The latest round of “Business Card Chronicles” for American Express draws inspiration from a special place of the sourdough variety, punctuated with starter puns like Dough-Re-Me, Sir Rise-A-Lot and Dough Quixote. Directed by Brian Beletic of SMUGGLER for agency dentsuMB, this long-form spot, titled “The Dough,” introduces us to a baking entrepreneur who finds herself needing capital for an ever growing sourdough business (with American Express to the rescue).
“We wanted to show the unexpected hurdles small-business owners face in running day-to-day operations,” shared dentsuMB global executive creative director Julie Scelzo, who added that these stories (the other being centered on a pair of architects designing mini-homes) were inspired by two trends over the last year or so: the nationwide sourdough craze—and the desire to flee cities in search of nature.
Credits
Client American Express Agency dentsuMB Menno Kluin, chief creative officer; Julie Scelzo, global executive creative director; Christina Pitsinos, creative director; Gavin Zarin, sr. art director; Aaron Sheinberg, copywriter; Ed Zazzera, EVP integrated production; Katie West, sr. producer integrated production; Jerry Krenach, SVP, music production. Production SMUGGLER Brian Beletic, director; Sue Yeon Ahn, exec producer. Editorial/Post PS260 Maury Loeb, editor; Ashley Ingbretson, assistant editor; Evann Payne, sr. producer; Zarina Mak, managing partner; Margaret Yang, lead Flame artist; Carlos Morales, Jon Jovich, Flame artists; Anthony Augusta, Flame assistant; Natalie Raffaele, finishing producer; Patrick Lavin, GFX director; Golpar Jalali, GFX. VFX Parliament Music Consortium Seth Olinsky, composer. Audio Post Sonic Union Michael Marinelli, engineer. Color Company 3 Tim Masick, colorist. Voiceover Judah Friedlander
How do you top one of the most viral brand videos ever made? Spoiler alert: you can’t. But when Dollar Shave Club tapped Zack Seckler to direct a new campaign to revive the absurdist humor of its iconic launch video, he knew he had a rare opportunity to create something special.
The brief was simple: introduce the concept of a physical “Club” that people would love to join while showcasing Dollar Shave Club’s products and embracing the weird. From script to direction and post, Seckler--an alum of SHOOT’s 2021 New Directors Showcase--was invited to help sculpt that vision.
The result is this “Welcome to the Club” spot which invites us to join a unique, seemingly exclusive but in reality an accessible and affordable fraternity of Dollar Shave Club members. But you need to know the password or more accurately, the two-word phrase--"shave money."
“The Club” campaign brings the brand back to its humorous roots, reflecting a new chapter after being acquired by Nexus Capital Management from Unilever in late 2023. The work takes Dollar Shave Club back to its disruptive beginnings and what made the brand a viral sensation from its inception in 2011.
