Drones Try to Assemble a Layer Cake in This Nutty Norwegian Phone Ad

A team of little flying robots assembles a three-tier confection by airlifting genoise, splashing icing, firing candies out of a makeshift cannon and even lighting a sparkler with a blow torch—all in a new ad for Norwegian telecoms company Telia.

Agency DDB Oslo made the commercial to "celebrate" the brand's 4G mobile network. The resulting pastry is a delightful mess, given the somewhat crude motor skills of the unmanned aerial vehicles (or perhaps their operators—even if a sudden improvement in the cake's tidiness around the 25-second mark makes it look like the humans might have, understandably lent a hand in shaping the final product).

A behind-the-scenes video offers some insight into why. One member of the production team explains that most of the drone's baking tools were themselves makeshift DIY creations. There's a particular charming outtake in that clip, aptly titled "Dronekakebaking," when one quadcopter overshoots and flings a layer of sponge cake into the backdrop.

In other words, the playful, haphazard tone is refreshing—both as a fun tech twist on the clichéd image of kids painting a kitchen with batter and whipped cream, and as a welcome departure from the drone-themed ads that emphasize the beauty of aerial robot choreography as if it were ballet, or its dramatic effect as a super-cool new innovation.

Then again, anyone who isn't convinced can still always call Johnny Dronehunter.