Hip hop artist and actor Ludacris stars in this Jif peanut butter spot, “The Return,” directed by Dave Meyers of production house RadicalMedia for Publicis Groupe agency PSOne, New York.
Titled "The Return," the commercial tells the story of how Ludacris changed his legendary sound–thanks to a mouthful of Jif peanut butter, along with a little help from Atlanta’s new school hip hop artist, Gunna. The new vibe/flow to the hip hop rendition from Ludacris is a crowd pleaser, translating into a monster hit.
The overall Lil Jif Project campaign is running across TV, radio and social, including a #JifRapChallenge on TikTok.
Credits
Client JM Smucker/Jif Agency PSOne, New York Erica Roberts, chief creative officer; Alan Wilson, Peter Defries, creative directors; Spencer Chan, Zac Collopy, sr. designers; Josh Clayton, copywriter; Mollie Coyne, art director; Connor Fitzgerald, designer; Dave Gordon, social creative director; Judd Wachstein, associate creative director; Jessica Larkin, sr. art director; Tim LeGallo, head of production; Lauren Schneidmuller, executive producer; Jennifer Baldwin, EVP, strategy director; Allie O’Shea, strategy director. Talent Producer Company BCL Entertainment Bettie Levy, founder/CEO. Production Company RadicalMedia Dave Meyers, director; Jim Bouvet, Gregg Carlesimo, exec producers; Lisa Brugliera, producer. Editorial Exile Nick Gilberg, editor; Shane Van, assistant editor; Sasha Hirschfeld, exec producer; Evyn Bruce, head of production; Julie Zivic, producer. VFX/Post JAMM Jake Montgomery, VFX supervisor/shoot supervisor; Patrick Munoz, lead compositor/VFX supervisor; Adrien Servadio, Graziella Gandolfi, Louis Mackall, Flame artists; Zak Dimaria, Connie Ho, Brian Burke, Ben Martin, CG team; Rob Rhodes, shoot supervisor; Asher Edwards, exec producer; Justine Pregler, producer. Animation Motif Studios Craig Parker, head of animation & 3D; Andre Janse van Vuuren, 3D artist; Jacques Bock, producer. Telecine Company 3 Stefan Sonnenfeld, colorist. Audio Record, Sound Design & Mix Company Super Exploder Jody Nazzaro, audio mixer/sound designer; Meredith Nazzaro, producer. Music "Butter.ATL" by Ludacris
In this Super Bowl :30 for Reese’s Chocolate Lava Big Cup--directed by Matias & Mathias of Epoch Films for agency Erich & Kallman--a concerned park ranger reports live from the site of an active volcano where Reese’s fans are going to extreme lengths to get their hands and taste buds on the lava flow.
As passion builds, a team of park rangers rein in the mayhem--saving grandma from scootering into the hot flowing molten lava--and try to clear up the confusion: “Don‘t eat lava. Eat ooey-gooey Chocolate Lava.”
“There’s nothing better than seeing our fans go wild over new flavor additions to the classic Reese’s chocolate and peanut butter combo,” said Ryan Riess, VP of brand strategy and creative development, The Hershey Company. “The Big Game is the perfect stage to showcase our fan’s energy – whether that be from the top of a volcano or on the couch during football Sunday.”
In a joint statement, directors Matias & Mathias said of the “Don’t Eat Lava” spot, “Although the characters’ obsession with Reese’s Chocolate Lava Big Cups is completely realistic and very easy to identify with, our favorite part of this project was seeing all the talented people we got to work with become obsessed with making the lava flows of our dreams become a reality.”
