How This Canadian Tissue Manufacturer Celebrated Messy Love
Love; it’s a messy affair. As much as we might yearn for simple, cut and dry relationships, the reality is that it doesn’t work that way. People fight. Feelings fade. Relationships get sparked anew. It’s unpredictable, and that’s partially the magic of it. For as much as we hope that each relationship is the one - that picturesque kind you read about in every happy ending ever - it’s the magic of seeing what each new day brings that not only marks what it means to love, but what it means to live.
This sentiment is something beautifully reflected in Kruger Products’ latest multi-brand campaign, ‘Love is Messy’. Created in partnership with agency Broken Heart Love Affair (BHLA), it serves as an extension of the manufacturer’s 2020 ‘Unapologetically Human’ platform, and celebrates the ways in which consumers use the products, whether it be for wiping away tears or cleaning up messes.
Directed by Scouts Honour’s Mark Zibert, the main spot takes viewers on a journey through life’s moments, from passed notes as teenagers to new parents growing old together, and, naturally, all the messiness in between. It’s heartfelt, sincere, and truly encompasses all that it means to bare one’s heart to the world, ready to accept whatever comes, be it beautiful, painful, or maybe a little bit of both.
LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with BHLA chief creative officers Denise Rossetto and Todd Mackie, Kruger chief marketing officer Susan Irving, and director Mark Zibert, discussing how the heart behind this emotional heart started to beat.
LBB> This campaign serves as a continuation of the ‘Unapologetically Human’ platform. As such, what was the brief, and what immediate ideas came to mind?
Susan> After the incredible success of our award-winning and sales-driving campaign, ‘Unapologetically Human’, in 2020, the brief was quite simple! We said, ‘BHLA, do it again, but make it even better!’. This was a very tall order after such a ground-breaking campaign that celebrated humanity and showed the real reasons why consumers use our products. Soft yet strong, they allow us to get messy, make mistakes, spill stuff, cry, and be truly human.
BHLA landed an incredible purposeful platform for our business. It sets us apart from the competition, has connected with our consumers, customers and colleagues, and delivers on our mission of ‘Making everyday life more comfortable’. In this next chapter of the campaign, we wanted to connect in an emotionally relevant way with consumers to showcase how our brands play a significant and caring part in their lives. And, after the success of the first campaign, there was not even a second thought; the BHLA agency, director Mark Zibert and editor Graham Chisholm would be part of it. A real case of bringing the band back together!
Todd> After finishing ‘Unapologetically Human’, we already knew how we wanted to carry on with the platform, which was exploring human vulnerabilities through life’s different chapters. We explored other messy forms of humanity, and ultimately, picked the one that we thought most of us could relate to: the beautiful messiness of love in all its ups, downs, twists and turns.
LBB> Why was focusing on human stories of the messiness of love the perfect approach, rather than placing products front and centre?
Todd> Love is universal. Everyone can relate to something in this journey. No matter what stage your love is at, or which stage you remember going through, there is an instant connection. Love is so visceral. The feelings of love and its scars are carved so deeply inside humanity that if you strike the chord right, it should reverberate with truth, sincerity and understanding. We also felt like this was an essential chapter in the story that needed to be explored early on in the platform.
Susan> BHLA really pushed us on the importance of connecting with consumers on an emotional level. After all, if you truly connect with a consumer, deliver human insight, and show how your product fits into their lives, they will remember you. Believe me, I pushed hard in the editing room for more branding, and we had a lot of debate, but Denise kept reminding me that if I pushed it too hard, the consumer would lose that emotional connection… and she was right. It is a fine balance!
LBB> As mentioned, Mark Zibert directed the spot. What made him the perfect choice for the job, and what was working with him like?
Todd> Mark is an incredible collaborator and artist. He’s also a great sounding board. Knowing we didn’t want to just repeat ourselves following the first year of ‘Unapologetically Human’, it was essential that if he was going to direct the next one, that he also felt like we were telling a new story.
Working with him is amazing, and how I believe production should be done. We all trusted each other so much that once the hard decisions were made and the path was clear, it was just time to get out of the way and let Mark bring the vision to life - which he is brilliant at.
LBB> Building on that, Mark, why was this something you wanted to be involved in?
Mark> I’m fortunate to have a close and trusting relationship with the crew at BHLA, which allows for an open and fluid creative process. Rather than a script, they’ll often share more of an overall concept. In this case, they shared the line ‘Life is messy. Love is messier’. It’s brilliantly simple.
To bring this to life, rather than just watching random ‘love’ movements unfolding, I pitched building a narrative arc around love through ageing. I also wanted to lean into the fact that love transcends cultures and generations.
LBB> How long did it take to shoot, and what was the experience like?
Mark> The shoot was for four days. This was tricky, as there were many scenes that needed to be captured, so we were only allowed time for quick, spontaneous moments which needed to translate perfectly on film.
Seeing as there was no time to craft nuanced performances, we hired real couples who didn’t really need to act, allowing us to capture genuine intimate moments instead. In fact, the only exception was the kids who bookend the film. Although not a real couple, no real acting was necessary there either. Asking 11-year-olds to kiss on the cheek is perfectly awkward… and exactly what we were going for!
Todd> An eight day shoot basically compressed into four days sounds like it would be chaotic, but it really wasn’t. It was fast paced, but because we had a lot of the details figured out ahead of time, it was mostly about just letting Mark go at it. We had a nice small team of decision makers like Kruger’s chief marketing officer Susan Irving, producer Erica Metcalfe, and myself. So, when something came up, it was a quick huddle and then we moved forward.
