Women Encounter Their Way Cooler Doppelgängers in This Springtime Pursuit Ad From Macy's

Ever see Sliding Doors? It's this movie where Gwyneth Paltrow misses her train and kicks off an alternate storyline to her life. The other Gwyneth doesn't miss the train, and for the rest of the movie these two Gwyneths carry out different destinies while narrowly missing each other. This is kind of like that. Created by BBDO New York, Macy's "The Chase" introduces us to different women going about perfectly banal days—until they encounter chic mirror images of themselves, sending them on a musical pursuit. [kickout id="2"] There's a low-key magic to the concept's simplicity. One woman sees her other self dining alone in a restaurant, then starts singing Blondie's "One Way or Another" in a way that seems almost arbitrary—until another sees her doppelgänger and it continues, right as the stringed instruments wind up the drama. Each twin isn't only better dressed; she's also just better. She eats at nice restaurants, calls the shots in a creative job, zips away on motorcycles, glams up for girls night, and doesn't miss the bus. It's a metaphor for the perfect adult we're always pursuing. She's powerful, autonomous and gives you pause when she breezes by, as ignorant of your existence as the Girl from Ipanema. Like these women, we dream her up at subpar times—while encumbered by groceries, running through the rain, or just generally feeling frumpy. But there's also something pernicious about "The Chase," a rebuke modern advertising works hard to shake off, but can't quite, because it's true. In the bluntest way possible, it peddles the facile, lowest-common-denominator idea that shopping will fix you. The ad winds down with the first woman finally catching up to her twin and discovering she is her, ostensibly because she's finally updated her damn wardrobe. “Find spring fashion," Macy's beckons. "Find the remarkable you.” BBDO has done right by its client: Macy's is a department store whose one job is selling a better version of you. But one of the hardest things about adulthood—usually discovered just after college, wide-eyed and waist-deep in credit card debt (a common repercussion of the trial-and-error process of "finding yourself")—is that you can't buy your way into that person. In fact, you can't even work toward her. Once you've got the dream job and the motorcycle license, there will still be still days you miss the bus and feel ugly in your clothes. There is always a better you just out of reach. Sometimes, when you feel like you deserve it, you'll cheat: You'll buy a dress with shoes to match, slightly out of budget, convinced this is what will finally complete Remarkable You. For a day or two, you'll have caught her. Then the pursuit begins again. It's for this reason that, while there's something beautiful in the idea that we're forever iterating toward perfection, it's depressing to be so baldly told something we've learned time and again is a lie. It just isn't that easy. "The Chase" went live online and on TV on March 11. Macy's also organized an "Instagram Live" hack on March 14, hosted by Cassandra Jones, Macy’s vp of fashion and digital strategy, and fashion blogger Wendy Nguyen of Wendy’s Lookbook. The "hack" takes advantage of an Instagram feature that lets two users livestream simultaneously. Viewers could share items they wanted help styling, the better to draw nearer to those ideal selves. CREDITS Agency: BBDO New York Client: Macy’s Title: The Chase Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide: David Lubars Chief Creative Officer, New York: Greg Hahn Executive Creative Director: Danilo Boer Executive Creative Director: Marcos Kotlhar Associate Creative Director: Cesar Finamori Associate Creative Director: Roberto Danino Associate Creative Director: Joao Unzer Associate Creative Director: Kathryn Kvas Senior Project Manager: Noreen Masih Executive Producer: Dan Blaney Business Affairs Manager: Nancy Espinal Director of Music: Rani Vaz Group Planning Director: Lindsey Gonnella Communications Planner: Julie Naidu Senior Director: Corey Cirillo Account Director: Lauren Munilla Account Manager: Justin Perrelli Account Executive: Clare Driggs Assistant Account Executive: Maddy Bell Production: MJZ Director: Nicolai Fuglsig Line Producer: Laurie Boccaccio Executive Producer: Emma Wilcockson Director of Photography: Greig Fraser Assistant Director: Adam Somner Production Designer: Jahmin Assa Editorial: Work Editor: Rich Orrick Assistant Editor: Theo Mercado Executive Producer: Erica Thompson Post Production / VFX: Blacksmith VFX Supervisor: Daniel Morris 2D Lead: Daniel Morris 2D Artist: Chris Memoli 2D Artist: Youngjae Lee Rotoscoping: Trace VFX Executive Producer: Charlotte Arnold Producer: Alexa Mauro Music: Sound Tree Arranged and Produced by: Luis Almau, Peter Raeburn, Luke Fabia Sound Tree Producer: Jay James Vocal Coach: Kyra Selman Final Mix: Sonic Union Mixer: Steve Rosen Sound Designer: Brian Emrich Final Grade: Tom Poole @ Company 3

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Women Encounter Their Way Cooler Doppelgängers in This Springtime Pursuit Ad From Macy's

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