Words alone can’t describe the joy of sipping your first oatmilk latte. So Califia Farms and Goodby Silverstein & Partners (GS&P) made a musical instead. Their first work together, the inaugural campaign celebrates the Califia brand with the phrase “Calilujah!” and unveils a full-on plant-based production–complete with synchronized baristas, dancing cookies and a giant piano shaped like the iconic Califia bottle. 

“Our goal was to highlight the aha moment and feeling of joy that comes from discovering all different types of plant-based milks–whether it’s the best almondmilk for smoothies, the perfect oatmilk latte or an easy recipe swap with coconut milk,” said Suzanne Ginestro, CMO at Califia Farms. “At Califia, we encourage people to dabble, experiment and explore all of the possibilities.”

“Calilujah” not only describes that feeling, but it also helps consumers pronounce the name—it’s Califia, like “Calilujah”!

To bring the idea to life, Califia and GS&P teamed up with a musical dream team, including Australian directing duo Augustus Punch (who drew on their musical experience working under Baz Luhrmann on Moulin Rouge) and choreographer Jenny Griffin (who worked on The Greatest Showman film as well as several music videos). Augustus Punch directed via production company The Directors Bureau. Squeak E. Clean Studios composed the original track, which combines classic Broadway with the contemporary cool of today’s pop.

“It really is an homage to the Busby Berkeley musicals, or even ‘Beauty School Dropout,’ ” said Kurt Mills, associate creative director at GS&P. “But with a modern, almost music video execution that feels fresh and vibrant.”

The campaign will run globally across TV, digital and social, including bringing the song and dance onto TikTok. GS&P handled creative and media planning, and the campaign was born out of GS&P’s Brand Camp, a rigorous six-week research and brand-strategy sprint that culminates in a radically collaborative two-day workshop with the agency and client leadership team.

Credits

Client Califia Farms Agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners Margaret Johnson, chief creative officer; Kurt Mills, Daniel Righi, associate creative directors; Shelby Lemons, art director; Lucy Sandwick, copywriter; Leila Gage, director of production; Molly Troy, sr. producer; Bonnie Wan, partner, head of brand strategy; Christine Chen, partner, head of communication strategy; Nicole Richards, communication strategy director; Matt McNamara, communication strategist; Katie Coane, group brand strategy director. Production The Directors Bureau Augustus Punch, director; Joost van Gelder, DP; Luke Ricci, exec producer; Jenni Sprunger, exec producer/head of production; Sloane Skala, executive producer/producer; Stephanie Bruni, producer. Editorial Exile Edit Lorin Askill, editor; Eduardo Wong, assistant editor; Samantha Axelrod, producer; CL Kumpata, exec producer. VFX/Finishing The Mill Hillary Thomas, exec producer; Dori Sharvit, producer; Timothy Crabtree, VFX lead; AVV Suresh, Rose Mathew, Sathya Sagar Kolli, Abhishek Jain, Bandaru Shiva, Irshad Abdulla, Jijo Joseph, Vayuvegula Ganesh Chandra, Prathamesh Redkar, cleanup; Chatta Ravikumar, Krishnakant Yadav, Mithil Warlikar, Narendra Kumar, Pateel Venugopal, Shreedhar Vijay Gholap, Shrikant Jadhav, Sureshkumar Venkateshappa, rotoscoping. Color Company 3 Matt Osborne, sr. colorist; Blake Rice, sr. producer; Ananda Reavis, exec producer; Ashley McKim, VP of short form. Music, Sound Design & Mix Squeak E. Clean Studios, bicoastal/international Nolan Frank, Matthew Compton, composers; Chaz Langley, vocalist; Drew Fischer, sound design & final mix; Rob Barbato, executive creative director; Blade Thornton, music producer; Michael Gross, executive creative producer; Angelina Phengphong, audio post producer.

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