Hasta La Creative!

SS+K launched a new integrated campaign for Jackson Hewitt in anticipation of tax season, introducing the brand positioning, “Working Hard for the Hardest Working.”

A 30-second anthem ad  celebrates “Quttin’ Time” as it pictures cashiers, waitresses, construction workers, teachers, nurses and more ending a hard day of work over the Pete Seeger song “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.” The voiceover delivers the “working hard” line before promising “the biggest refunds” and “100 percent accuracy.” The spot’s footage works with the song selection to evoke the mood of a hard day’s work just ended before promising that Jackson Hewitt is on your side and will do whatever it can to earn you that maximum refund. Two 15-second spots — “Cashier” and “Waitress” — support the effort.

Bobby Hershfield, partner and chief creative officer at SS+K said of the spot’s song selection, “We wanted the music to be something that relates to our message of working hard for the hardest working but is charming and classic. Pete Seeger felt so right for what we were saying and the audience we were talking to.”

Credits:

Client: Jackson Hewitt

Project: “Working Hard for the Hardest Working”

Agency: SS+K

Partner, Chief Creative Officer: Bobby Hershfield

Senior Vice President, Director of Production: John Swartz

Executive Producer: Christopher McLallen

Senior Copywriter: Lindsey Lanpher

Senior Art Director: Alyssa Georg

Vice President, Account Director: Katie Dahill

Senior Account Executive: Keri Cook

Account Coordinator: Cameron Reilly

Production Company: Believe Media

Director: Bruce Dowad

Executive Producer: Jannie McInnes

Producer: Jane Thomson

Director of Photography: John Houtman

Service Company: The Capital Media Company

Executive Producer: Christian Allen

Editorial: Lost Planet

Executive Producer: Krystn Wagenberg

Producer: Taylor Colbert

Editor: Jacks Genega

Assistant Editor: Kyle Grandmaison

Colorist: Sofie Borup for Company 3

Finishing by Nice Shoes

SS+K is behind a new campaign for “high-end” boxer brief company Tommy John (which has been called “weird” more than once by those who made us aware of it) that, as mentioned, takes on a double standard in underwear.

The 53-second spot opens with a beautiful model slowly undressing, a sure way to get men’s attention. Eventually she reveals a stained, raggedy pair of underwear. “If I can’t get away with this underwear, why do men think they can get away with theirs?” she asks, attacking the double standard that women have to wear sexy lingerie at all times while men can get away with undergarments that have been through the wash 2,000 times and are falling apart. The message is reinforced by the tagline “Don’t like what you see? Women have felt that way for years.”

Of course, the truly feminist message would be to suggest that women should feel free to wear whatever is comfortable. But SS+K is selling underwear here — high quality men’s underwear — so instead they put pressure on dudes to step up their game and expend the same effort (and spend the same amount of money on) selecting their undies as ladies do. It’s a smart way to get the fellas to reconsider their “underwear is just underwear” attitude and perhaps shill out the extra money for Tommy John so their ladies will be impressed. Unfortunately, this campaign also includes a website inviting guys to Instagram their old, ratty undies. And that’s just gross. Credits after the jump. continued…

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