Indeed.com Hires the Cast and Crew for Its First Ad Through the Site's Own Job Listings

How does a popular job posting site show off the breadth of its help-wanted offerings in the limited space of one commercial? For Indeed, the answer was to use its own listings to hire experienced professionals for the ad's cast and crew. "How the world works" is the theme delivered across TV, digital, print and other media in a rollout that began last week in the U.K., targeting both applicants and companies looking to hire. Bright, bouncy and upbeat, the initiative, crafted by Mullen, emphasizes teamwork and striving toward common goals. A 50-second spot sets the tone, presenting an ad inside an ad with meta twists that turn the medium into the message. We see folks from various professions "working" among huge letters that spell out the word I-n-d-e-e-d. The camera pulls back to reveal that the action is taking place on a soundstage where an ad is being filmed. "How do commercials work?" a voiceover begins. "Well, you need a team of talented professionals, working together, focused on the task, doing all kinds of jobs." The crew on the set—choreographer, boom operator, caterer, makeup artist and others—are identified by on-screen icons which, in the spot's clickable version, let users search Indeed's site for those jobs. What's more, these folks aren't actors, but actual professionals (real choreographers, caterers, etc.) hired through Indeed for the spot. (The making-of clip below, which goes into detail on this process, is a must-see.) Even the talent being used to represent nurses, engineers, IT specialists and financial planners are actual trained members of those professions. Admittedly, not all parts were truly cast through Indeed, since Mullen and other production partners like the directing collective StyleWar were already in place. Here's how a Mullen spokesperson described the process: "For the video part of the campaign, we used the Indeed platform to scout and hire creative and production talent. Indeed posted 26 job openings on its website for roles in the spot. Within 48 hours, 1,500 applications were received. Indeed conducted more than 200 interviews in just 14 days. Once a selection was made, industry professionals from six different countries—U.K., U.S., Canada, Czech Republic, Australia and Germany—traveled to Prague for filming and production." Beyond TV and digital video, coffee-cup wraps detail the jobs needed to bring java to market, while subway and newspaper ads explain the positions required by those industries. Communicating aspirational themes and complex information is no easy task, but, overall, this campaign does a fine job of taking Indeed's message to a higher level. CREDITS Client: Indeed, Austin, Texas Senior Vice President, Marketing: Paul D'Arcy Vice President, Corporate Marketing: Mary Ellen Dugan Agency: Mullen, Boston and San Francisco Chief Creative Officer: Mark Wenneker Executive Creative Director: Paul Foulkes Group Creative Director, Copy: Tim Cawley Copywriter: E.B. Davis Copywriter: Jamie Rome Art Directors: Brooke Doner, Ryan Montgomery Designer: Mike Molinaro 3-D Artist, Concept Designer: Andy Jones Producer: Mary Donington VIDEO CREDITS Production Company: Smuggler Director: StyleWar Editing Company: General Editorial Color Correction, Visual Effects, Titles: The Mill Audio Postproduction: Soundtrack Music: Madplanet

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Indeed.com Hires the Cast and Crew for Its First Ad Through the Site's Own Job Listings

Mullen gets meta

David Gianatasio

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David Gianatasio