John Singleton (Boyz in the Hood) directed this spot for AECOM, a company which designs, builds, finances and operates infrastructure assets for governments, businesses and organizations in more than 150 countries. In this piece, the focus is on the mass transit Metro Line in Los Angeles, introducing us to a young surfer from South L.A. who commutes over the Metro rail to the beach in Santa Monica. Conceived by L.A. ad agency Battery, the commercial is the first ever for AECOM, airing on CNBC, timed to coincide with AECOM CEO Michael Burke’s ringing of the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. The ad underscores how the Metro connects people with each other and their communities throughout Greater L.A.
Asked what attracted him to the project, Singleton said, “Ever since I was a kid, I was fascinated by moving vehicle–especially trains. I like the idea of sitting some place and watching the world move around, and for that moment you’re in another world. It would be an opportunity to tell a story about a person in motion with emotion.”
Credits
Client AECOM Agency Battery Phil Khosid, chief creative officer/co-founder; Raymond Hwang, Scott Brown, VP/creative directors; Joanna Rhodes, executive producer; Kristine Ling, sr. producer; Mackenzie Busch, producer. Production @LArge Productions John Singleton, director; Beth Aranda, exec producer; Paul Alcus, line producer. Editorial Metro Pictures Editorial Paul Norling, editor; Heather Bartholomae, assistant editor; Mary Stasilli, exec producer. Color The Mill Adam Scott, colorist; Thatcher Petersen, exec producer; Diane Velara, producer. Music/SFX SOUTH Music & Sound Design, Santa Monica, Calif. Audio Formosa and Margarita Mix Hollywood John Bolen, mix engineer (Formosa); Lauren Cascio, exec producer (Formosa); Michael Greenberg, mix engineer (Margarita Mix); Patrick Knight, exec producer (Margarita Mix). Footage Port Authority New York and New Jersey; NASA, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA; Footage Courtesy of The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)
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.
