The dynamic power of social media to generate attention is exemplified in this Squarespace short film featuring Sesame Street’s Oscar the Grouch who is content to lay around in his garbage can surrounded by trash. But one person’s trash is another’s treasure as an admirer is taken by Oscar’s environment, seeing it as a work of art which she posts online, striking a responsive chord with the world at large.
Suddenly Oscar via his Squarespace website is a famous, revered artist–much to his chagrin; until he realizes that he’s more miserable than ever as a result, which he comes to like.
Jim Jenkins of O Positve directed this short titled “A Cautionary Tale” for Squarespace’s in-house agency. Q Department handled music and sound design, with audio post from Digital Arts.
Credits
Client Squarespace Agency In-House Creative, Squarespace David Lee, chief creative officer; Ben Hughes, director of brand creative; Leilanni Todd, Tim Scales, creative/sr. art directors; Matt McCarron, creative/sr. copywriter; Sandra Nam, director of creative production; Amy Kommatas, head of production/brand; Jen McKenzie, creative producer. Production O Positive Jim Jenkins, director; Stuart Dryburgh, DP; Julian LaVerdiere, production designer; Marc Grill, executive producer/line producer. Editorial Arcade Geoff Hounsell, editor; Jeff Lopus, assistant editor; Sila Soyer, exec producer; Andrew Cravotta, producer. Finishing/VFX Method Studios Doug Luka, VFX supervisor; Steve Morris, lead VFX artist; Graham Dunglinson, exec producer; Irka Seng, producer. Color Company 3 Tom Poole, colorist; Alexandra Lubrano, color producer. Music/Sound Design Q Department, New York Audio Post Digital Arts, New York Josh Heilbronner, mixer.
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.
