VMLY&R, Optimus Team Up for Hilarious V By Velveeta Campaign
Feel the magnificence. Breathe in the bliss. But it might not be the bliss you are expecting. Optimus and VMLY&R teamed up for a series of hilarious spots for Velveeta that had social media buzzing – and laughing – earlier this month.
Kraft Heinz’s Velveeta kicked off April with the debut of “V by Velveeta,” a fictitious line of luxury skincare products designed to “help you discover your skin’s natural, creamy complexion.” Velveeta claimed its new faux “V by Velveeta” products “are inspired by the unmatchable creaminess of Velveeta liquid gold, and have been meticulously designed to make your skin feel smooth, hydrated and moisturized.”
Let’s “indulge ourselves” with one of the thoroughly entertaining spots, “Melty Moisturization”…
SCREEN chatted with Optimus Editor Matt Glover about the April Fools’ Day spots that wound up setting YouTube aflutter. “As far as the creative process approach, The team at VMLY&R had a great vision and concept of imitating all of the cheesy skincare ads we have seen before, but gave us a lot of freedom to explore different textures, scenes and sounds to bring it to life.”
The campaign included two Saturday Night Live-style promotional videos: the afore-mentioned “Melty Moisturization,” and “Indulge Your Indulgences,” (click here to view) both of which feature warm yellow-gold visuals and a sensuous, slow voiceover that celebrates the creamy richness of Velveeta processed cheese products.
“I think the entire team did a great job replicating what is typically a very high end production in a very short period of time,” Glover told SCREEN. “From Production with ONE at Optimus, Mix from Marina Killion, and Color done by my assistant Margo Hess in Premiere… every piece helped elevate it to be believable as a skin care ad and made the joke land that much more.”
Glover also noted that some viewers might have taken this Velveeta joke a bit too seriously. “Some people I have spoken to actually thought it was a real product and did not realize it was April 1st.”
V by Velveeta
VMLY&R Agency Credits:
Aaron Evanson, Executive Creative Director
Jeff Beck, Creative Director
Nok Sangdee, Creative Director
Andi Tonis, Senior Art Director
Bryan Hradek, Senior Copywriter
Jonathan King, Director, Client Engagement
Kat Yahner, Senior Account Manager
Erica Koenig, Account Manager
Melissa Barany, Executive Producer
Jeff Piper, Senior Producer
Freddie Wise, Senior Print Production Manager
Lisa Stevens, Director of Business Affairs
Michael Niemczyk, Associate Connections Director
John Sabine, Connections Manager
Sophie Higdon, Associate Strategist
Optimus Credits:
Editor: Matt Glover
Assistant Editor & Color: Margo Hess
Senior Audio Engineer: Marina Killion
Executive Producer: Tracy Spera
One at Optimus Credits:
Director: Max Moore
National Director of Sales: Tim Jacobs
Head of Production: Dave Buehrle
Line Producer: Sydney Thomson