This Macy’s campaign from BBDO NY takes “dress the part” literally, exploring the feeling you get when you find that look from Macy’s that makes you feel like the main character of your own story. And in order to evoke this feeling, Macy’s and BBDO gravitated to the queen of romanticizing life–director and photographer Sarah Bahbah. It’s an unexplored territory for Macy’s: tapping into the millennial and older gen-z market by enlisting one of their own, a familiar face in the art world and on every Instagram explore page. This partnership marks the first U.S. commercial campaign for Bahbah who directed this spot via production house Photoplay.
Spring 2023 marks one year since Macy’s launched its brand platform, Own Your Style. To maintain the momentum, the new campaign highlights the ways Macy’s can bring out the individual style that lives in all of us through inspiration, product curation and guidance, all at a great value. When you find inspiration out in the world, it motivates you to Own Your Style. This new “Main Character” TV spot showcases a range of women’s styles, age, and body types so each character feels unique and different to further convey Own Your Style.
Bahbah said, “As a visual artist and storyteller deeply committed to the pursuit of women finding liberation in their lives, I am filled with gratitude for the opportunity to have worked with Macy’s on their new campaign. This project allowed me to expand my artistic expression into the American TV commercial space, while also conveying a powerful message of empowering women to embrace their role as the main character in their daily lives. I’m excited to continue to collaborate with Macy’s in the future.”
CreditsClient Macy’s Agency BBDO New York David Lubars, chief creative officer, worldwide, chairman BBDO North America; Matt MacDonald, chief creative officer, NY; Kristin Clark, Matthew Low, creative directors; Hallie Cain, sr. copywriter; Chesney Jensen, art director; Becky Burkhard, group executive producer; Melanie Cornish, executive producer; Katie Theobalds, music production coordinator. Production Photoplay Sarah Bahbah, director; Emma Thompson, exec producer; Jeremiah Pitman, DP. Production Services Landia Ezequiel Avaro, line producer. Editorial Exile Edit Danielle Sclafani, editor; Charity Balk, producer; Juans Steck, assistant editor. Sound Field Day Noah Woodburn, mixer/sound designer; Leslie Carthy, exec producer. Color Apache Digital Quinn Alvarez, colorist; Christina Caldwell, producer. Music Yessian Music Samuel Bellingham, composer; Michael Yessian, head of production; Brian Yessian, chief creative officer.
Top Spot of the Week: Samsung, BBH Singapore, Director Rhys Thomas Get Fit For A Surf Holiday
Samsung’s new global campaign from BBH Singapore, featuring Samsung Health and Galaxy AI, tells the story of a young professional couple who compete to get fit for a surf holiday.
Titled “A Samsung Health Story: Racing to Fiji,” this film taps into Gen Z’s wellness dilemma and the fact that they can often find health information overwhelming; in particular, BBH Singapore took inspiration from young people who reference their “quarter life crisis” on social media. This film tells the story of Stacey and Steve who decide to go surfing in Fiji, something they did five years ago but haven’t done since they started their jobs. However, there’s one problem: they need to get fitter first.
Featuring a range of Galaxy products powered by Galaxy AI, they rebuild their fitness to prepare for the trip, competing playfully to spur each other on. We see them comparing their Energy Scores (a new feature on the Samsung Health app), recording their runs and swims on their Samsung Galaxy Watches, trying and failing to get fit at work and on their commutes and striving to improve in the run up to the trip. When they get there, however, there’s a fun twist, and the film ends on a cliffhanger.
The ad is expected to be the first in a series, which will develop the characters and their “world” in future episodes. This longform (two-and-a-half-minute) version of the spot delves deeper into the storytelling, in a fresh approach for Samsung’s product campaigns, while the shorter edits focus on driving exposure to specific features.
BBH Singapore also leaned into the entertainment aspect of the spot; it was directed by comedic specialist Rhys Thomas at Stink Films, who has a major TV background. Best known for his work on Saturday Night... Read More