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Behind the Work in association withThe Immortal Awards
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How Zulu Alpha Kilo Used Left-Handed Mango Chutney to Spotlight the Industry’s Award Obsession

01/12/2022
Advertising Agency
Toronto, Canada
271
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Zulu Alpha Kilo’s Zak Mroueh, Jonah Flynn and Michael Siegers discuss creating a film designed to remind viewers that advertising should serve consumers first, and awards judges second, writes LBB’s Josh Neufeldt

In adland, you’d be hard-pressed to find an agency that doesn’t enjoy winning awards. Recognition and validation for one’s hard work is always appreciated, and a little bit of competition to keep the creative spirits racing is not necessarily a bad thing. What isn’t great, however, is designing ads solely for the purpose of winning awards. Yet funnily enough, what Zulu Alpha Kilo (Zulu) noticed was that a great deal of award-winning work from around the world isn’t actually all that well-known. This then begs the question of what’s more important? Are ads meant to win over awards judges, or win over consumers?

To tackle this question, the agency decided that a comedic video was in order. Produced entirely in-house, ‘Left-Handed Mango Chutney’ depicts a dinner party among friends, in which a copywriter named Greg is forced to contend with questions like ‘Working on anything exciting?’ and ‘Anything I’ve seen?’ Flattered by the attention, Greg proudly announces his latest project to the group: the titular left-handed mango chutney. What follows are a great many blank stares and immense dinner time confusion - satirising the all too familiar scenario while serving as a poignant reminder that the industry should be serving consumers first, and awards judges second. 

Making its debut at Strategy’s Agency of the Year awards (Canada), the video was met with much acclaim (and laughter), serving as an entertaining and controversial reminder of advertising’s true purpose, and proving a strong reminder that good advertising can still be award-worthy, with Zulu itself winning Silver in the Agency of the Year category.  

LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with Zulu’s CCO and founder Zak Mroueh, ACD and writer Jonah Flynn, and ACD and art director Michael Siegers to learn more about how this hilarious spot came to pass. 


LBB> This spot debuted at Strategy’s Agency of the Year competition - an event where Zulu has often pushed back against the industry’s sacred cows. Why is this the approach Zulu likes to take on a night when the agency can be promoted in any way?


Zak> Part of the joy of being an independent shop is having the freedom to shine a light on industry-wide issues that most wouldn’t dare touch. Since founding the agency in 2008, I’ve always enjoyed reflecting a mirror on some of the absurdities of our business. I believe we need to be able to laugh at ourselves a bit. Whether it’s through things like this video or our parody website, not taking ourselves too seriously is part of Zulu’s founding DNA. 

At Strategy magazine’s Agency of the Year show, all shortlisted shops are asked to create an original video. It’s a big deal here in Canada. Besides the awards show itself, one of the highlights of the night is the screening of each agency’s video. The local industry and the attendees really look forward to this yearly tradition. As an agency, we’ve always used this opportunity to poke fun at ourselves and the very people sitting in the audience. Of course, we could do something more serious, but what fun would that be?



LBB> As ‘Left-Handed Mango Chutney’ serves as a follow up to Zulu’s previous satirical campaigns, how did you ensure that it fit tonally, while also not being repetitive in any major way? 


Zak> Every year we take on an industry pain point. In recent years, we’ve tackled spec work, the RFP process, holding companies, and awards. Tonally, ‘Left-Handed Mango Chutney’ continues this tradition, but with a new scenario and message. Our execution was new this time too. A couple of our past videos were mockumentaries, others were more on-the-street style interviews, and one or two were full-on parodies. This time we focused on one single comedic scene. 



LBB> As an item, left-handed mango chutney is simultaneously ridiculous and somehow feasible for adland. Where did the idea for this specific novelty gimmick come from?


Jonah> These days, there’s a sense that campaigns need to change the world to be award-worthy. We knew it would be funny if Greg desperately forced a higher-order purpose onto a totally unwarranted product just to win an award. We had a good time brainstorming funny combinations between products and causes, like ‘Near-Sighted Soy Sauce’, ‘Bald Broccoli’, and ‘Pro-Choice Peanut Butter’. We decided against some of them because we didn’t want to make light of serious causes, but the specificity of mango chutney really made us all laugh, and left-handedness felt like a funny non-issue to attach to it. 



LBB> Horse farts for a beer ad is also cheesily comedic. Where did this idea come from?


Michael> We were thinking back to campaigns that checked both boxes: winning awards and winning over consumers. Unlike today’s award-winners, many of them were funny, not serious. And, they included drumming orangutans, talking frogs, and dancing babies. We went back and forth, and a farting horse felt like it was in the same ballpark. 


LBB> Tell us about the writing process! What challenges does writing with self-referential humour pose, and how does the process compare to normal campaign writing?


Jonah> Zak, Michael and I have collaborated closely on the last three videos for the Agency of the Year event. Between the three of us, we’ve developed a collaborative ‘writer’s room’ type of approach where we keep building on each other’s ideas and hone the initial script. This time, Zak briefed us with the initial premise, then we went off and fleshed out a full script. After that, we all got back together, added new jokes, built on existing ones, and kept finessing it. 

Michael> There’s always an inherent risk with satire that you might not pull it off. Unlike normal campaign writing, you don’t usually have the freedom to be as on the nose with your target (or have as much free reign). The reason everyone’s sharing this film is because it speaks the truth and reflects how crazy our industry has become.


LBB> Where did the idea of a dinner party come from, and what made it the perfect setting for this conversation to take place? 


