DDB Chicago Introduces the (Intelligent) Toilet of the Future in New Kohler Spot

By Erik Oster 

With a little help from some robot friends, DDB Chicago launched a campaign introducing the new Kohler Veil Intelligent Toilet entitled “Never Too Next.”

The product in question may seem right out of a Bob’s Burgers episode (the toilet was played by Jon Hamm!) but is indeed very much a real thing that (very rich and/or toilet tech obsessed) consumers can purchase.

In the 30-second spot, which was directed by MJZ’s Dante Ariola, a robot couple arrive at a party in a sleek apartment presumably at some point in the near future. In a rather humanizing moment, one of the robots turns to the other and asks “What’s the husband’s name again?” right before the door is opened. Once at the party, the robots congregate with other artificially intelligent beings in the bathroom, where they find the Kohler Veil Intelligent Toilet and seem to feel more at home than among the throngs of chatting humans. 
“The spot taps into the human truth that when at a party, people tend to congregate in the kitchen,” DDB Chicago executive creative director Jean Batthany explained to AdFreak. “In this case, all guests robotic are drawn to the bathroom—where the real action is. There’s also a layer of ‘robot truth’ in the shared social anxiety of trying to fit in and the relief in finding a kindred high-tech spirit.”

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While the average consumer might wonder if the toilet’s smart features, which include two flush settings, temperature adjusted heated seats, self-cleaning and automatic deodorizing capabilities and automatic opening and closing of the lid (sadly no talking), are really necessary for bathroom time, the product is decidedly not targeted at the average consumer.

“We are talking to the new sophisticate,” Batthany added. “They are early adopters of technology and use design as a mode of self-expression. In a world where Siri and other lifelike technology is becoming more integrated into our daily lives, these bots help us tell a story of the very near future with a toilet as the star.” 

Credits:

Client: Kohler

Agency: DDB Chicago
Chief Creative Officer: John Maxham
Executive Creative Director: Jean Batthany
Group Creative Director: Nathan Monteith
Creative Director (Art): Kurt Riemersma
Creative Director (Copy): Matt Ben Zeev
Chief Production Officer: Diane Jackson
Executive Producer: Debora den Iseger
Executive Art Producer: Suzanne Koller
Senior Print Producer: Carla Nieto
Senior Business Director: Jenn Nolden
Account Executive: Kate Karens
Account Manager: Kirby Summers
Production Manager: Scott Terry

Production Company: MJZ
President: David Zander
Senior Executive Producer: Eriks Krumins
Director: Dante Ariola
Line Producer: Natalie Hill
DP: Phillipe Le Sourd
Production Designer: Christopher Glass

Editorial: No6TV
Editor: Amanda Perry
Assistant editor: Danny Fogarty
Senior Producer: Kendra Desai

VFX: Jamm Visual
VFX Supervisor/Lead CG Lighter: Andy Boyd
VFX Supervisor/Lead Compositor: Jake Montgomery
Lead CG FX Artist: Zachary DiMaria
Flame Artist: Pat Munoz
Flame Artist: David Hernandez
Nuke Artist: Kenneth Brown
CG Artist: Nha Ca Chau
CG Artist: Huisoo Lee
CG Modeling: Aaron Hamman
CG Modeling: Joel Durham
Executive Producer: Asher Edwards
Producer: Ashley Greyson

Color: Company 3
Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld
Executive Producer: Rhubie Jovanov

Music House: PullPullPull
Composer: Mitch Davis
Executive Producer: Scott Brittingham

Audio Post: The Studio, Chicago
Sound engineer(s): Nicholas Papaleo

Sound assistant: Bobby Lord

Audio Post Producer: Stacey Simcik

Print Post production: Gianini
CGI Artist: Tim McMahon
CGI Artist: Sebastian Szyszka
CGI Artist: Jeffrey Gilles
Director: Scott Giannini
Executive Producer: Kevin O’Connell

Photography:
Photographer: Michael Huijbregtse (Kohler Co.)
Retoucher: Tom Waterloo (The studio, DDB Chicago)

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