Cync's Fun Ads Imagine If Smart Homes Had Existed Decades Ago
2001: A Space Odyssey author Arthur C. Clarke famously said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
That notion informs three entertaining spots from GE Lighting, a Savant company. Created by New York agency L&C (formerly Lanfranco & Cordova), the digital campaign introduces Cync, a new smart-home technology brand.
Its products would've "seemed magical" in bygone years, but now they're "just practical," we're told in kicky spots that close by bidding viewers to "Experience life in Cync."
In the ad below, a pair of '80s gals in totally tubular unitards turn their living room into a Cync-powered new-wave disco on aerobics night:
That vintage General Electric VCR was a totally gnarly touch. Cheeuh!
"Although we didn't directly think of that [Clarke] quote, the inspiration was definitely along those lines," L&C co-founder Gian Carlo Lanfranco tells Muse. "The idea behind it was the GE heritage that's so intertwined with the American spirit of technological advancement since the invention of the lightbulb. We also wanted to showcase the practicality of the Cync products, juxtaposed with older technologies."
Next, we visit the Eisenhower '50s, as Cync heats up Daddy-O's birthday celebration:
"Our approach was to target everyone from millennials to baby boomers who grew up with the GE name and introduce them to Cync," Landfrano says. "The element of nostalgia is universal, and very applicable in this sense. Home technology is constantly evolving."
Finally, a scene from the rural heartland, circa 1900, when just about everyone slept with a pitchfork by their side:
"The actors and I had a lot of discussion about how to portray people from the past," says The Colony's David Gaddie, who directed the films. "We knew it was most crucial that the audience grasped the era—even as the characters used modern technology." The team studied movies, sitcoms and imagery from each period "as reference points for the actors, cinematographer and sound design."
For the Reagan-era workout, "we decided to completely light our scenes with the GE Cync product. All lightsbulbs were replaced with Cync bulbs, and the lighting cues were programmed on the brand's app," Gaddie says. "The product specialist from Cync had never been on set before, but she was very good natured about assuming the role of DMX board operator on her iPhone while the gaffer sat over her shoulder shouting out cues."
"After getting the lighting figured out and blocking the scene, I suddenly found myself in front of the cast and crew demonstrating the '80s aerobics choreography that I'd planned," he recalls. "It was definitely my Richard Simmons moment."
CREDITS
Client: GE Lighting, a Savant company
Brand: Cync
Agency: L&C NYC
Marketing Director: Rochelle Hartigan
Cync App Product Manager: Danielle Shrider
Brand Public Relations: Mary Ann Milo
Brand Consultant: Katharine Ricci
Chief Creative Officers: Rolando Cordova/Gian Carlo Lanfranco
Managing Director: Tara Levine
Copywriter: Ana Lins/Greg Collins/Gian Carlo Lanfranco
Art Director: Rolando Cordova/Ana Lins
Executive Producer: Camden Elizabeth/Oscar Thomas
Consumer Insights & Strategy: Rachel Eden
Head of Innovation: Jayson Fittipaldi
Production Company: The Colony/Open Flame
Director: David Gaddie
Executive Producer: Andrew Swee
Line Producer: Mark Krumper
Production Designer: JT Camp
Post Production/VFX/Edit/Color: Afterparty VFX
Post Producer: Joe Durkin
Editor: JP Cadaveira
Colorist: Anastasia Cipolla
Motion Graphics Designer: Shruti Ashok
VFX: Brendan Fitzgerald
Assistant Editor: Kogan Lee
Music + Sound: Squeak E. Clean Studios
Senior Sound Designer + Mixer: Stuart St. Vincent Welch
Senior Post Producer: Angelina Phengphong
