In this anthem spot directed by Michel Gondry of Partizan for Altice’s Amplify speaker out of agency VMLY&R, puppetry and CGI help to bring a mundane home’s cast of characters to life (and a dance party). A clever parrot cues the Amplify speaker, which wakes up the entire house–from bobblehead baseball player dolls to the TV weatherwoman, picture album and chessboard.
As the house’s quirky inhabitants give a rendition of “Pump Up the Jam,” director Gondry’s distinctive style illustrates the imaginative possibilities that the smart speaker brings to an otherwise ordinary home.
The campaign is based on the insight that consumers care about enjoying the things they are connecting to, but they don’t want to have to think about the technology that gets them there. Altice creates experiences so simple and immersive, they bring everything around you to life.
For this launch spot titled "Happy Home," Altice and VMLY&R reworked this version of Pump up the Jam by Technotronic with Squeak E. Clean Studios’ executive creative director Sam Spiegel.
Credits
Client Altice Agency VMLY&R Jason Xenopoulos, NY CEO/North America chief creative officer; João Coutinho, North America executive creative director; Felipe Pavani, Pieter Melief, creative directors; Sam Saunders, copywriter; Roberto Baibich, art director; Daniel Maughan, producer (Middle Mile); Theresa Notartomaso, music producer. Production Partizan Michel Gondry, director; Molly Griffin, exec producer/head of production; Lisa Tauscher, managing director/exec producer; Raffi Adlan, producer. Postproduction Cosmo Street Tom Scherma, Tessa Davis, editors. Music Publishing courtesy of Universal Music Publishing Group. (“Pump up the Jam” by Technotronic) Original Music Squeak E. Clean Studios Sam Spiegel, executive creative director; Rob Barbato, creative director; Danielle Toporoff, sr. producer; Elliot Glasser, composer. VFX The Mill Andrew Sommerville, exec producer; Heino Henning, sr. producer; Corey Brown, creative director; Keith Sullivan, 2D lead; Yong Chan Kim, Rune Mansson, CG leads; Fergus McCall, colorist.
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.
