While you're out on the town, or busy at work, do you obsess about what might be going on back at home?
Perhaps you're worried the babysitter's skeevy boyfriend will show up for a makeout session, and that his even skeevier friends will start pawing your wardrobe. Or do you imagine your pooch setting off a conflagration in the yard while the house fills with suds from an overflowing tub? Hey, maybe you're convinced your pre-pubescent son will take the car for a spin and back it through a wall,
Actually, all of that stuff could happen at the same time. Couldn't it?
To see what's most likely happening while you're out, watch the ad below, created by CP+B Miami as part of its first major campaign for home security startup Canary:
Huh. It was actually pretty quiet back at home. Guess this wasn't the day for Junior to start driving after all. (Great line delivery, though—get that kid a sitcom!)
Allaying irrational fears among tech-savvy millennials and Gen-Xers is what the company's pitch, promoting overall brand awareness and the launch of its indoor/outdoor HD Canary Flex product, is all about.
"Canary users are highly engaged with the product, checking the app more than three times per day to stay connected to what's happening at home and with loved ones, even if that loved one is a pet," CMO Bob Stohrer tells Adweek. "The key takeaway: Don't let your mind wander. Live life in the know."
Hey, a little more compulsive app checking will never hurt anyone, right?
Staged with comic gusto by Gifted Youth's Peter Atencio, who directed every episode of cult Comedy Central series Key & Peele (as well as, famously, Pepsi's Jeff Gordon prank from a few years ago), the Canary ad was filmed over two days, split between a soundstage and suburban house.
"The whole thing came together almost without incident, which was pretty amazing considering it involved very young children, several animals, some fire, shattering glass and little bit of flooding," says CP+B executive creative director Jay Gelardi. "It's a challenge to trash a house on film while not doing any damage to the actual, beautiful house. So, parts of the house needed to be recreated in a studio, but much of the destruction actually happened—very carefully—on location. And some of the slips and stumbles were unintentional, which always adds to the painful authenticity."
Yes, using Canary to inspect your home from afar could yield tangible safety results. You might discover you left the garage door open or water boiling on the stove, and engage other home-tech wizardry to rectify such situations.
Mostly, though, the product provides an instant balm for modern anxieties. When the overwhelming majority of users check their homes using the app, they'll see nothing amiss, and get exactly the reassurance they're looking for. Unless they rent the place to a commercial film crew, that is. Those dudes sure can make a mess.
CREDITS
Client: Canary
Campaign: "While You Were Out"
Agency: CP+B Miami
Executive Creative Director: Jay Gelardi
Creative Director: Graham McCann
Designer: Andrea Novo
Project Manager: Ethel Jones
Director of Video Production: Kate Hildebrandt
Integrated Producer: Jackie Maloney
Production Company: Gifted Youth. Los Angeles, CA
Director: Peter Atencio
Managing Partner/EP (Production Co): Dal Wolf
EP of Production (Production Co): Anthony Ficalora
Producer (Production Co): Michele Robb
Director of Photography: Jas Shelton
Editorial Company & City: Arcade Edit. Santa Monica, CA
Editor: Sean Lagrange
Executive Producer (Editorial Co): Crissy DeSimone
Producer (Editorial Co): Alexa Atkin
Music Company & City: Beacon Street Studios. Venice, CA
Executive Producer (Music Co): Leslie DiLullo
Principals: John Nau, Andrew Feltstein
Sound Design Company & City: Lime Studios. Santa Monica, CA
Sound Designer: Rohan Young
Executive Producer (Mix And Sound Design Co): Susie Boyajan
Mixer: Mark Meyuhas
Telecine Company & City: CO3. Santa Monica, CA
Senior Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld
Executive Producer (Telecine Co): Rhubie Jovanov
Visual Effects Company & City: Method Studios. Santa Monica, CA
Visual Effects Supervisor: Michael Kennedy
Senior Executive Producer (Visual Effects Co): Robert Owens
Producer (Visual Effects Co): Cara Lehr
Lead Compositor: Kelly Bumbarger
Director, Strategy: Sam Alonso
Group Account Director: Marci Miller
Management Supervisor: Julie Pfleger
Content Supervisor: Katie Perez
Executive Business Affairs Manager: Katherine Graham-Smith