Hasta La Creative!

Droga5 likes building elaborate, full-scale sets for its Motorola spots rather than relying on computer effects and camera tricks. This approach seems especially apt in “The Maker,” a minute-long clip touting a site that lets users customize their Moto X smartphones.

Moto Maker is a site that lets users trick out their handsets in various colors and designs. Options include metal accents, wood tones (like teak and bamboo), laser-etched signatures and, for a limited time, football leather. (Motorola asks that “you resist the urge to spike your phone,” which is probably always good advice.)

The spot shows the same guy in two rooms separated by a wall: on one side, he’s clicking away on a computer to detail his Moto X. On the other, he’s running around a fanciful laboratory, where he employs robotic arms, chemicals and laser beams to tailor his phone. Director Vesa Manninen of Reset Content injects the proceedings with whimsical charm—and the impressive visuals are on par with previous entries in Motorola’s “Choose Choice” campaign.

The overarching strategy of “The Maker” is itself a smart choice, since the term has taken on heightened significance with the emerging Maker Movement. Letting users make creative decisions to suit their interests and personalities, even on a limited basis, is a decidedly cool selling point that Apple can’t claim.

The dude in the commercial was wise to scuttle his “Panda King” imprint in favor of the more practical “Ben’s Phone.” Going with the bamboo finish, however, is so 2013.