Ogilvy & Mather and Director Jonathan Notaro of Brand New School are calling out the history of humanity's tooth-cleaning habits with their spot for Philips Sonicare, "Stick with Technology" for their Odyssey campaign. The time-travelling spot raises the question of why, at a time when human beings adopt technology to every element of their lives at an exponential rate, does 72% of the US population continue to scour our teeth with what are essentially bristles on a stick?
The spot was created as an "Odyssey" through time, with detailed attention to determining the appropriate eras and vignettes to shoot through the time warp, as well as the accompanying sets, locations, acting and wardrobe.
"We wanted the actor to literally 'brush his way through time'," said Notaro. "So we practically tethered the actor to the camera/dolly and dragged them through the various period-specific scenes."
The films were shot on location in Budapest, including a Victorian train station with a locomotive, as well as on studio lots with constructed medieval sets. In order to get the most realistic results while minimizing the use of CG, the wardrobe animation was shot on green screen mannequins with garments run across them. The team also developed other complex animations using stop motion techniques at the BNS film studio stateside.