Leo Burnett, Toronto, teamed with director Peter Sluszka of the Hornet studio on this stop motion piece marking Amazon’s 2nd annual Prime Day (July 12), a global, mid-year shopping holiday for its Prime customers to receive online deals.
Sluszka and his team of artists handcrafted a city made of Amazon’s well-known cardboard boxes. Utilizing in-camera, stop-motion techniques, the spot–titled "High/Low"–explores a whimsical yet contemporary metropolis with cardboard as its brick and mortar. The paper craft visuals extend to the cars, landmarks and even the people, all connected by the Amazon pins showing the range of the brand’s services and deals. The end result is a blend of storytelling and artistry, proving that sometimes it’s okay to think inside the box.
Credits
Client Amazon Agency Leo Burnett Toronto Sean Ganann, creative director; Franca Piacente, SVP, executive producer; Chris Brown, art director; Jennifer Smith, copywriter; Laurie Filgiano, producer. Production Hornet Peter Sluszka, director; Zack Kortright, exec producer; Anna Lauren Farrell, producer; Joel Kretschman, line producer; Anita Chao, editor; Sang-Jin Bae, supervising TD; Anna Bron, Stevie Lewis, Mike Luzzi, design (characters & props); Patrick O’Keefe, design (backgrounds); Ivan Abel, DP; Anthony Jacques, Richard Coppola, motion control operators; Tim McDonald, art director; Peter Erickson, Ben Kress, Samantha Smith, Maxwell Sorensen, Melissa Chow, Janet Kim O’Sullivan, Matt Christensen, Arielle Casale, Illya Smelansky, Hillary Barton, Laura Noveck, Kelsey Knight Mohr, Michael Lawrence, Royal Jarmon, Matt McGlade, Kelsey Brewer, Madow Tsai, fabricators; Tom Gasek, Matt Somma, Matt Christensen, Maxwell Sorensen, Zack Williams, Adam Pierce, animators; Kelsey Brewer, Madow Tsai, assistant animator; Carlos Ancalmo, storyboards; Craig Kohlmeyer, CG lead; Doug Litos, previz; Bogdan Mihajlovic, tracking & modeling; Ted Wiggin, lead compositor; John Harrison, Xiaoxiao Tang, Craig Nowicki, Peter Fink, compositors; Michael Yetter, gaffer; Chris Clarke, BB electric; Jarrod Kloiber, 3rd electric; Jeremy Rodriguez, key grip; Rick Morrison, 2nd grip; Justin Wolfson, 3rd grip. (Toolbox: primarily stop motion with a touch of After Effects and Maya). Zung Studios Kerry Coutu, additional fabrication Audio Grayson Matthew Tom Westin, director; Bridget Flynn, exec producer.
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.
