Prettybird director Max Malkin found an inventive way to go on location for Silk Almondmilk's latest commercial without straying far from home.
In the 30-second spot, developed with agency Lightning Orchard and shot around Malkin's property in Los Angeles, a kid guides his remote-controlled truck on a special delivery, and receives a tasty treat in return:
Aww, now the neighbor lady can enjoy some almond milk and the kid gets cookies!
Double aww: Malkin cast his 11-year-old son Wyatt in the lead role, with his wife Tiffany playing the neighbor and family pooch Hollander lazing on the lawn. (If that truck passes the dog on its way back, those cookies will never survive the trip.)
Malkin shot the :30 with his personal camera rig—one day with the talent, another for shots of the truck—Zooming with agency and client staff for input as needed.
"We had a director in Los Angeles, creatives and account in New York and New Hampshire, a producer in Detroit and a client in Colorado. It was an effort that spread across the country," Lightning Orchard founder and creative chief Jeff Kling tells Muse.
"We were inspired by the lighthearted and clever ways people were reaching out and still interacting with one another, helping to normalize this bizarre time," Kling says of the ad's narrative. "We had come across various videos of neighbors making these exchanges and we saw a few that featured an everyday remote-controlled car as the main delivery method."
Props for those through-the-window shots of the action-figure driver, and Wyatt's rad driving gloves.
"We planned, concepted and produced this spot in only seven business days," says Andrew Hartshorn, svp of marketing for plant-based foods and beverages at Silk. "We were so inspired by the compassion and kindness seen in communities, and felt like people were using food as a way to express that kindness."
Dubbed "Neighbors Are Still Neighbors," the commercial recalls this recent Malaysian pet-care PSA (the director cast his daughter and dog, filming in the back yard), and Honda's toy-car tale from the United Arab Emirates.
"When viewers see this spot, we hope they'll be inspired by the kindness happening on-screen and in their own neighborhoods as well," Hartshorn says. "We think people could use a break from the seriousness of news right now and a moment to smile."
CREDITS
Danone
Carlos Veraza President, Danone US
Andrew Hartshorn SVP, Brand Marketing
Dan Hamilton VP, Brand Elevation
Allison Ingalls Senior Manager, Brand Elevation
Derek Neeley Senior Brand Director
David Robinson Senior Brand Manager
Lightning Orchard
Jeff Kling Founder, Chief Creative Officer
Barney Robinson Founder, Chief Executive Officer
Laura Janness Founder, Chief Strategy Officer
Conor Dooley Creative Director
Paige Whitaker Art Director
Tori Nygren Copywriter
Sherri Levy Head of Production
Sumer Friedrichs Producer
Lucie Kittel Account Director
Business Manager Mister Brumfield
Prettybird
Max Malkin Director
Kerstin Emhoff Co-Founder / Executive Producer
Suzanne Hargrove Executive Producer
Tracy Hauser Director of Production
Matt Wersinger Line Producer
Exile
Kyle Brown Editor
CL Kumpata Executive Producer
Producer Catherine Liu
New Math
Ray Loewy CD
Kala Sherman EP
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