Squarespace Explores the Dual Passions of Joseph Lee
Why settle for one Joseph Lee when you can cast two in a commercial and cash in on the buzz you created by unleashing multiple Adam Drivers during the Super Bowl?
Two versions of Lee appear in a new 3-minute video for Squarespace. Each represents a different facet of the Beef star's personality. One loves acting, the other lives to paint. They chat about such pursuits, joke around and generally get on each other's nerves.
- Artist Lee: You're just gonna stare at me the whole time?
- Actor Lee: Does it bother you?
- Artist Lee: No. I just feel like I've gotta be performative or something.
In one sequence, he rehearses a movie scene. A hardboiled spoof unfolds, with lines like, "You've got a lot of nerve showing your mug here again, Carmine. Spare me the chin, will ya."
Later, he fantasizes about action figures in a wrestling ring, and we watch stop-motion Lees with ripped abs square off. ("The painter's on the canvass!")
It's appealing stuff, less weird-for-its-own-sake than Driver's ad.
That earlier effort split opinions. Despite its Emmy nomination, some found it too abstract and needlessly odd. Here, the quirkiness works in the narrative's favor, bringing an internal monologue to life with humor and style.
Notably, Driver's persona got lost amid the CGI spectacle. The new work feels less showy, quieter, more cerebral. Both Lees come across as super chill, providing Squarespace with a pair of likable brand ambassadors for the price of one.
Squarespace's in-house team, led by Gui Borchert, developed the project.
"We were able to closely collaborate with Joseph at every step of the creative process," says Borchert, who directed the film. "Fewer layers and walls on set meant more room for ideas to flow and become reality."
Lee's a real-life Squarespace customer, selling his avant-garde artwork through a website created with the service.
