The “Trust Sleepy’s for the rest of your life” catchphrase is not only the most creative mattress slogan ever, it might also be the cleverest double entendre of all time. For other mattress brands hoping to appeal to new customers, second place is all you can really hope for. Arcana Academy, a new Los Angeles agency founded by “headmasters” Shane Hutton (a nine-year Modernista! vet) and Lee Walters (who spent six years at Arnold) may have a stronghold on the silver medal after debuting two Sealy, Inc. mattress spots that end with “Whatever you do in bed, Sealy supports it.”
Combined, the 30-second spots are good enough, but not great. “Good Neighbors” (above), the lesser of the two commercials, falls into that let’s-get-it-on squeaky mattress trope that stops being funny when you’re twelve years old.
“Tester,” on the other hand, manages to simultaneously stay fresh and familiar. A plastic blue butt molding attached to what can only be described as a phallic handle bounces on a Sealy mattress as a woman speaks French over a 70’s porn instrumental. I don’t know three words of French, but she sounds sexy, and I bet she’ll seduce some guys into buying new bedroom merchandise. Strange, but effective. It’s what would happen if you mixed an infomercial with Brigitte Bardot voice-over from fifty years ago. Well done, Arcana.
You can almost see them brainstorming: “Let’s put a sexy French model on the bed!” “No, too obvious.” “What should we do then?” “How about a blue butt? Gets the message across and doesn’t make women feel insecure.” “Perfect. Blue butts it is.”
Credits after the jump.
Title: Good Neighbors
Creative Director/Writer: Shane Hutton
Creative Director/Art Director: Lee Walters
Agency Producer: Charles Wolford
Director: Arni & Kinski
Production Company: aWHITELABELproduct
Executive Producer: Annique De Caestecker, Ellen Jacobson-Clarke , Oliver Hicks
Post Production: Cindy Chapman, Les Sorrentino, Gizmo Rivera
Editor: The Whitehouse, Los Angeles – Heidi Black
Music: The Lodge
Title: Tester
Creative Director/Writer: Shane Hutton
Creative Director/Art Director: Lee Walters
Agency Producer: Timmi Goldstein
Director: Blind/Greg Gunn
Production Company: Blind
Executive Producer: David Kleinman
Post Producer: S. Tobin Kirk
Editor: Justine Gerenstein
Music: Beacon Street Studios