The Spot: Heaven on Earth

IDEA: Dove chocolate had a few goals for its new ad campaign—introduce bigger chocolate bars, give the brand a fresh look, and spur more everyday purchases by customers. For its first work on the brand, BBDO New York headed to Uruguay to shoot an enchanting stop-motion spot about a pair of strangers who connect magically over Dove chocolate in the rolling hills of the countryside. "The previous spots had a lot of silky-smooth cues," which made the product feel "special and occasional," said BBDO creative group head Linda Honan. For the new ad, "we wanted to get into a more everyday setting, but one that's almost hyper-real—a world where magical things can happen." This allows the brand to feel approachable and contemporary while still pushing the product's luxury—and the moments of joy it enables. "Chocolate is one of life's great pleasures," said Honan. "The ad is a celebration of allowing yourself to embrace what's beautiful in the moment."

COPYWRITING: The agency chose "More to Love" as the overarching theme to emphasize the larger product size. For most of the spot, the theme is communicated visually in a fanciful way, as the man and woman magically make elements of their environment bigger so they can enjoy each other's company. First he lengthens a park bench so he can sit next to her. Then he pulls on a tree branch to give them some shade. Eventually the woman walks off to her bicycle, but then turns it into a tandem and invites him to join her. He does so, then tugs at the horizon to give them a longer path to ride. "It's always better when there's a little more to love," a female voiceover says as the words "More to Love" rise from a sea of melted chocolate. The ad wraps with a product shot (the milk and dark chocolate bars) and Facebook address.

ART DIRECTION/FILMING: The spot has a charming, whimsical look achieved through stop motion—or rather, a technique similar to stop motion improvised by the director, Christian Bevilacqua, and his editor, Al Sinclair. "We didn't have enough time or the budget to do an actual stop-motion shoot," said Honan. "So, we had the actors move really slowly and filmed them at 24 frames [per second]. … Then, in editing, we used every third, fourth or fifth frame, depending on what felt right for the scene." The technique made the fairy-tale elements of the story ring true, allowing the product enhancements to be woven into the narrative. The color grade has an ethereal, almost glowing quality. "All along we had the strong vision that it had to feel incredibly beautiful, almost like a storybook picture," said Honan. The Uruguayan coastal area of Punta del Este was the perfect setting, said Honan, who has also shot Starbucks ads there. The long daylight hours in January also helped maximize the shooting day.

TALENT: The actors are somewhat quirky looking, not traditionally beautiful. "Being a woman, I feel like a lot of female-focused brands deliberately try to get you with very clichéd representations of these kinds of moments," said Honan. "We wanted something more offbeat, something that felt more like an indie film."

SOUND: "The imagery is so sweet, and it's such a sweet story, that I really wanted the music to give it a little bit of an edge," Honan said. The music house Search Party found the track "Hey Na Na" by the American singer-songwriter Katie Herzig. With its bouncy, percussive vibe, it provided a nice counterbalance to the visuals.

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