HP is looking to make printing more environmentally friendly. So in October HP became World Wildlife Foundation’s largest U.S. corporate partner and committed to planting 1 million acres of forest so printing can actually lead to growth. This commitment sparked the creative idea–from Wieden+Kennedy, Portland–behind the latest HP campaign, “Printing Trees” featuring trees growing from a printer.
The main creative challenge of “Printing Trees” was to work out how it could go from simple words on a page to an actual execution. The whole time during the production process it felt like new ground was being broken in terms of how it manifested. The French directors, Megaforce (via production house Iconoclast), and cinematographer Greig Fraser (Dune, The Mandalorian, Vice) accepted this tricky visual challenge with open arms and worked with the VFX/postproduction team at KEVIN to bring the whole thing, literally, to life.
With the music and sound effects also playing a pivotal role in this spot, they needed to be thought about in conjunction with the visuals. The British composer, Ben Salisbury, (who won an Ivor Novello award for his Ex Machina soundtrack, and also Emmy nominated for his nature scores with David Attenborough) provided a bespoke track that beautifully balances printer sounds with a hopeful melody that contains influences of both mechanics and nature.
Sustainability was top of mind for the production as a whole. HP offset the carbon footprint of the shoot by planting 40 trees in the Amazon.
Credits
Client HP Agency Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore. Eric Baldwin, executive creative director; Christen Brestrup, Bertie Scrase, creative directors; Brad Trost, art director; Titania Tran, copywriter; Matt Hunnicutt, director of production; Lindsay Reed, sr. producer; Christina Kim, creative operations; Lis Moran, design producer; David Chathas, Beth Schuenemann, Katie Custis, designers; Henry Lambert, Lauren Ivory, strategic planning; Erica Nikolaidis, copy editing. Production Iconoclast Megaforce, director; Valerie Romer, exec producer; Lisa Cowan, line producer; Greig Fraser, DP. Editorial Final Cut Joe Guest, editor; Evan Bluestein, Leah Burton, assistant editors; Taylor S. Rousseau, post producer; Suzy Ramirez, post exec producer; Ana Orrach, head of production; Justin Burkman, managing director. VFX KEVIN Tim Davies, executive creative director/partner; Mike Dalzell, head of CG; sue Troyan, sr. exec producer/partner; Jami Schakel, sr. VFX producer; Louise Bloomfield, VFX coordinator; Pete Smith, VFX shoot supervisor; Ben Smith, Dag Ivarsoy, Rob Winfield, 2D artists; Nico Sugleris, Kathryn Dougan, Kerry Graham, Matt Longwell, Carl Harders, Dan Santoni, Edwin Chiu, Igor Stefanovic, Michael Edland, Tom Allen, Shiv Dholakia, CG artists. Color Emiliano Serantoni, colorist. Voiceover Talent Angela Grovey Music Walker Sara Matarazzo, sr. exec producer/founder; Stephanie Pigott, exec producer; Ben Salisbury, Suvi-Eeva Aikas, composers. Sound Design & Audio Post 750mph Sam Ashwell, audio mixer/sound designer; Martin Critchley, exec producer.
PETA’s “My First Lab Animal” is a parody commercial that feels straight out of the 1990s. Directed by Fons Schiedon of Golden LA, this is the fourth time that the filmmaker has joined forces with PETA and its creative director, Christian Carl, to spread messages of compassion towards animals. Previous ventures from this team include the Super Bowl Spot “Don’t Stand For Injustice.”
Complete with a catchy, cheerful jingle, “My First Lab Animal” is “the toy that toys with life.” Blending dark comedy with sitcom-style acting and fully functional toys, this spoof from PETA is as hilarious as it is horrifying. In “My First Lab Animal,” the plasticine glee of 1990s toy commercials is the perfect Trojan Horse for conveying the ever-present horrors of animal testing and experimentation. The grim realities are playfully acted out by a child and her parents having fun with a new toy, drawing out the tension between optimistic earnestness and animal cruelty. Targeting Millennial nostalgia, this film from PETA leans into the generational transition as this demographic largely includes toy-shopping parents. “My First Lab Animal” premiered on Fox News, TV Land, MTV, and Adult Swim.
Schiedon said, “The key to the humor and tension with this film was that we were playing it earnestly. Leaning into the cheesy, sincere 90s toy commercial elements of it—including practical toys—let us bring some of the truly harsher realities of animal testing to life with this important film for PETA. This will hopefully serve as a wake-up call for consumers and the NIH [National Institutes of Health] alike.”
