Grey New York launched a new spot for Gillette ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics with plenty of star power. There are the athletes, of course: Brazilian soccer star Neymar Jr., American decathlete Ashton Eaton, Chinese swimmer Ning Zetao and English cyclist Andy Tennant. But there’s also a song from Sia written and produced for the spot, which features a guest appearance by rapper Pusha T.
Directed by Caviar Content’s Karim Huu Do, the spot delivers the “Perfect Isn’t Pretty” message that a lot of hard work and sacrifice goes into becoming the best at any sport with style, if not originality.
The spot opens on a shot of Neymar screaming (for some reason), followed by quick introductions to the rest of the athletes. The text “Perfect is Pretty” appears onscreen right after Neymar runs toward a burning goal (a dream?), followed by him hitting an alarm clock reading 4:08 (ouch). Each of the athletes must face challenges like balancing their personal lives with training and living up to high expectations.
The tone changes with the arrival of Pusha T’s guest verse, focusing on the athletes rising to the occasion.
The triumph over adversity sports anthem formula is a familiar one and even the lyrics of the song deal in cliches (such as “whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”).
The ad probably could have benefited from a little brevity as well, even while featuring four different athletes. If not for the shots of its stars shaving as part of their daily routine, it could easily be mistaken as an ad for Under Armour or Nike. But then Grey ties the message back to the brand’s familiar tagline with “The Best A Man Can Get Isn’t Always Pretty,” adding, “But Always Worth The Chase” as Eaton outruns an angry-sounding dog.
Good boy!
Credits:
Advertiser: Gillette
Spot Title: Perfect Isn’t Pretty
First Air Date: 07/13/16
Agency: Grey New York
Chief Creative Officer: Andreas Dahlqvist, Chief Creative Officer, Grey NY
Creative Director: Jeff Stamp, Executive Creative Director, Grey NY
Senior Creative Director:
Leonard Savage, Executive Creative Director, Grey NY
Asan Aslam, Senior Creative Director, Grey NY
Noah Will, Senior Creative Director, Grey NY
Project Management:
Hank Romero, Project Director, Grey NY
Kelsey Longo, Project Manager, Grey NY
Agency Producer:
Bennett McCarroll, EVP, Director of Broadcast, Grey NY
James McPherson, SVP, Head of Integrated Production, Grey NY
Katy Hill, VP Producer, Grey NY
Agency Music Producer: Zachary Pollakoff, Music Supervisor, Grey NY
Production Company: Caviar Content, Los Angeles, CA
Director: Karim Huu Do, Director, Caviar Content
Director of Photography: Daniel Bouquet, Director of Photography, Caviar Content
Editor: Cut & Run
Gary Knight, Editor, Cut & Run
Stacy Peterson, Editor, Cut & Run
Post Production: The Mill NY
Music/Sound Design:
Phil Loeb, Sound Engineer, Heard City
Josh Kessler, Executive Producer, Heavy Duty Projects
Principal Talent:
Athletes:
Neymar Jr.
Ashton Eaton
Ning Zetao
Andy Tennant
Musicians:
Sia, Singer, Composer
Pusha T, Rapper
Ariel Rechtshaid, Producer
Olodum, Percussion Accompaniment
Account:
Brian Weston, EVP, Account Director, Grey NY
Elizabeth Gilchrist, SVP, Account Director, Grey NY
Irina Gilbertson, VP, Account Director, Grey NY
Katie Stirn, Account Supervisor, Grey NY
Suzi Jump, Account Supervisor, Grey NY
John Nelson, Senior Account Executive, Grey NY
Wesley Roman, Assistant Account Executive, Grey NY