Monster.com Wants to Save You From Your Dead-End Job in This Bold Relaunch Campaign

Call it “The Attack of the 50-Foot Recruiter.” Monster.com is back after a few years in hibernation—and it’s bigger, hairier and more purple than ever before. The job listings site isn’t quite as prominent as was in the early ’00s, given the rise of LinkedIn and a plethora of newer job search sites that value quantity over quality. But a big new brand campaign led by creative agency of record KBS and effects shop The Mill hopes to reintroduce viewers to a company that is both more powerful and a bit cuddlier than the dot com establishment they thought they knew. Like so many of us who work for a living, this spot’s protagonist was stuck in a drab, dead-end job. She wanted more but didn’t quite expect the uproar that followed. [kickout id="1"] The work supports Monster.com’s new brand platform, “Find Better,” and KBS global chief creative officer Patrick Scissons called it “a reinvention, both figuratively and literally.” “One of the things this brand recognizes is that the human aspect of the job search has been lost,” Scissons added. “The spot in a way was/is emblematic of the search process; at first it’s scary … but as you rise through it you get more comfortable and confident … until you ultimately land that job you’ve always wanted. [Monster] is leaning into the human value of working, looking for a new job and making sure you’re doing something meaningful.” [kickout id="2"] Our employee in distress personifies the challenge faced by workers across a wide range of industries, and Monster looks to gain market share by appealing to more of those affected by changes in our shared economy. “They’re not necessarily just going after the white collar market a la LinkedIn,” Scissons said, noting that the service looks to surpass its volume-focused peers by helping users find better positions in sectors (like retail, travel and hospitality) that employ millions of Americans but often don’t appear on “professional networking” platforms. “Monster is committed to bringing opportunity and humanity to the often challenging and lonely job search process,” said the company’s svp of marketing Matt Resteghini. “We understand that people are forced to settle too often, and we are determined to use our platform to help everyone find better.” On the creative side, The Mill created the ad’s “photo-real,” 100 percent CGI creature by building a full muscular system beneath the fur in order to better convey the monster’s mass, mixing live action shots with fully computer-generated environments while painstakingly rendering the movement of individual wrinkles, pores and hairs in keeping with his environment. Scissons also noted the human-like elements that convey “a balance of the brawn with the tenderness” to make the monster more sympathetic. They include moments when he, like so many other city folk before him, has difficulty negotiating a fire escape and a train line. The anthem ad was directed by MJZ’s Matthijs Van Heijningen, winner of nine Gold Lions and one Grand Prix; it will run across TV, digital, cinema and social channels. The larger assignment also includes a series of creative activations elaborating on the same theme of identifying a party in need of a better gig. [kickout id="3"] [kickout id="4"] Some of the work, like this out-of-home ad and the social content above, also specifically addressed the challenges that women and minorities still face in the workplace. [kickout id="5"] KBS New York picked up Monster.com’s business in 2015 after the client and its former agency of record, BBDO, parted ways. CREDITS Agency: KBS New York Client: Monster.com Campaign: “Opportunity Roars” Global Chief Creative Officer: Patrick Scissons Executive Creative Director: Michele Kunken Creative Director/ Copywriter: Mike Abell Creative Director/ Art Director: Kevin Gentile Head of Production: Jenny Read Executive Producer: Karen McKibben Assistant Producer: Isabelle Vrod Head of Business Leadership: Jon Schwartz Business Director: Elizabeth Asselin Production Company: MJZ President: David Zander Executive Producer: Eriks Krumins Line Producer: Donald Taylor Director: Matthijs Van Heijningen Director of Photography: Joost Van Gelder Production: 1ONE PRODUCTION Producer: Jean-René Parenteau Production manager: Anouck Serra-Godard Technical director: Simon Lebrun Cameraman: Louis-Charles Pilon Post coordinator: Gabrielle Dore Offline: Sophian Verri & Etienne Bergeron Online & color grading: Etienne Bergeron Music Supervisor: Benedicte Leclere Sound Mix: Pierre-Olivier Rioux Editorial: Work Editor: Jono Griffith Assistant Editors: Nayim Saati and Theo Mercado Executive Producer: Erica Thompson Senior Producer: Sari Resnick VFX: The Mill Executive Producer: Melanie Wickham Senior Producer: Clairellen Wallin, Anastasia von Rahl Production Coordinators: Zack Franciose, Jalisa House Shoot Supervisor: Ruben Vandebroek, Kyle Cody, Clairellen Wallin 2-D Lead Artist: Kyle Cody 3-D Lead Artist: Ruben Vandebroek, Kevin Ives 2-D Artists: Kshitij Khanna, Molly Intersimone, Dae Yoon Kang, Yoon-sun Bae, Rachel Moon, Dhruv Shankar 3-D Artists: Adam Dewhirst, Todd Akita, Nick Couret, Jackie Liao, John Wilson, Emily Meger, Jeff Lopez, Seon Crawford, Arman Matin, Ren Hsien-Hsu, Tyler Heckman, Sewang Kim, Jonathan McCoy, Incheol Jeong, Justin Hammond, Anna Cardillo, Jimmy Gass, Constance Besen, Hannah Lee, Krystal Sae Eua, Jeffrey Lee, Blake Guest, Tom Graham, JuanZavala, Nole Murphy, Ziming Liu, Sivasubramanian, Vitaal Kuntla, Leela Shanker, Sendil Kumar J, Karthik Viswanathan, Murali Krishna Reddy, Muthyala Krishnaiah, Gokul Navaneethan, Sathyaraj A, Karthick Karuppaswamy, Sandeep Patil, Mehrose, Jai KIshan, Tarun Kumar, Chaitali Shah, Nijesh, Giri Prasath S Matte Painting: Cedric Menard, Charles Lee Color: MPC Colorist: Mark Gethin Music: Woodwork Executive Producer: Sam Phillips Sound Design: Stimmung Executive Producer: Kristina Iwankiw Sound Designer: Gus Koven Sound Assistant: Nick Tuttle Audio: Sound Lounge Mixer: Tom Jucarone

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Monster.com Wants to Save You From Your Dead-End Job in This Bold Relaunch Campaign

KBS led creative for the job site

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