As for a story… Well, love inspires love. For the shoot, we used mostly real couples. We thought that was a great way to get more authentic moments. And during the shoot, one couple, after shooting a bunch of kissing scenes, asked the producers if they could leave the set for an hour or so since their next set-up wasn’t for a little while. We all assumed they went off to rehearse some more!
LBB> When it came to aesthetics and the look and feel, what were your main aims and ambitions and how did you achieve them through lighting and colour?
Mark> Eric Kaskens (co-DOP) and I relied on natural and practical lighting in most situations, relying on the best time of day to shoot, or perfectly placed fixtures. To be honest, the hardest part was having restraint from making the film look too nice. Instead, we often embraced front light, bad light, and harsh light, in the spirit of a spontaneous vibe.
LBB> The music fits perfectly! How did you work with Oso to find the right track for the job, and what made you go with the choice you did?
Denise> Oso is super collaborative with us, and a team of people we trust wholeheartedly. This was important, as finding a song we all loved was a huge feat. The track has such a huge effect on the emotion we want people to feel, and we all had different tracks we brought to it. In this instance, our producer, Erica Metcalfe, found the song (‘Never Tear Us Apart’) that made us all say ‘Yes, that’s the one’. It’s a miracle when we all agree on music, and here, we did.
LBB> And please tell us about how it all came together! What was the editing process like, and how did you work to pull together such an assortment of scenes?
Denise> Mark shot so much beautiful footage that we wanted to use it all, but that’s where the genius of Graham came in. We trust him so much, and he worked so closely with Mark that when they showed us the first cut, we instantly loved it - even across the different versions for different mediums!
Mark> Graham and I work closely on every project we produce together, from pre-production to post. In this case, the hardest part was sorting footage and pulling selects, seeing as capturing those incidental moments meant the cameras rarely stopped rolling over the four shoot days.
The real work in post production was balancing how far we could push the intimacy in the scenes. I have to hand it to the team at BHLA for walking that fine line and convincing the clients to push boundaries. I also have to hand it to Susan at Kruger for supporting strong ideas and pushing them through.
LBB> What challenges have you faced during this project? How did you overcome them?
Denise> The biggest challenge was keeping the emotional connection while also making sure the products remained crucial to the spot - all without getting too heavy-handed. There was a lot of time in the edit suite and a lot of passion, so it got a little messy at times, but as Susan says, “Maybe the messiness is the magic now.”
Susan> The biggest challenge was music. Music plays such a critical role in advertising, and in my opinion, it can make or break a spot. Talk about messy - I actually think BHLA and I almost broke up when I asked them to go back and find other options! We knew right away, even before shooting the first spot, that ‘Human’ by Rag’n and Bone Man was the track, but for ‘Love is Messy’, we had not landed on a track before the shoot. So, it was quite stressful finding just the right piece of music, especially with a set airdate deadline to hit.
LBB> And do you have any memorable lessons learned from the making of this new campaign?
Todd> Creating ‘Love is Messy’ was sometimes messy itself. We had a lot of passionate conversations about how far we could push the moments, or how much product we could show before we snapped the viewer out of this emotional journey. This platform is very unforgiving - as it asks for a very genuine representation of humanity - and as soon as we are too safe or we push the product too much, we lose the connection with the viewer. If we didn’t connect truly, madly, and deeply with the audience, it wasn’t going to work. So, the lesson might be the old reminder that if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
Susan> I think the biggest one is that creating great, breakthrough work is hard. Love is messy, but production can be even messier, and maybe that is the magic. We had tough conversations and debates. I am a classically trained marketer, so this has been a big departure from functional advertising. We all play a critical role, but you have to trust the process and be open to change. Let people do their thing! Decide on the no debates, and then let the team spread its wings to take it to the next level.
LBB> What has the initial response been like?
Denise> While we were in the edit suite, we kept talking about how tense the world is and how love feels like it’s missing, so it was nice to be able to work on something that celebrates it. And, the response has been exactly that. People are taking time to write to Kruger about how much it means to them. People have said they have never written about a commercial before and that this is their favourite campaign. I think for bathroom tissue and paper towels, this is huge. One woman wrote how much this affected her after losing her husband. It touched people.
Susan> The comments on social media, our consumer response line, and the feedback from our colleagues and customers have really pulled on my heartstrings. People love the commercial, and one consumer even said that she will never take paper products for granted again, given the role they play in everyday life. Many shared that they loved the first spot but this one is the icing on the cake!
LBB> How does this campaign fit into Kruger’s goals for 2023 and beyond?
Susan> This campaign is our theme for the year. In fact, our 20th anniversary of the ‘Cashmere Collection’ (our fashion show that showcases dresses made out of Cashmere bathroom tissue to raise funds and awareness for Breast Cancer) will follow this lead with the ‘Lovestruck’ theme.
LBB> Do you have a favourite scene, or a sequence that means the most to you?
Denise> The old couple, of course. They made it! Love wins!
Susan> I just love the bookend; young love to old love. That feeling in your stomach when you fall in love for the first time to the magical moment of the beautiful old couple kissing on the pier.
Mark> I think we were all enamoured by our elderly couple at the end of the film. They embody the whole notion of ‘til death do us part’.
