Johan Stahl recently directed “Bus Ride,” a heartwarming commercial for Cadbury Chocolate. The spot, which features a sweet twist on the old “don’t judge a book by its cover” adage, debuted in Asia on TV and online.
The :60 spot opens on a mother as she tries to console her crying toddler on a nighttime bus ride. Another passenger looks over in dismay and opens his window to drown out the little boy’s cries. An intimidating-looking man dressed in black saunters onto the bus causing the passengers to watch warily as he sits behind the mother and son. When the woman reaches down to pick up her shopping bag, which has spilled its contents, her son turns around to stare at the man who stares back intently. The man suddenly reaches into his vest and eats a Cadbury chocolate bar, eliciting a smile from the boy and his mother as he grins with chocolate in his teeth and makes silly expressions before sharing a chocolate bar with the duo. The spot ends with the tagline, “Goodness That Melts Your Heart.”
“The whole core of this concept was to build tension up to a certain point and then do a complete 180°,” said Stahl, who is represented by REVERSE in the U.S. for commercials and branded content. “To make this work, we needed perfect authentic performances from all of the actors, especially the young boy.”
Stahl spent a lot of time casting in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok for the “intimidating man” character. The team eventually landed on an actor by the name of Rabbit who could convincingly shift from a menacing vibe to a genuinely funny guy.
