Being alone onstage in a deserted nightclub can be a nightmare for a performer–but especially if that performer is a puppeteered dummy (Lenny) without his ventriloquist (Benny). Lenny, though, has a voice and he calls out for Benny who’s nowhere to be found. Dragging himself out of the theater into a back alley and crawling along city streets at night, Lenny searches for Benny–and then finally finds him getting his hair cut and styled at Great Clips.
The new look Benny no longer bears quite the same resemblance to Lenny, which leaves the latter inconsolable. But the great price cut sale at Great Clips was too much for the now sharp looking Benny to resist.
The Perlorian Brothers of MJZ directed this spot, titled “Benny & Lenny,” for Minneapolis-based ad agency Periscope.
Credits
Client Great Clips Agency Periscope, Minneapolis Charlie Callahan, executive creative director; Chris Wareham, creative director/copywriter; Jen Neis,sr. art director; Patty Hofstad, head of production; Tammy Auel, freelance producer. Production MJZ The Perlorian Brothers, director; Bobby Shore, DP; Eriks Krumins, exec producer; Merrie Wasson (Soft Citizen, Toronto), line producer. Editorial HutchCo, Los Angeles Jim Hutchins, editor. VFX/Animation Jamie Shannon, puppetmaster. hutchco/serious electronics, Los Angeles Austin Hickman-Fain, VFX artist.
Toolbox: Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, Mocha Pro
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.
