Smartmill: People laugh at technology that doesn't work

Øystein Halvorsen
Director executivo criativo Try Reklamebyrå


What was the original brief for this campaign?

 

The brief was to demonstrate the marketing philosophy of the supermarket chain:
"Simplicity is king". This has also been their slogan for almost 20 years. REMA 1000 is a "no frills" company, they do things easily so they can sell products to low prices. The marketing concept is so incorporated that we can show this as an allegory.
Tell us about your role in the creation of this work.
I am a copywriter/Creative Director at TRY and came up with the idea together with my AD and partner in crime, Karin Lund.
What inspired you to approach the campaign this way?
This is a follow up on the former campaign "Smart house", so we wanted to take it even further. The new film is also a part of a bigger campaign focusing on fruits and vegetables, so it was natural to go in a more healthy direction ("It doesn´t have to be complicated to live healthy"). There are a lot of buzz words and things going on in the "fitness world", VR, protein shakes, etc. Very easy to make jokes about...
How difficult was it to sell the idea to REMA 1000 supermarket?
Actually it wasn´t difficult at all. The last film was a huge success, so it was more ourselves that needed to be convinced to have a new go. But when the idea was on the table, we all agreed that this was a smart thing to do.
What was the biggest challenge you faced during the process?
Well, to have the actor run for three shooting days was a big challenge. At least for him...
But it was also quite a challenge to get all the necessary music rights for the project and to make the music fit with the idea/script.
What did you learn from the experience?
People laugh of technology that doesn´t work. I think they somehow see themselves.
What’s a “behind the scenes” story that only you know about?
Hm... That´s a tricky one. Well, I can tell you that after running for almost three shooting days, completely exhausted, the actor had to run in all different speed levels (from 1 to max) for a voice controlled banner.... First then he was finished, literally speaking.

I can also tell you that there are some short versions of the film, for instans one where the next song on the radio is The Connells with "74/75".


Øystein Halvorsen
Director executivo criativo Try Reklamebyrå