BakBlade: Crafting a Campaign

I would say that first and foremost, especially since moving from Atlanta to Los Angeles, I am a freelance producer. I am a freelance writer as well, but it's a lot harder to get hired as a writer than a producer. Everyone can write, so everyone wants to do that part themselves. Even when a film director has the most creative control, the writer gives birth to the style, actions and idea.

When I was hired to freelance write the BakBlade commercials, I didn't start with sketch comedy, I started with a brand campaign driven by the notion that wives don't want to shave their husbands backs. Extending that further, neither do the husband's friends, or neighbors, or neices. I wanted to keep all the 15 commercials I wrote for this specific job within the confines of this overarching campaign, each with the same tag that men should be self-reliant and use the BakBlade to "Shave [their] own back."

This was difficult, because I had to incorporate some of the clients ideas, and also provide some California-specific scripts as well. The California scripts ended up being a "don't sweat it" exercise campaign, showing fit men in awkward positions trying to use exercise as a technique to allow a traditional razor to reach the unshaveable parts. When a mixed bag of scripts were chosen, I realized I had to forego a traditionally uniform campaign, which I didn't necessarily want to do, but more than anything I wanted to get the job and execute well so that everyone was happy.

In this instance, my producing and business instincts kicked in (even though I've had little formal training) and told me to not worry about it despite the advertising theories and advice I had read. I was just happy to make comedy commercials with a decent budget and have total creative control alongside my Adult Swim director. As a freelance producer, I am ready to acquiesce to a client's need and do what's best for the project and brand vision, instead of following strict commercial guidelines and status quo.