Stupid sight gags never go out of style, particularly when they involve kittens.
That appears to be the solid thinking behind the new Hanes spot from The Martin Agency (and MJZ director Rocky Morton), in which the softness of the brand's ComfortBlend T-shirts is likened to that of the silky fur of kittens. The comparison, though, is made in the most outlandish way possible—by showing a goofy Chris Elliott type who prefers to actually wear a handful of fluffy kittens instead of a shirt, much to the consternation of his Hanes-pushing friends.
The spot has suitably moronic buddy banter to match the premise, and overall is amusing enough—and it takes an even more absurd turn when Mr. Kittens suggests asking longtime Hanes spokesman Michael Jordan what he thinks of the kittens shirt. Jordan, looking puffier than ever, suddenly ambles into the scene, offers a perfunctory and dismissive "Dude. Wow," and exits. "But I got it off SkyMall," the crestfallen kittens guy says.
Wearing cats has become a thing in advertising lately—as previously noted with the cat boots in the spot for Temptations cat treats. They're not just for herding anymore.
CREDITS
Client: Hanes
Spot: "Kittens"
Agency: The Martin Agency, Richmond, Va.
Executive Creative Director: Joe Alexander
Senior Vice President, Group Creative Director: Nancy Hannon
Associate Creative Director, Copywriter: Andrew Goldin
Senior Art Director: Mauricio Mazzariol
Senior Vice President, Group Planning Director: Fritz Kuhn
Senior Strategic Planner: Dalynn Kincannon
Account Supervisor: Carrie Bird
Vice President, Executive Broadcast Producer: Molly Souter
Agency Junior Producer: Amy Marek
Production Company: MJZ
Director: Rocky Morton
Director of Photography: Bill Pope
Executive Producer: Scott Howard
Producer: Donald Taylor
Editorial Company: Beast
Editor: Jim Ulbrich
Assistant Editor: Tripp McCarty
Post Facility: Framestore
Telecine: Company 3
Colorist: Tom Poole
Visual Effects Company: Framestore
Visual Effects Supervisor: David Hulin
2-D Lead: Maryanne Butler
Paint, Roto: Sabrina Tenore, Alex Ling, Jesse Spielman
Producer: Graham Dunglinson
Executive Producer: James Razzall
Audio Post Company: Rainmaker
Engineers: Jeff McManus, Mike O'Connor
Mixer: Jeff McManus
Music: Stock
Composer/Arranger:
Sound Design Company: Rainmaker
Sound Designer: Jeff McManus
Actors: Michael Jordan, Elisha Yaffe, Charlie Finn, Coronado Romero
Voiceover: Hubert Point DuJour
