Hasta La Creative!

If you’re relying on your local barista to talk you through life’s challenges, stop right now, says this amusing video for a text/video-chat counseling service called In Your Corner.

The spot was written and directed by Pete Marquis and Jamie McCelland, who are perhaps best known for making HelloFlo’s “Camp Gyno” and “First Moon Party” ads. It features a barista named Theresa, who is an amateur advice-dispensing “baristapist” (a portmanteau meaning barista therapist—and not, as one of my AdFreak colleagues initially assumed, a barista rapist).

To say Theresa is an inept counselor is putting it mildly.

We caught up with Marquis and McCelland to find out more about the project.

AdFreak: How did this project come about? Did you know the company beforehand?
Jamie McCelland: Bea [Arthur], the founder of In Your Corner, had seen our work with HelloFlo and reached out to us. And when you get an email from someone named Bea Arthur, you respond. She wanted to take the stigma out of therapy through humor.

Pete Marquis: We hadn’t heard of the company before, but we sat down with Bea and loved her vision for the brand. Offering therapy via video chat and text opens the door for so many people to get expert help, even lazy people like us.

Where did the idea for the Baristapist come from?
Marquis: The idea came from the insight that people are hesitant to seek actual, professional therapy, but still get it from everywhere—their friends, relatives, their hairstylist, even the barista. And that’s when advice can be the absolute worst.

McCelland: We wanted to show what unprofessional advice can look like, and ultimately emphasize that In Your Corner offers professional, expert help, which is way better.

What was the scriptwriting like?
McCelland: Theresa the Baristapist is a barista who believes her true calling is therapy. We thought of her as a Jane Lynch-like character—as self-important as she is delusional. We wanted to have fun with the idea that she’s giving unlicensed advice with no accountability or concern for anyone’s long-term mental health.

The actress is pretty great. Where did you find her?
Marquis: Casting for this role was way too easy. Alex, the actress, was the first one to come into the audition, and she blew us away. Bea wanted to stop the casting then and there—we didn’t, but we could have because Alex set the bar extremely high. She channeled that character frighteningly well, and her improv was incredible. A lot of the stuff she made up on set ended up in the cut, which was something we always hope for. We could not have been happier with her performance.

When a girl lies about getting her first period, her mother takes the ultimate revenge in a new spot for tampon subscription service (yes, that’s a thing) Hello Flo.

Company founder and CEO Naama Bloom once again teamed up with Jamie T. McCelland and Pete Marquis, the writers/directors of last year’s “Camp Gyno” spot for an even funnier follow-up.

Entitled “First Moon Party,” the 2:19 video begins with a girl who is frustrated to be the last of her friends to get her period. She decides to fake it in order to become a member of the “Cherry Slush Club.” When her mother questions her about a rubylicious nail polish-stained pad, she says “What do you think it is? I’m on my ladies days.” Angered by both the lie and her daughter’s tone, the mother decides to take the ultimate revenge, and goes way, way too far. Claiming that it’s “family tradition” she throws her daughter a “First Moon Party,” inviting friends, family, and co-workers to celebrate her menarche. With activities like “pin the pad on the period,” “bobbing for ovaries,” a uterus pinata, and a “vagician” the daughter is traumatized by the party. When the daughter inevitably reveals she was lying, the mother gives her a Hello Flo Period Starter kit, followed by a pretty hilarious punchline.

Like “Camp Gyno” the spot uses humor to frankly tackle a subject all too often treated as squeamish, while also perfectly tying it to their product/service. “First Moon Party” has already proven to be a huge success, racking up almost 1.5 million views since being posted two days ago. Given its humor and relatability, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Hello Flo team will have a hard time topping this one, but we look forward to seeing what they can come up with next. Stay tuned for credits and a “Camp Gyno” refresher after the jump. (more…)

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