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.
CreditsClient 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
Director Gia Coppola Teams With Mejuri For “A New York Minute”; 1st Episode Takes Us To The Grocery Store
Mejuri, known for turning fine jewelry into an everyday luxury, has partnered with director Gia Coppola (The Last Show Girl, Palo Alto) and The Directors Bureau in Los Angeles, for the first time reimagining the brand’s story as episodic content. In a series of microfilms, co-created by Coppola and premiering following New York Fashion Week, Mejuri eschewed a typical celebrity campaign and cast us as voyeurs to a group of aspiring young women--real people, not actors--at the crossroads of their adult lives against the backdrop of New York City.
Titled “A New York Minute,” the series features five real-life friends, who include one perfectly imperfect heroine named Emma. The women celebrate ordinary moments and interactions which reveal, sometimes retrospectively, the extraordinary within the mundane. Adjacent to the brand’s own community, the 30-something year old cast includes Laura Love (Emma), Rebecca Ressler, Natalie Vall-Freed and Rozzi Crane. Mejuri’s jewelry makes an appearance as the best supporting actor.
“When I met with Gia and The Directors Bureau team, there was instant creative and personal chemistry and a natural alignment on the desire to push and blur the lines between marketing, storytelling, and the construct of what a ‘campaign’ could be,” said Jacob Jordan, chief brand officer, Mejuri. “Gia was able to push that idea into something that truly feels new and artful, with a realism and relatability that almost feels jarring. Gia was such a perfect collaborator and partner, someone I had complete trust in to be a catalyst for Mejuri’s values of celebrating women as their truest selves. I can’t wait for us to continue to tell the next chapters of this story.”
To land the relatable... Read More