PES–a filmmaker known for his stop-motion animation work, including Fresh Guacamole which earned him a Best Animated Short Oscar nomination in 2013–directed this two-minute spot, “Paper,” which deploys thousands of hand-drawn illustrations to create an intricate paper-flipping journey through Honda history. The piece depicts the many iterations of Honda engines over the years, dovetailing nicely with the company’s continuing “Power of Dreams” campaign.
“Paper” opens with founder Soichiro Honda’s use of a radio generator to power his wife’s bicycle, and the story continues with Honda’s development of motorcycles including a nod to winning Isle of Man TT races (1961-1967), segueing to outboard motors and then to the first CVCC vehicle. Nostalgia leads the viewer through a series of past Honda vehicle models, such as multiple generations of the Civic and Accord as well as the all-new 2016 Pilot, to F1 and Indy racing to the development of robotics and jets and numerous innovations in between. The commercial concludes with the copy, “You never know where a dream will lead you.”
PES directed “Paper” via production company RESET for agency RPA.
Credits
Client American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Agency RPA Joe Baratelli, EVP, chief creative officer; Jason Sperling, SVP, executive creative director; Chuck Blackwell, VP, creative director/art director; Ken Pappanduros, VP, creative director/copywriter; Chris Bradford, sr. copywriter; Laura Crigler, art director; Josh Hepburn, copywriter; Gary Paticoff, SVP, chief production officer; Isadora Chesler, VP, executive producer; Matt Magsaysay, producer; Christian Cocker, SVP, group strategic planning director. Production/Animation RESET Content, Santa Monica, Calif. PES, director; Dave Morrison, managing director; Jen Beitler, Jeff McDougall, exec producers; Amanda Clune, head of production; Stan Sawicki, producer; Eric Adkins, DP; Mario D’Amici, production supervisor; John Joyce, production designer; Mark Eifert, motion control operator; Calvin Frederick, motion control assistant; Eileen Kohlhepp, animiation supervisor; Amy Adamy, Sihanouk Mariona, David Braun, Julian Petschek, Javan Ivey, Jen Prokopowicz, Brandon Lake, Ranko Tadic & Quique Rivera, animators; Jerrod McIlvain, Nicole Cardiff, Vincent Lucido, Arwen King, Meghan Boehman, Monica Magana, Kei Chong, Trevor Brown & Alex Theodoropulos, illustrator; Veronica Hwang, set dresser/painter; Evan Koehne, illustration coordinator; Nate Theis, Ellen Ridgeway, Melissa Quezada, art department. Editorial Rock Paper Scissors Stewart Reeves, editor; Angela Dorian, exec producer; Leah Carnahan-Dogruer, producer; Jasmina Zaharieva, assistant editor. VFX/Finishing a52, Santa Monica, Calif. Andy Rafael Barrios, VFX supervisor/lead Flame; Kirk Shintani, CG supervisor; Patrick Nugent, exec producer; Lusia Boryczko, producer; Kim Christensen, head of production; Michael Plescia, Enid Dalkoff, Chris Moore, Cam Coombs, Michael Vagilenty, 2D VFX artists; Aaron Baker, Mike Bettinardi, Michael Cardenas, Jon Belcome, Joe Chiechi, CG artists; Ranko Tadic, Ingolfur Guomundsson, Benito Vargas, pre-viz; Tommy Hooper, colorist; Dan Ellis, online editor; Gabe Sanchez, Chris Riley, Erik Rojas, color/online assist; Cathy Shaw, Robert Shaw, Tiffany Germann, roto artists. (Toolbox: Maya, Flame) Sound Design Factory UK Phil Bolland, sound designer; Lou Allen, head of production. Audio Post Lime Studios Dave Wagg, re-recording mixer; Adam Primack, assistant re-recording mixer; Susie Boyajan, 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.
