Brand New School's New Ad for Target Pops-Up

Shopping for electronics isn't generally considered a walk in the park, but "Anthem" sets out to change that. The first of several Target spots directed by BRAND NEW SCHOOL, it places a live action guy in a pop-up world, where flat screens and mp3 players grow on trees, printers form fountains, and cell phones spin like windmills. And the right choice is only a cool gust of wind away. The spot concludes with the tagline, "Simply what matters."

"We asked, 'How can we make megabytes and megapixels accessible?" recalled Target Copywriter Travis Robertson of the retailer’s new E2 (Electronics & Entertainment) campaign. The simple but engaging solution was a 2d pop-up environment. "We'd seen all the animation companies, but what set BNS apart was diversity of thinking, and live action with animation done in a way that was so smart."

BNS Co-director Ben Go explained that the pop-up book reference from Target's in-house creative department inspired a series of preliminary tests to explore the many possible translations and editing solutions. "The Target group is always very open to ideas and counts on us to bring something fresh the table," he said. "In creating the environment, we wanted a place that was clean, modern, but most important, humanistic, a place we'd like to visit," said BNS Co-director Megan McGinley. "The word that kept coming up in our discussions was 'craft.' The paper world needed to look like it was made carefully by hand, but things had to move in a fluid way that reflected new technology."

Target Art Director Jon Baugh pointed out that the "Anthem" spot had been in development for a while, and the project really came together with the inclusion of BNS. "I was in awe of all the beautiful things on their website, a ton of inspiring work," he said. "BNS soaked up the concept and did 'what if?' treatments. They're a worldly company, a great collective of artists. Everybody I've met at this company is part of a vision, and every office visit is an inspiration trip."

The Target and BNS teams promise that each of the campaign's spots will bring something new to the equation. "In working with BNS, there have always been great surprises and wit that are relevant to the brand," Baugh said. "How it's executed in the end, even those ideas we did visualize, blows us away."