Men with comb overs look hapless. Little boys with comb overs look creepy. To see the difference, please watch the latest Jell-O television spot, appropriately titled “Comb Over.”
In the forty-five-second ad built by CP+B, a balding father whose depressing life resembles a deflated balloon schools his son on the importance of the little things, like a cup of Jell-O pudding. In turn, we see some surreal daydream where the son, still about six years old, goes through a day in the father’s life, only now he has a giant cone head and a comb over. If you ever wanted to know what the male offspring of Lord Voldemort and Francis Dolarhyde (Manhunter version, not Red Dragon) would look like, here you go. Is that not the definition of creepy, a little boy who somehow resembles two fictional psychopaths all because of a comb over? Still, the commercial’s surrealist twist manages to make it stand out in an otherwise standard concept. It’s almost sweet, if not for the whole hapless/depressing/pitying reaction that comes along with comb overs.
Credits after the jump.
WORLDWIDE CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER: Rob Reilly
EVP / EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR(s): Tony Calcao
VP / CREATIVE DIRECTOR(s): Andrew Ure, Matt Denyer
ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR, ART DIRECTOR(s): Josh Gross
SENIOR COPYWRITER(s): Noah Will
VP / HEAD OF VIDEO, INTEGRATED: Chad Hopenwasser
VP / EXECUTIVE INTEGRATED PRODUCER: Aymi Beltramo
PRODUCTION COMPANY & CITY: Smith & Jones Films Los Angeles, CA
DIRECTOR: Ulf Johansson
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: John de Borman
LINE PRODUCER (PRODUCTION CO): Nicola Sims
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER (PRODUCTION CO): Philippa Smith
EDITORIAL COMPANY & CITY: NO6 Santa Monica, CA
EDITOR(s): Kevin Zimmerman
ASSISTANT EDITOR: JC Nuñez
EDITORIAL EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Crissy DeSimone
EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Kendra Desai
POST PRODUCTION COMPANY & CITY: Method LA Santa Monica, CA
LEAD COMPOSITOR(s): Claus Hansen, Noah Caddis
VFX SUPERVISOR: Rob Hodgson
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Robert Owens
POST PRODUCER: Paula S. Jimenez
GRAPHICS / ANIMATION COMPANY & CITY: Buck
MIX COMPANY & CITY: Lime Studios, Santa Monica, CA
AUDIO ENGINEER: Mark Meyuhas
AUDIO ENGINEER’S ASSISTANT: Matt Miller
MIX PRODUCER: Jessica Locke
MUSIC COMPANY & CITY: Beacon Street Studios Venice, CA
COMPOSER(s): Andrew Feltenstein, John Nau
MUSIC PRODUCER: Leslie DiLullo
TELECINE COMPANY & CITY: Company 3, Santa Monica, CA