Advertisers are in love with short branded documentary films these days that are built around some sort of surprise for one of the main characters. The idea, in fact, has become clichéd—meaning a lot rests on the execution of the idea.
This new Knorr film, "Flavor of Home," from DLKW Lowe is a good example.
The idea is fairly run-of-the-mill. The Unilever food flavoring brand gets a British mother to travel to the Arctic and surprise her daughter—who's moved there to be a guide on a dog-sledding farm—with a home-cooked meal.
But the concept is really nicely executed, from finding this particularly down-to-earth mother and daughter to shooting the gorgeous landscape of Finland. Tears flow early and often, but somehow it manages not to feel mawkish—mostly because it just feels real. This is mostly thanks to director Nanette Burstein of Hungry Man, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2000 for her boxing documentary On the Ropes.
OK, the film is also underpinned by a decent insight, which is that flavors alone can trigger emotions. In a Knorr study, 82 percent of respondents said that the taste of some foods reminds them of childhood, while 77 percent said food is always a part of life's most meaningful moments.
But most important, they don't make a meal of it—and that's the best balance of all.
CREDITS
Client: Knorr/Unilever
Agency: DLKW Lowe
Global Creative Director: Richard Dennison
Creative Team: Rob Bovington, Stephen Webley
Agency: Lowe & Partners
Planner: Rebecca Morgan
Account Team: Richard Ellis, Monika Tomala
Agency Producer: Trudy Waldron
Production Company: Hungry Man
Director: Nanette Burstein
Executive Producer: Kevin Byrne
Producer: Jack Beardsley
Editing House: Marshall Street Editing
Editor: Gary Forrester
Postproduction: Absolute
Audio Postproduction: 750 MPH
PR Agency: Edelman
Global Media Agency: PHD
Media Agency: Mindshare
