In this spot titled “Kids' Dreams,” Volkswagen initially lets vehicles of other manufacturers take center stage–which is quite a departure from the automotive advertising norm. These models are presented as children’s dream cars which make the kids forget everything else around them when they see them.
This is where the VW Golf comes into its own. Thanks to the city emergency brake function of the “Front Assist” ambient traffic monitoring system, the Golf brakes automatically just in time as a boy who is immersed in daydreams walks onto the road, with his eyes following a sports car that has just passed by.
Sebastian Strasser directed “Kids' Dreams” via Berlin production house ANORAK Film for agency Grabarz & Partner Werbeagentur GmbHf.
Credits
Client Volkswagen Agency Grabarz & Partner Werbeagentur GmbHf Ralf Heuel, creative CEO; Tobias Ahrens, group creative director; Matthias Preuss, creative director/art director; Jakob Eckstein, creative director/writer; Christian Jakimowitsch, art director; Paul v. Mühlendahl, Marian Götz, writers; Judith Uhrlau, Anka Gerbes, moving images. Production ANORAK Film GmbH (Berlin) Sebastian Strasser, director; Christiane Dressler, exec producer; Yan Schoenefeld, producer; Jeremy Rouse, DP; Friedrich Ploch, production designer; Ulé Barcelos, costume designer. Editorial Trim Editing, London Paul Hardcastle, editor; Postproduction NHB, Hamburg Color The Mill LA Adam Scott, colorist. Sound Design Beatworms Cam Ballantyne, sound designer. Audio Studio Funk, Hamburg Music Licensing Supreme Music GmbH, licensing. Song title: “If you could read my mind“ by Scala & Kolacny Brothers
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.
