“It’s not that bad.”
We’ve all said it before, often while grinning through less-than-ideal life circumstances that could have been avoided if we’d known that there was a better option and that we didn’t have to settle.
The phrase serves as inspiration for the latest comedic campaign, “Not That Bad,” for Xfinity from agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners (GS&P), Directed by Spencer Riviera of O Positive Films, the spots in the campaign, including this one titled “Bear Trap,” depict the lives of people burdened by not just comical physical setbacks but also technological setbacks–namely, no home internet.
In this commercial, a father soldiers through life with a bear trap clamped to his leg, inadvertently ruining matters for himself, his family and even their dog.
“We wanted to capture comedic situations where the takeaway is ‘Oh, there’s an obvious, easy choice to be made here,’” said GS&P creative director Jon Wolanske. “We’ve all said ‘It’s not that bad’ about a life choice we know could have been improved upon. But when it comes to the protagonists you see in this campaign, no, it really is that bad. In more ways than one.”
CreditsClient Xfinity Agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners Margaret Johnson, chief creative officer; Jim Elliott, executive creative director; Jon Wolanske, Jon Wyville, creative directors; Matt Bottkol, copywriter; Grant Piper, art director; Jim Haight, director of production; Stephanie DeNatale, executive producer; Cindy Epps, sr. producer; Kelly Evans-Pfeiffer, deputy brand strategy director; Lyniece Hill, jr. brand strategist; Jane Warren, deputy director of research strategy; Maren Severtson, communications strategy director; Shneur Silverstein, communications strategist. Production Company O Positive Spencer Riviera, director; Kristian Kachikis, DP; Jason Reda, producer; Ralph Laucella, Marc Grill, exec producers. Editorial Hutchco Jim Hutchins, editor; Jimmy Hutchins, assistant editor; Jane Hutchins, exec producer. Telecine Company 3 Dave Hussey, colorist; Mario Castro, color producer. VFX/Finishing House of Parliament Lexi Stern, exec producer; Michael Novo, sr. VFX producer; Keith Sullivan, shoot supervisor/creative director; Philip Ineno, shoot supervisor. Music The Musicbed (licensed track). Sound Design Lime Studios Joel Waters, sound designer, creative director; Susie Boyajan, head of production. Audio Post Lime Studios Joel Waters, mixer; Collin Thomas, assistant mixer; Cassie Underwood, producer; Susie Boyajan, exec producer.
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