Mattress Firm's 'Junk Sleep' Weirdness Returns in Dark, Comedic Ads
Mattress Firm depicts staying up all night as a sucker bet in its latest "Unjunk Your Sleep" ads created with Droga5 and MJZ director Steve Ayson.
A disorienting minute-long anthem spot takes places inside a metaphorical Vegas-style casino. Bleary-eyed, P.J.-clad patrons in dire need of Zzzs binge TV episodes and study job-related data on tricked-out slot-machine screens. At the blackjack table, a mewing croupier deals phones instead of cards. They flash cutesy cat pics that typically rob folks of sleep.
A narrator begins, "It's bedtime, America, but you're double-booked. You've got somewhere to be, but it's not under the covers. It's here, in the Land of Junk Sleep. It's a world set up for us to stay up. Where there's always one more deadline to meet. One more episode to watch. One more meme to share."
In the end, Mattress Firm associates arrive to help the weary souls catch a few winks before dawn.
It's all a tad much, stacking the deck with copious confounding visuals. That said, Ayson's surreal, cinematic style is compelling, and in keeping with the feel of his earlier campaign installments. (Alas, tough-guy pitchman Liev Schreiber doesn't return, and his deadpan presence is sorely missed).
"We wanted to tell a larger range of 'Junk Sleep' stories and cater our content to more audiences," Droga5 executive creative director Tara Lawall tells Muse. The anthem "points the spotlight at our always on, digitally-obsessed culture."
Four :30s display a lighter touch, tackling specific sleep-related issues.
"They are just really good insights taken to a hyperbolic or clever place but done with a beautiful darkness that keeps it cohesive with the rest of our 'Junk Sleep' work," Lawall says.
In the best of the bunch, set to run during Major League Baseball telecasts, a somnambulant batter takes days to swing at a pitch:
Other scenarios show confused, screamy triplets, a guy with a perpetual crick in his neck, and a slumber-deprived human statue:
The work drops this week across broadcast and digital platforms, timed to the peak summer moving season. During last year's campaign, which also launched in July, Mattress Firm enjoyed double-digit year-over-year sales gains through Labor Day.
CREDITS
Junk Sleep
Agency Droga5 NY
Chief Creative Officer Scott Bell
Executive Creative Director Tara Lawall
Group Creative Director George McQueen
Group Creative Director Tom McQueen
Creative Director Jonas Wittenmark
Creative Director Tobias Carlson
Senior Copywriter Lorne Heller
Senior Art Director Justin Luu
Copywriter Juan Camillo Garza
Art Director Eve Nova
Group Design Director Erin McCarthy
Senior Designer Andrew Diemer
Executive Producer, Film Jeremy Fox
Executive Producer, Film Gulshan Jaffery
Producer, Film Adam Vevang
Associate Producer, Film Hugh Copeland
Producer, Art Caroline Fahey
Producer, Print Abraham Nowels
Music Supervisor Mike Ladman
Director of Business Affairs Dan Simonetti
Senior Business Affairs Manager Paul Van Dorpe
Senior Talent Manager Sunny Valencia
Chief Brand Strategy Officer Harry Román-Torres
Group Brand Strategy Director Tom Haslow
Brand Strategy Director Gideon Olshansky
Senior Strategist Raymond Sein
Group Communications Strategy Director Justin Schneider
Communications Strategy Director Lizzie Manning
Senior Communications Strategist Gabrielle Deckelman
Chief Knowledge Officer Andy Littlewood
Data Strategy Director Lorna Ruane
Senior Data Strategist Caroline May
Group Account Director Caitlin Patrick
Account Director Nivie Roberts
Account Supervisor Chris Pozzi
Account Manager Anita Richmond
Associate Account Manager Leon Brewington
Group Project Manager Karen Tshimanga
Senior Project Manager Sagar Patel
Post Production Second Child
Post Producer Troy Landry
Editor Elizabeth Morringello
Post Production Coordinator Karis Konkler
Client Mattress Firm
Chief Executive Officer John Eck
Chief Marketing Officer Mickey Mericle
Senior Vice President, Brand Strategy Sam Bennett
Vice President, Brand and Product Marketing Kelly Shannon
Senior Director, Brand and Product Marketing Sofya Vannelli
Senior Marketing Manager, Brand Strategy Hannah Miller
Senior Manager, Creative Services Rhea Davis
Vice President, Customer & Field Activation Kat Siegling
Senior Director, Integrated Marketing Marty Lubeck
Senior Manager, Integrated Marketing Christine Rieter
Senior Integrated Marketing Specialist Sarah Vargas, Melissa Rivers
Social Media Manager Justin Ramsay
Social Media Community Specialist Abigail Murphy
Production Company MJZ
Director Steve Ayson
DoP Jeff Cronenweth
Executive Producer Emma Wilcockson
Line Producer Adriana Cabada Mora
Production Designer Jason Kisvarday
Editorial Exile
Editor Grant Surmi
Editor Edward Line
Editor (Socials) Shane Van
Assistant Editor Erin Offenhauser
Assistant Editor Tara O'Sullivan
Executive Producer Sasha Hirschfeld
Lead Producer LauRenn Reed
Telecine Company3
Colorist Tim Masick
Color Producer Kevin Breheny
Color Assistant Ryan Moncrief
Colorist Jenny Montgomery
Color Producer Nick Krasnic
Colorist Jaime O’Bradovich
Color Producer Nick Krasnic
Post Production Parliament
Music Found Objects
ECD, Co-founder & Composer Jay Wadley
ECD & Co-founder Trevor Gureckis
Creative Director & Composer Ben Marshall
Composer Adam Weiss
Executive Producer Jennie Armon
Lead Producer Nick Chomowicz
Producers Agatha Lee, Katt Matt, Brad Nayman
Music Coordinator Lee Cash Chisholm
Sound King Lear Music & Sound
Sound Design & Mix Ed Downham & Dugal Macdiarmid
