Theoretical physicist S. James Gates is featured in this spot which is part of Intuit TurboTax’s new “It doesn’t take a genius to do your taxes” campaign from Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore. Gates shows a befuddled guy how to take a photo of his W2 form with his smartphone–clearly, this isn’t rocket science, underscoring how TurboTax helps consumers to take control of preparing their tax returns to get every dollar they deserve.
Randy Krallman of Smuggler directed the ads, including “S. James Gates W2,” which feature some of the world’s greatest minds who are brought in to show that TurboTax is so simple and intuitive that even real-life geniuses can’t make it any easier to use or understand. The resulting moments are amusingly awkward as the real geniuses— a theoretical physicist, mathematician and computer scientist—discover that they’re entirely redundant when it comes to helping people file their taxes with TurboTax.
Credits
Client Intuit TurboTax Agency Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore. Max Stinson, Scott Kaplan, Erik Fahrenkopf, creative directors; Jason Turner, copywriter; Joe Albert, art director; Erika Madison, sr. producer; Joe Staples, Mark Fitzloff, executive creative directors; Ben Grylewicz, head of production; Christine Sheehan, Nathan Goldberg, strategic planning; Laurie Holtz, project management. Production Smuggler Randy Krallman, director; Shannon Jones, exec producer; Ian Blain, line producer; Manel Ruiz, DP. Editorial Mackenzie Cutler Erik Laroi, editor; Maria Lee, Sarah Krusen, assistant editors; Sasha Hirschfeld, exec producer; Sam Shaffer, sound designer. VFX Joint Katrina Salicrup, lead Flame artist; David Jahns, Stephan Lectez, Robert Murdock, Noah Poole, 2D artists; Steve Griffith, VFX producer; Nathanael Horton, VFX coordinator. Graphics/Animation Sarah Gamazo, Michael Gersten, WK motion producers; James Heredia, Peiter Hergert, WK motion designers; Sally Garrido-Spencer, Amy Streger, WD studio managers; Erick Reigert, Dana Beaty, WK studios designers. Postproduction Company 3 Sean Coleman, colorist; Matt Moran, producer. Audio Post Joint Noah Woodburn, mixer; Sarah Fink, producer.
For the global EX30 Cross Country launch, Volvo and creative agency Forsman & Bodenfors wants to de-dramatize the outdoor experience--and remind people that small trips into nature can be grand experiences.
Cross Country is Volvo’s concept of turning their regular cars into more outdoor-capable versions, with higher ground clearance, all-wheel drive and other features making it more capable and off-road ready. And now, the compact, fully electric EX30 becomes available as a Cross Country version. It’s a small car designed for big experiences, made to elevate both urban living and outdoor adventure, and to bring people closer to nature.
“With Volvo being such a human-centric brand, it felt natural to focus on the human side of nature. The child’s perspective became the perfect metaphor for this, to spend time in nature on nature’s terms,” said Karl Risenfors, creative at Forsman & Bodenfors.
In a category that often portrays epic journeys deep into the wilderness, the campaign serves as a reminder that even everyday adventures can be memorable experiences. Thus this launch spot--directed by Marcus Ibanez via production company New-Land--shows nature through the point of view of a child. A child’s imagination and perspective generates a visual metaphor for the magic that nature can bring, no matter the scale of the adventure.
