Brett Goldstein, the lovable grouch on Apple TV+ fave Ted Lasso, debuts today as a "happiness ambassador" for New Zealand-based fitness brand Les Mills in a short film from agency nice&frank.
The campaign urges a switch from grueling, dark, solitary regimes. Why not exercise with maximum joy, kick endorphins into high gear and reap the rewards of a harder yet happier workout?
"We wrote the worst sports commercial of all time to make the point that dark warehouses, ethereal monologues and toxic masculinity won't work anymore," says agency creative chief Laura Petruccelli. "If we can make every workout choice feel more joyful, people will have a higher chance of turning working out into a good habit, and that's a great thing to get behind after many years of being stuck inside our homes and our heads."
To that end, Andreas "Epic Split" Nilsson directed the fiery, sweaty, shouty, cinematic mega-romp below.
Les Mills seeks to break into the U.S. market with the campaign.
Tagged "Choose Happy," the work also signals a strategy to address mental health and well-being in addition to physical fitness. Recent Les Mills research shows young people are seeking greater positivity and variation from their workouts, not just the usual grind. (Contrast this take with a far more painful approach from endurance nutrition brand Science in Sport.)
The campaign includes a competition: two fans have the opportunity to win a three-month trip to New Zealand and serve as brand ambassadors. The winners will get to train with Les Mills instructors and receive a personal tour of national landmarks from corporate founder Phillip Mills.
"New Zealand is one of the happiest places on Earth, but hard, and expensive, for Americans to get to," says Drew Forrest, director of culture and strategy at nice&frank. "So, we wanted to give that magic that Brett experienced coming to New Zealand to two people to show them how to live, eat, work out and be happy like a Kiwi with an all-expenses-paid, three-month trip with a full itinerary."
"Choose Happy" will run across the U.S. and U.K. for a year on CTV and social media including YouTube, Meta, TikTok and Pinterest.
CREDITS
Agency: nice&frank
Chief Creative Officer & Co-founder: Laura Petruccelli
Chief Strategy Officer & Co-founder: Graham North
Creatives: Erica Stevens, Lucy Sandwick
Social: James Gross
Design: Claudia Di Martino, Ben Gallegos, Brett Newman
Executive Producer: Benton Roman
Director of Culture & Strategy: Drew Forrest
Brand Strategist: Ray Yoes
Account Director: Alyssa Fitterer, Kelsey Burke
Client: Les Mills
Group Chief Executive Officer: Clive Ormerod
Chief Customer Officer: Luke Waldren
Head of Brand & Voice of Customer: Alice Atherton
Global Head of Content & Social: Chris Asahara
Global Social Media Manager: Zoe Ballantyne
Senior Global Brand Lead: Gemma Jelicich
Global Content & PR Director: Jak Phillips Global
Design Director: Jessica Huynh Design Lead D2C: Meg Golbry
Senior Legal Counsel: Anna Burt
Campaign Planning Specialist: Alia Jones
Business Affairs: Hailstorm
CEO: Michelle McKinney
Business Affairs Director: Christina Rust
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Whitney Vose
Senior Business Affairs Manager: Emily Goodman
Production Company: Biscuit
Co-Production Company: Revolver
Director: Andreas Nilsson
Partner / Managing Director: Shawn Lacy
Executive Producer: Holly Vega
Producer: Caroline Kruck
Head of Production: Sean Moody
Director of Photography: Lasse Frank
Production Designer: Lucinda Thomson
Wardrobe Stylist: Sophie Fletcher, Kristin Seth, Michelle Martini
Hair & Makeup Artist: Kerrie Urban, Georgia Lockhart
Editorial: Work Editorial
Editor: Rich Orrick
Cutting Assistant: Joseph Tuzzolino
Executive Producer: Alejandra Alarcon
Head of Production: Chris Delarenal
VFX & Color: Blacksmith
VFX Supervisor / 2D Lead: Robert Bruce
Shoot Supervisor: Naomi Anderlini
Compositors: Ben Kwok, Hannah Wilk, Dylan Nett, Marco Baratto, Myles Dunlop, Matt Reilly
CG Generalist: Ben Elliot
DMP: Marc Samson
Producer: Lily Sarokin
Production Coordinator: Joey Witten
Executive Producer: Charlotte Arnold
Head of Production: Perry Tate
Colorist: Mikey Pehanich
Color Assist: Sam Howells
Color Producer: Adam Vevang
Mix: Heard City
Managing Partner: Gloria Pitagorsky
Mixer: Phil Loeb
Head Of Production: Jackie James
Executive Producer: Liana Rosenberg
Senior Producer: B Muñoz
Producer: Nick Duvarney
Assistant Producer: Dylan Stetson
Assistant Mixers: Virginia Wright, Zoltan Monori, Chenoa Tarin, Oddy Litlabo
Sound Design: Trinitite
Sound Designer: Briand Emrich
Music: KOM
Composer: Philip Kay Producer: Andy Oskwarek
Stills: Fanclub
Stills Photographer: Graeme Murray
Executive Producer: Fleur Swarbrick
Stills Retouching: Swell Digital
PR Agency: Lion Media Group
President and Founder: Charles Leone
Earned Media Creative/Strategy: Keith Gordon
Consumer Media Relations Consultant: Sammy Eanes
Ad Trade Media Relations Consultant: Sarah Corbin
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