Production and animation studio 1/29 recently partnered with director Ross Thomas for a new spot for Orbit Baby strollers. Inspired by filmmaker Terrence Malick’s works of sweeping landscapes and dreamlike states, “Matchmaker” follows a young couple as they travel around San Francisco with their two children and their stroller. Completely without dialogue, the 60-second spot focuses on special moments shared by the family.
While previous Orbit Baby spots revolved around the functionality or specific elements of their products, Thomas explained this piece was meant to be more lifestyle oriented. “We wanted to display the genuine parent experience and Orbit Baby’s user-centered design philosophy,” said Thomas. “Any time a product is secondary to story, it’s exciting for me as a director and better creatively overall.”
In order to capture an authentic familial feeling, Thomas, having prior experience working with child talent, made sure that the actors playing the parents were there to comfort the children any time they were upset, even tying their shoes.
“We were able to capture honest moments between the parents and children,” said 1/29 producer Summer Wilson. “These were legitimate interactions. There were no scripts. It was about a look, a glance or a touch. The unspoken moments were the most beautiful.”
For the past six years, Thomas has collaborated with Orbit Baby, which often meant working on smaller scope projects and with a limited production crew. Due to the cinematic nature of the “Matchmaker” spot, he knew he’d need a full production company and chose 1/29, a frequent creative partner.
“We were excited to work on a true, standalone branding piece,” said 1/29 executive creative director and executive producer Nick Seuser. “It’s sometimes a challenge to get clients to sign off on a script with minimal product, but this project was really about establishing Orbit Baby’s new brand voice. Happily, the clients were trusting and clearly happy with the overall vision and final spot.”
Orbit Baby “Matchmaker” from 1/29 on Vimeo.
