The J.M. Smucker Company’s new cinematic-style ad campaign for 1850 Coffee features this tongue-in-cheek, two-minute film which positions the brew as “contraband caffeine.”
Andreas Nilsson of Biscuit Filmworks directed the piece, titled Quality That’s Criminal, for Publicis Groupe’s PSOne, an agency that tapped into the notion that 1850 Coffee is so pure, its taste level so high that it’s questionable if this stuff is even legal. In the short, and :60 cutdown, we witness men in ascots hiding steamy hot mugs in their blazer pockets, stockbrokers pouring it from carafes on street corners and Hollywood “it” stars getting cuffed for possession. Police detectives are out in force to stem the tide and bring these “coffeeheads” to justice.
Nilsson played an integral role in developing the film which plays like a unique genre mix of neon-noir meets cop dramedy. The two-minute song accompanying the edit is an original track composed by Christoffer Berg, a noted electronic music composer/writer/producer.
Credits
Client The J.M. Smucker Company/1850 Coffee Agency PSOne, New York (Publicis Groupe’s Power of One) Andy Bird, chief creative officer; Erica Roberts, executive creative director; Alan Wilson, associate creative director/copy; Peter Defries, associate creative director/art; Jenny Read, director of integrated production; Lauren Schneidmuller, executive producer; Kathryn Lemke, associate producer; Jennifer Baldwin, strategy director; Jessica Neira, strategist. Production Biscuit Filmworks Andreas Nilsson, director; Shawn Lacy, partner/managing director; Holly Vega, exec producer; Jay Veal, unit production manager; Mercedes Allen-Sarria, Rachel Glaub, heads of production; Larkin Seiple, DP; Alexis Ross, production designer. Editorial Mackcut, New York Ian Mackenzie, editor; Cooper McLane, assistant editor; Gina Pagano, exec producer. Music Christoffer Berg, composer. Sound Design/Audio Post Super Exploder, New York Jody Nazzaro, sr. sound designer/mixer. VFX The Mill London Tom Manton, producer; Jonathan “Wes” Westley, executive creative director; Seamus O’Kane, colorist; Brad Wood, 2D lead; Peter Atack, 2D artist
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.
