Emerge from winter slumber with Meijer spring essentials.
Meijer is a supercenter with stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. Spring is a big deal for the Midwest as families thaw out from the winter funk and are eager to take action, reconnect and rediscover the outdoors. Our television spots place Meijer at the top of the list for gearing up for Spring and celebrating Easter.
"It's Spring" :30 TV Spot
"This Meijer commercial
just depicted what really happens when the warm weather comes to Michigan
#thankyoujesus lol"
– Blvck_ginger @NNYLEIROC
"Hey @meijer, LOVE your spring commercial. My wife and I kept rewinding it. couldn't get enough! Good work!"
– Brett Thomas @daybrett
The Concept
My husband had lived in upper Michigan for a few years and told me about the winters there that just never seemed to end. The first sign of Spring was a big deal. After winning the Meijer account, our team was tasked to bring this experience to life and how Meijer helps Midwest families out of hibernation. It was our first major project. We arranged a call with the client and presented our concepts.
"How about a guy who is in a winter trance shoveling his driveway that no longer has snow because it is now Spring?"
After much deliberation, the client agreed they loved the direction. Our creative director scribbled a note and passed it to us during the meeting:
"Clusterfuck. BUT you just sold our 1st spot!!!"
We now had a Spring spot. In the same meeting, the client then decided they wanted an Easter spot and if we could present concepts in the next day so that we could shoot both at the same time. The pressure was on.
Our team regrouped the very next morning and we agreed that Easter was similar to Thanksgiving where we gathered our loved ones and cooked meals with colorful garnish – deviled eggs, salads of all types, desserts, steamed carrots, asparagus, green beans and of course we had to make room for the Easter ham. Having family members who were culinarily-gifted and ambitious, our tables were jam-packed with all these foods to the point it became ridiculous.
We had our idea for the Easter spot. And it required a lot of food prep and tabletop choreography.
"Make Room" :30 TV Spot
Production
LOCATION
We could not use a Midwest location to film because it was still winter and under a blanket of snow at the time of production. "It's Spring" was filmed in season-ambiguous Pasadena at an actual residence that has seen its fair share of TV, movie and commercial productions. We were careful to not show any non-Midwest geographic elements (such as palm trees or mountains). Even though it looks like it was just across the street, we shot the Spring neighbors who tell Steve that it's Spring in another location.
PROPS
All glassware, clothing, merchandise was shipped from Meijer since there are no Meijer stores in California. In "Make Room" there are family portraits hanging on the walls of the actual actors at the table. In "It's Spring" the grass on the front lawn was dyed green to make it look more lush and Spring-like. The dye turned our shoes green.
TALENT
Our talent had appeared on TV shows such as Desperate Housewives, Modern Family, CSI and some were just getting their start. We casted Julia Campbell as the mother with the ham in "Make Room." Campbell is best known for her role as mean girl Christie Masters-Christensen, in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion. For the grandmother in "Make Room," we casted Patty McCormack known best for her performance as the title character in Maxwell Anderson's 1956 psychological drama The Bad Seed and as Pat Nixon in 2008's Frost/Nixon. The phone-obsessed teen was played by Mary-Jessica Pitts (Hancock and Modern Family)
Art Director: J.D. Humphreys
Copywriter: David Sloan, J.D. Humphreys
Creative Director: Ellen Steinberg
ECD: Jonathan Cude
Producer: Regina Brizzolara
Director: Jon Watts (Smuggler LA)
Editor: Nick Adcock
Photography: Re:Think Stuidios
Agency: McKinney, Durham
Client: Meijer