Zak> After the industry had finished its big push during awards season, I heard numerous complaints from peers and creative leaders about how they’d spent all their time working on case studies. It’s become the bane of our existence! Based on this truth, it sparked a thought while at a family gathering. If any one of us were asked the inevitable question of ‘what have you worked on lately?’, the answer would have to include ‘case studies’. With an elevator pitch of the idea, I briefed Michael and Jonah, and they came back with a fully fleshed out script, to which they added some amazing dialogue. They also brought many other script ideas to the table, but collectively, we agreed this insight was the most on point for this year and would be the easiest to execute. 
 


LBB> The dialogue is hilarious! Please tell us about how this aspect was developed!


Michael> Just like the premise itself, a lot of the dialogue was inspired by real conversations we’ve all had with family and friends. If you’ve ever had to explain case studies to anyone outside the industry, Greg’s lines should ring true. At one point, we had a moment where, while pontificating on all the exaggerated results, his wife says, ‘He fakes it all the time. Just like I do.’ We also had a whole improvised section where Greg is getting mercilessly attacked for saying fart jokes aren’t funny. We had to make tough decisions in the edit, since the film had to be short for the awards screening. 



LBB> What was casting like, and how did you find the perfect people for the job?


Michael> We auditioned plenty of actors with comedy and improv backgrounds, so they could experiment, play off each other, and add their own material to the video. For Greg, we wanted the right amount of delusional self-satisfaction. The French accent on ‘Grand Prix’ was entirely his own improvisation, and the smarminess of it made the dead silence afterwards so much funnier. 



LBB> The spot was directed by Zak himself - tell us about this.


Jonah> Every year, Zak directs the Agency of the Year video through our production arm, Zulubot. Normally, all his time is consumed overseeing projects and managing the agency, so this is his annual opportunity to direct, which he loves doing. With his insight into the industry, Zak is able to feed the actors lines on the fly and encourage improvisation. Once he’s got a take we’re all happy with, he encourages us to offer up lines on the fly as well, which results in some of the most funny, natural takes. We come out of the day with numerous options for the edit, often leading to funnier lines and moments than what was written on the page. 

Zak> Before I brief this annual project into a new team, I always joke that I’ll be their CD, director, and the client…good luck! Seriously though, I love directing these films. I have so much fun working with the actors and discovering unscripted jokes on the day. With Michael and Jonah, there’s mutual trust which makes the process run smoothly. Between the three of us, we always make the right choices in the edit, making sure the piece hits the right tone and resonates with the industry. And, they haven’t fired me yet, haha! That said, I also direct them out of necessity. We have a shoestring budget. 



LBB> Building on this, Zak, why are Michael and Jonah the right team for this annual brief?


Zak> I love working with Michael and Jonah because we have a real shorthand together. Comedy is hard, and this is especially true when it’s in front of some of the toughest critics of all: your peers. As a team, the guys have an incredible sense of comedic timing and dialogue, which is why I’ve asked them to work with me for three years running now. Together, we’ve done ‘Billy’s Lemonade’, ‘Awards Gone Wild’, and now this film. We always try to push the limits during the script’s development process and shoot, but then collectively we come to our senses in the edit suite, finding something that strikes the right balance.



LBB> What was the shooting experience like this year? 


Zak> In the past, some of our videos have been perhaps too ambitious, with too many setups and scenes to capture in one day. We would end up flying by the seat of our pants, but with a little luck, we’d always manage to get everything shot. 

On the other hand, ‘Left-Handed Mango Chutney’ is one scene, so it was nice not having to rush and move onto the next setup. As a director, it was less stressful since I was able to really spend time on each performance and try numerous variations. We originally planned to shoot it as a cocktail party or backyard barbecue, where everyone is standing around socialising. However, we ultimately decided to keep the characters around one table, as it gave us more control and less issues with continuity. It also gave the scene a nice warm, intimate look. 


LBB> How was post, and how long did it take?


Michael> Our in-house production house, Zulubot, handled post and made the film look beautiful. We wanted it to look like a scene taken right out of a feature film. The editing process was the longest part because we had so many takes and improvised lines to play with, and the three of us spent days with our editor, Max Lawlor, trying new cuts and various lengths. The first cut was a seven minute ‘kitchen sink’ version with all the best jokes and moments in it. From there, we cut it down more and more, and kept reshaping it. We had lots of great stuff to work with!



LBB> How did the viewers at the awards show, as well as watchers since, respond?


Jonah> When we first screened it at the Agency of the Year awards show, the reaction was tremendous. In our industry, we rarely get the opportunity to debut a new piece of work in front of an audience of hundreds of people, so it felt great to hear all the laughter and applause in real time. To date, the video has had over 30,000 industry views, and it’s been featured in all the major ad publications globally too. 

Michael> We’ve been contacted by dozens of industry people from around the world who have been sharing it on social media. One prominent UK CCO even suggested that ‘Left-Handed Mango Chutney’ could become an industry catchphrase to refer to this type of bogus, awards-chasing work. We’re very proud it’s resonating so much across the industry. 



LBB> ‘Left-Handed Mango Chutney’ is a funny but firm reminder that advertising’s most important goal is to resonate with consumers first. What made this the right time for this reminder, and how can agencies do a better job of achieving this?


Zak> Many years ago, it seemed like more award-winning work resonated with both consumers and awards juries. Most importantly, it helped improve a brand’s business. It was work that we all saw in the real world. Lately, it seems like we’re awarding campaigns with great ideas and for great social causes, but they don’t necessarily drive sales or reach large audiences. It seems like we’re hitting an inflection point. If we keep recognising this type of work, agencies are going to keep investing all their creative efforts into award-winning ideas that serve them, but not real consumers or real clients. One way it could get better is if awards shows cracked down and increased their standards of what’s eligible. They need to see through the ‘Left-Handed Mango Chutneys’ of the world. Juries have to do the same. 


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