Birds Eye Deli attempts to add class to chip creation

Ah, chips (or fries, depending on your place of origin). Essentially they're potatoes pulled out of the ground, washed, chopped, seasoned, frozen and re-heated. But this is not the kind of process creatives dream of putting in an ad.

The potatoes that will become Birds Eye Deli chips (the brand's premium range) are therefore subjected to a primping session worthy of a beauty pageant contestant in this 30-second TVC by J. Walter Thompson Melbourne.

For each stage of the preparation process the team created an entire 'movie-like set' complete with its own characters, from 'potato beautifiers' who scrub the earth off the spuds to a 'topiarist' who trims rosemary over the chips. 

'The Explorer' represents the chips' session in the freezer.

It's fun to watch; there's a nice sprinkle of self-mockery; the sets are beautifully-imagined and the whole concept fits the Birds Eye Deli 'We prep. You cook' tagline well. 

The one chip on Ad Nut's shoulder? Creative Director Jess Lilley's attempt to fling high-minded flummery into the fryer alongside the fries.

“We wanted to develop a creative platform for Deli that shifts people’s perceptions of the frozen food aisle," she says in the release accompanying the ad. "The concept of ‘prep’ moves the conversation to one of choice over convenience."

Oof. 

CREDITS

Agency: J. Walter Thompson Melbourne
Executive Creative Director: Kieran Antill
Creative Director: Jess Lilley
Senior Creative: Katie Moore
Senior Creative: Nicholas Sellars
Senior Designer: Jess Van De Vlierd
Senior Planner: Brigitte Bayard
Group Account Director: Jessica Johnson
Account Manager: Emma Rutherford-Ward
Producer: Sandi Gracin

Production Company: The Pool Collective
Director: Simon Harsent
Executive Producer: Cameron Gray
Producer: Ian Ford
Director of Photography: Simon Ozolins
Music: Declan Harsent
Art Director: Jamie Morris
Wardrobe: Janai Anselmi
Post Production: Dave Whittaker, The Editors

Client: Birds Eye
Brand Manager: Laine Birnbaum
Marketing Communications Manager: Evonne Williams
Marketing Communications and Branding Manager: Justin Taylor
General Manager, Marketing: Suzanne Harman

Media: Initiative

By the way, Ad Nut is like Switzerland in the whole 'chips' versus 'fries' debate. But if you want to talk about "biscuits" versus "cookies", Ad Nut will fight you.

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