Samuel Adams is all-in on Super Bowl 2021, leveraging the moment to introduce a new line of beer, Wicked, to drinkers everywhere.
For Sam Adams to play in the Big Game marketing space for the first time in brand history at this scale, they’re horsing around with a certain big beer conglomerate in this spot–”Your Cousin From Boston Frees the Clydesdales”–directed by Matt Aselton of Arts & Sciences for agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners.
The spot, which will run in the Boston and New York markets during the Big Game, opens with a pitch-perfect misdirect of a typical Clydesdale commercial–orchestral score, antique carriage, and majestic draft horses. An unseen figure pulls the pin from the carriage hitch, sending a team of galloping Clydesdales stampeding through a quaint New England town. “Whoops,” says Your Cousin From Boston.
The commercial–which stars real life Massachusetts townies-turned-actors Greg Hoyt and Owen Burke–is authentic Boston from its backwards cap to its work boots.
Credits
Client The Boston Beer Company/Samuel Adams Agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco Margaret Johnson, chief creative officer; AJ Warren, Brett Beaty, Joshua Hacohen, associate creative directors; Bonnie Wan, partner, head of brand strategy; Stephanie Bousquet, director of brand strategy; Marisa Perazzelli, sr. brand strategist; Leila Gage, head of broadcast production; Matt Flaker, executive broadcast producer; Stephanie DeNatale, executive producer; Nick Goldsmith, producer. Production Company Arts & Sciences, West Hollywood, Calif. Matt Aselton, director; Toby Irwin, DP; Marc Marrie, managing partner/exec producer; Mal Ward, managing director/partner; Christa Skotland, head of production; Zoe Odlum, exec producer. Editorial Arcade Edit Geoff Hounsell, editor; Ryan Andrus, assistant editor; Kristen Thon-Webb, sr. producer; Crissy DeSimone, exec producer. Audio/Sound Design Lime Studios Michael Anastasi, sound designer; Sam Casas, audio engineer; Susie Boyajan, exec producer; Kayla Mashburn, producer. Music Butter Music Annick Mayer, music exec producer; Stone Irr, music producer. VFX Framestore Matt Pascuzzi, VFX lead; Maura Hurley, sr. producer; Nathaniel Cabra, production coordinator; Dez Macleod-Veilleux, exec producer; Avery Herzog, Elaina Brillantes, Euna Kho, Greg Gaskins, Kane Herd, Zavier Mojica, Ryan Ninko, Raul Ortego, compositing team. (Toolbox: Nuke, Flame) Color Company 3 Tom Poole, colorist; Alexandra Lubrano, producer.
When dozens of Klick Health team members said they wouldn’t be able to hug loved ones over the festive season, the agency turned to AI and other magic to orchestrate a series of sentimental, surprise reunions captured in its “Holiday Hugs” video. The heartwarming four-minute video, benefitting the D.C.-based Foundation for Social Connection (F4SC), parallels recent findings from a Maru/Blue Public Opinion survey commissioned by Klick.
The poll found 74 percent of Americans and Canadians won’t be able to hug at least one person they wish they could over the holidays. And like those in the video, survey participants cited geographical distance and loved ones having passed away as the leading factors preventing their hugs.
“I just wish I could really squeeze her right now,” says teary-eyed New York Klickster Kari Bocassi watching her AI-generated hug with her sister Marlene, moments before she bursts onto the set for a long in-person embrace. The siblings have spent the past 14 years caring for their mother since her Alzheimer’s diagnosis, but haven’t been together for the holidays since Marlene moved to Virginia. Similarly, Toronto’s Fred Duarte gets the bear hug of his life when his brother Rico, who lives in Brazil, walks into Klick’s production studio for their first holiday reunion in seven years.
Directed by James Cooper via Cooper Films, “Holiday Hugs” also taps into the fact that hugs don’t just make people feel better emotionally, they also have numerous health benefits. According to the National Institutes of Health, hugs can lower blood pressure and boost the immune system.
“There’s nothing quite like the warmth and reassurance of a heartfelt hug,” said Klick’s chief creative officer Rich Levy. “With ‘Holiday... Read More
