Just when a young girl is finding it hard to believe in the spirit of the holidays, she and her brother discover a pen with magical wish-granting powers. The siblings then spread the magic of giving and generosity throughout town–one wish at a time.
Filip Engstrom of Smuggler directed this short film for Macy’s out of J. Walter Thompson New York.
This flagship short leads to the story continuing digitally with a Santa letter-writing app inviting kids to write their most magical letter to Santa. The app also includes 12 games and activities that teach how the spirit of generosity makes the season brighter:
Furthermore the campaign entailed the creation of The Wish Writer product. A magical pen that is inspired by the one in the film (and meant to accompany the app), this product will be on the shelves at Macy’s stores across the country, and is a physical invitation to the holiday campaign. Keeping in Macy’s tradition of generosity, a portion of the proceeds from all app and Wish Writer purchases will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Credits
Client Macy’s Agency J. Walter Thompson New York Jon Zast, Andy Carrigan, executive creative directors; Jordan Young, sr. art director; Carl Mallia, sr. copywriter; Matt Eastwood, worldwide chief creative officer; Adam Kerj, chief creative officer, NY; Lisa Setten, head of integrated production; Jennifer Usdan McBride, head of digital production; Mary Ellen Verrusio, executive producer, broadcast; Chad Utsch, sr. producer, broadcast; Savannah Enright, project manager; Paul Greco, director of music. Production Smuggler Filip Engstrom, director; Shannon Jones, exec producer; Leslie Vaughn, producer; Jakob Ihre, DP. VFX/Design The Mill LA. Sue Troyan, exec producer; Anastasia Von Rahl, producer; Katrina Slater, production coordinator; John Shirley, shoot supervisor/2D lead artist; Robert Sethi, creative director; Rasha Shalaby, 3D lead artist; Jason Bergman, Alex Candlish, Don Kim, 2D artists; Brett Angelillis, Blake Guest, Charles Storniolo, Jason Monroe, Kenzie Chen, Kelvin Liang, Juan Zavala, Nick Lines, Sharlene Lin, James Ma, Jason Jansky, Martin Rivera, Katie Yancey, 3D artists; Gawain Liddiard, Jie Shou, Michael Aceves, Zach Christian, matte painting; Brett Lopinsky, Matthew Dobrez, Kelsey Napier, Gary Marschka, art department; Adam Scott, colorist. Editorial Rock Paper Scissors, NY Aaron Tompkins, Christopher Mitchell, editors; Luke Thorpe, assistant editor; Eve Kornblum, exec producer; Jenny Greenfield, producer. Music Yessian/New York Brian Yessian, chief creative officer; Dan Zank, composer/arranger; Marlene Bartos, exec producer; Weston Fonger, sound designer; Gerard Smerek, music mixer. Audio Post Yessian/New York Weston Fonger, audio engineer.
How do you top one of the most viral brand videos ever made? Spoiler alert: you canโt. 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 โClubโ that people would love to join while showcasing Dollar Shave Clubโs products and embracing the weird. From script to direction and post, Seckler--an alum of SHOOTโs 2021 New Directors Showcase--was invited to help sculpt that vision.
The result is this โWelcome to the Clubโ 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."
โThe Clubโ 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.
