The “Goodness from Grit” campaign from agency Venables Bell & Partners tells the incredible untold story of the SIMI Winery’s fearless leader, Isabelle Simi. A woman pioneer in Sonoma Valley, Calif. winemaking, she overcame personal tragedy to successfully lead and grow her family’s winery through Prohibition, opening the company’s first tasting room in Sonoma Valley in 1934 when most other wineries were foundering after a decade of legalized temperance. She continued to develop the business and set its course for over 70 years. “Goodness from Grit” celebrates the connection between hard work and excellent wine by chronicling Simi’s challenges and ultimate triumphs that led to the success of the SIMI Brand today. It’s a timely message for those who share her spirit, and also cuts against a category that is defined by cliches of leisure and luxury.
SIMI and Venables Bell collaborated with MJZ director Nick Ball and two-time Academy Award-nominated (Atonement, Anna Karenina) cinematographer Seamus McGarvey to craft Simi’s story with the same attention to detail she poured into every bottle of her wine. The centerpiece of the campaign is this four-and-a-half-minute film which features an original cinematic score written, recorded and produced in Melbourne and Berlin by music house Stare Crazy.
Credits
Client SIMI Winery Agency Venables Bell & Partners Paul Venables, chairman; Will McGuinness, chief creative officer; Gus Johnston, creative director; Ryan Hoercher, associate creative director; Aisha Hakim, sr. art director; Megan VanDagens, art director; Alyssa Lee, jr. art director; Marisa Valente, jr. copywriter; Dani Saputo, sr. designer; Hilary Coate, head of integrated production; Sasha White, sr. producer; Jenna Van Deventer, producer; Livia Biedermann, associate producer; Michelle Spigner, strategy director; John Principe, social & content strategist. Production Company MJZ Nick Ball, director; David Zander, president/exec producer; Emma Wilcockson, exec producer; Natalia Mussolana, producer; Seamus McGarvey, DP; Matias O’Donnell, production designer; Sol Montalvo, wardrobe stylist; Max Morales, 1st assistant director. Production Services, Chile Labhouse Finishing & VFX Method Studios Jesse Bradstreet, VFX supervisor; Scott Boyajan, exec producer; Hiltesh Solanki, CG supervisor; Laura Duncan, producer; Matt Welch, lead Flame artist; Cecile Tecson Broas, Cody Edwardson, Kelly Bumbarger 2nd Compositor: Chad Buehler, Alex Gitler, Flame artists; Matt Conway, Ed Mustaros, matte painting; Bradley Morris, Julie Jaros, animation; Kendrick Khoo, Sudipto Nath, Santosh Kumar k Modeling Artists: Sachin, Ilamkar, Abhishek Soni, Avijit Biswas, texture artists; Rick Fornek, rigging; Aswathi S, production coordinator; Kartiki C. Patil, production manager. Editorial Stitch Editing Leo King, editor; Chris Wilson, assistant editor, UK; Lawrence Ng, assistant editor, L.A.; Angela Hart, managing director, UK; Mila Davis, managing director, L.A. Music Stare Crazy Final Mix, Longform Stare Crazy Sound Design RNDM ORDR Sound Design Henryboy Bill Chesley, sound designer; Kate Gibson, exec producer. Telecine Postworks Peter Doyle, colorist; Eric Waldorf, Katy Gilmore, Brian Woos, color assistants; Patriciana Tenicela, finishing producer. Casting Fenner Casting (Santiago), Saigon (Buenos Aires)
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.
