ManiLife and Wonderful Things creates an unhinged send-up of seductive food ads
ManiLife, the cult-favourite peanut butter brand, has teamed up with Wonderful Things for its debut television commercial.
The 30-second spot features a playful parody of the premium food genre, including a seductive female voiceover in various states of ecstasy paired with lingering close-ups of ManiLife peanut butter in climactic scenarios before pulling out to reveal reality: a suburban kitchen and just really good peanut butter.
The TVC is accompanied by a pleasure-driven out-of-home campaign, carrying the same unadulterated indulgence from screen to street this September.
The work marks an evolution for the brand, dialling up its trademark humour to stand out in a category more often defined by earnest, wholesome messaging and bringing to life its brand line: ManiLife, Peanut Butter Like No Other.
Grace Francis, chief creative officer at Wonderful Things, added: “The brief to Wonderful Things was simple: give us unhinged indulgence. It felt natural to have fun with the codes of premium food advertising, and trust that ManiLife peanut butter is good enough to earn the joke. It’s great to work with a brand that wants to be playful with category expectations, even when they take peanut butter very seriously indeed”.
A collaborative project, the shoot included founder Stu Macdonald, working on set with the food stylist team to show the powers of peanut butter on film, coupled with the joy of eating hot peanut butter.
Katy Collins, chief production officer at Wonderful Things, added: “Doing justice to a script like this is as much about technique as it is about tone. We used the same rigs, lenses and lighting setups you'd normally see on a beauty or fragrance shoot, with the added challenge of manipulating the viscosity of peanut butter; the team applied as much physics as artistry”.
Credits
Client: ManiLife Peanut Butter
Founder: Stu Macdonald
Chief Marketing Officer: Holly Rix
Marketing Lead: Daisy Price
Social Lead: Felicity Elvidge
Agency: Wonderful Things Creative Studio
Chief Creative Officer: Grace Francis
Chief Production Officer: Katy Collins
Creative: Guangxin Li
Strategy: Ben McGeough
Production Studio: LUX Studios
Director of Production & Photography: Guy Welch
Associate DoP: Lee Pattison
Production & Lighting Associate: Ivo Ivanov
Runner & Assistant Editor: Ronan Burke
Food Stylist: Dagmar Vesely
Food Stylist Assistant: Sophie Gosling
VO Talent: Katie Harvey, Ben Rhodes
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