Everybody has a dream. With its new campaign via JNA Advertising, Overland Park, Kansas, and directed by Superlounge duo Jacob/Slade, the Kansas Lottery encourages us to dream bigger. Lance McCormick and Tom Wirt were the co-creative directors for the campaign. In the spots, comprised of three :30s and four :15s, people fantasize about small things, causing a drill sergeant to materialize and urge them to play the Kansas Lottery and “Dream Bigger.” The Kansas Lottery’s “Dream Sergeant” campaign broke September 8 and will continue to roll out and rotate throughout the year.
“We couldn’t have been more pleased with Superlounge and Jacob/Slade,” said John Nohe, JNA CEO. “They brought a great perspective to the project and their attention to detail was amazing.”
“The JNA team had such a great concept and a great character with the Dream Sergeant, so the question for us was ‘How can we underscore the notion that people may be imagining the Dream Sergeant, as well as serve the weird funniness of it all?’” said Kristina Slade, one half of the duo – along with Enno Jacobsen – that is Jacob/Slade.
“When directing there’s a lot of elements at our disposal to play with in order to achieve the right tone and effect,” added Jacobsen. “Kristina and I have been together for twelve years, so we have a long history of exchanges, a give and take that informs our ideas and work relationship. Kristina is more strategically-minded and I’m more experienced in technique, but the shooting process is spontaneous and fluid, rather than a division of labor.” Slade noted that having a partner results in a more thorough vision and preparation. “We’re very clear about the why and what we need to get, but this also allows us to be more spontaneous and in the moment. On set, one of us generally hangs back a little, keeping an overview while the other person is in the trenches,” she said. “We have two very different backgrounds so what we bring to the party is two separate frames of reference – creating a story and bringing it to life.”
Over the course of a dozen years as Creative Director, working at some of the most prestigious agencies in traditional and digital advertising (TBWA Chiat Day, AKQA), Slade has won almost every major advertising award and accolades for her creative and strategic work and direction for some of the America’s best-known brands, such as ESPN, Target, Virgin and many more.
German-born Jacobsen, meanwhile, worked for several years in broadcast news before crossing over to directing commercials. Since 2002, he’s been directing in the United States (where he is now based) as well as Europe, bringing his love for visual storytelling to projects for clients such as BMW, Toyota, and Target.
“We met and connected through our passion for movies and what makes them the most powerful vehicle for telling stories. We have a shared understanding and shorthand for film and filmmaking,” mused Slade, “so it really doesn’t feel like a new partnership, or even a new topic of conversation. From there, it’s about aligning ourselves with the agenda of the client and agency, and determining the function of the storytelling. We think of it as: Stories on Purpose. For us, it’s very organic.”
While the Kansas Lottery is Jacob/Slade’s maiden voyage in the US market, the team recently returned from Germany where they shot the first TV campaign in ten years for Tesa, one of the world's leading manufacturers of self-adhesive products.
About Superlounge
Original, wry and sublime, Superlounge features award-winning commercial directors Jordan Brady, Daniel Sheppard, Ben Tedesco, Brett Wagner and directing duo Jacob Slade. www.superlounge.tv
