Sailors manning an ocean liner panic when they find themselves steaming toward an object of “titanic” proportions in a clever new spot directed by Peter Dietrich for Chapita’s Molto croissants.
In a scene reminiscent of a blockbuster movie, the ship’s crew work frenetically to keep the vessel from colliding with a mammoth object looming before them in the frigid Atlantic. At the end of the spot, a panoramic image reveals that the menace in the water is not a big chunk of ice, but rather a floating pastry of epic proportions. The tagline proclaims Molto’s croissants, “ Frighteningly Big.” The ad was produced by Topcut for Athens agency Black Cherry.
Dietrich, who directs in the United States via A Common Thread and was recently named one of the world’s best commercial directors by Best Ads on TV, plays the scene like an edge-of-your-seat drama and imbues it with high-end production value. The 1920s vintage costumes and sets—including the ship’s bridge and engine room—are meticulously realized. The crew’s attempt to avoid calamity includes cutaways to an officer frantically spinning the ship’s giant wooden wheel, and burly sailors straining their muscles to close a valve and shovel coal into a blast furnace.
Best of all are the deadpan performances Dietrich elicits from his ensemble cast. Their rising sense of peril perfectly sets up the end twist as the captain and first mate stare bug-eyed at the buttery apparition in the water.
