“Black Titanium” sounds like it could be the name of any number of things. A high-tech smartphone. A fancy cologne. Even an intense heavy metal band. But none of those are as big as what Black Titanium actually is–a new Scratch-Off Game from the New York Lottery, with a top prize of $10 million. The campaign defines exactly what Black Titanium is, by stating what it isn’t.
This TV spot, directed by Matt Aselton of production house Arts & Sciences, imagines what Black Titanium would be like as a heavy metal band. JSM collaborated with the agency on a Spotify album for the fake Black Titanium band, executing ads disguised as songs that had to be completely legit to the heavy metal genre. Across social executions, the New York Lottery compares the high-jackpot Scratch-Off Game to other items that Black Titanium could be, like a premium credit card or a fancy cologne. All the while reminding you that it isn’t any of those things. It’s a new Scratch-Off Game. And it’s big.
Gavin Cutler of Mackcut edited the comedy TV commercial.
Credits
Client New York Lottery Agency McCann NY Eric Silver, North American chief creative officer; Sean Bryan, Tom Murphy, chief creative officers, NY; Mat Bisher, EVP, executive creative director; Jason Ashlock, Dominick Baccollo, VPs/group creative directors; Emily Salas, Tyler Gonerka, creative directors; Halley Lawrence, jr. art director; Jack McNamara, jr. copywriter; Nathy Aviram, chief production officer; Chance Bassett, VP, executive producer; Eric David Johnson aka DJ Bunny Ears, SVP, executive integrated music producer; Dan Gross, music producer; Laura Frank, VP, strategy director. Production Arts & Sciences Matt Aselton, director; John Benson, exec producer; Zoe Odlum, producer; Tracy Zukowski, production supervisor; Darren Lew, DP; Mark Newell, production designer. Editorial Mackcut Gavin Cutler, editor; Gina Pagano, exec producer; Alyce Muhammad, assistant editor. Music Future Perfect Audio Post Mackcut Sam Shaffer, mixer. VFX Framestore Sarah Hiddlestone, exec producer. Color Company 3 Tim Masick, colorist. Music JSM Music Joel Simon, CEO/CCO/composer; Becca Riter, Seamus Kilmartin, Nathanial Morgan, Jason Krebs, composers; Jeff Fiorello, exec producer; Andrew Manning, Norm Felke, producers.
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.
