Broadcast ads // Osmo
PBS SPONSORSHIP ADS
Osmo bought advertising for a few PBS Kids shows, which had some unusual constraints. We were not allowed to show our product at all, nor make the product the subject of the ad, and we could only mention our brand at the signoff. This led me to concept ads that focus on the hands-on differentiation of Osmo (which, although a set of iPad games, is played using objects off the screen – the original company’s name is Tangible Play). I’d connect the hands-on play to all of the values that parents concerned about children and screentime are worried about, with joyful stock video of kids playing.
I wrote the heartfelt scripts, gathered stock video clips, and composited them in After Effects. Also, I did the voiceover performance for the “dad” one and helped a co-worker who didn’t have a kid deliver the “mom” one with conviction. I had to have someone who could carry a tune record the whistle.
HOLIDAY BROADCAST AD
I also worked closely with Osmo co-founder Jerome Scholler, and We Are Pi Amsterdam on the agency-produced holiday broadcast ad, sharpening its storyline and comedy. The charming final ad both points to the real gameplay (the magic of watching an animated character react to your drawings) and expands/refines Mo’s character. I was deliberate and specific with the direction of a multi-game close.