director; Peter Montgomery, producer; Manon Rees, assistant producer. Production Biscuit Filmworks Andreas Nilsson, director; Rupert Reynolds-Maclean, managing director/exec producer; Lee Groombridge, producer; Luke Thornton, production manager; Lasse Frank, DP; David Lee, production designer; Selila Wong, costume designer. Production Services Unit+Sofa (Prague unit). Editorial Cut+Run Ben Campbell, editor; Chris Hutchings, assistant editor; Ruth Minkley, producer. Postproduction/VFX The Mill London Misha Stanford-Harris, exec producer; James Beck, Nicola Simmons, producers; Jonathan Westley, creative director/shoot supervisor; Ben Turner, 2D lead artist; Peter Hodsman, Declan Andrews, 2D artists; Dan Yargici, 3D lead artist; Finlay Crowther, Jiyoung Lee, Paul Donnellan, Biswajit Tarafder, Bethan Williams, Murali Krishna Reddy, Roman Vrbovsky, 3D artists; Seamus O’Kane, colorist. (Toolbox: Flame, Nuke, Maya, Houdini, Baselight) Sound String and Tins Lawrence Kendrick, supervising sound editor; Jim Stewart, sound effects editor; Eimear Ni Ghuaire, audio post producer.
The Ad Council, partnering with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and AdoptUSKids, launched a public service campaign, created pro bono by Edelman, which aims to inspire prospective parents to consider adopting a teen from foster care.
This centerpiece PSA titled “The Rewards”--directed by The Hudson Dusters (Michael Kuhn and Niles Roth) via Greenpoint Pictures--spotlights real adoptive families who have personally experienced the mutual benefits of adoption. This longer form PSA (and cutdown versions) begins with a touching display of openness and vulnerability as adoptive parents reflect on their adoption journeys and their initial questions and hesitations about adopting a teen. Then, in a deeply emotional turn, the adoptive parents witness their children recounting the profound rewards of adoption in their lives. The teens speak of the love they share with their parents and how the decision to become a family is reciprocal. The campaign directs viewers to the AdoptUSKids website to learn more about adopting a teen from foster care.
