Hasta La Creative!

Sonic is pretty serious about playing with its food.

A new campaign from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners transforms actors’ mouths into zany little characters using face paint, à la makeup artist Lauren Jenkinson‘s renditions of classic cartoon characters.

The illustrations are great more or less across the board, even if some of the writing and delivery—the self-destructive robot, the melodramatic doctor, the angst-ridden teenager—might try a little too hard to be funny.

The better monologues turn the corner on relatable bits of truth—like a Southern belle who scrambles to save face after it turns out she’s not so refined after all—or on straight-up charming silliness—like a hammy yeti, idiotic octopus or behind-the-times groundhog.

The best moments, though, come from the more subtle facial cues, like when a chin twitch becomes a boxer pumping his pecs, or a soul patch finds new life as chest hair (in what might be the most perfect equivalence ever).

Then again, that all might just be a matter of taste—promoting the fast-food chain’s various drink flavors is, after all, kind of the point. But seriously, just try to keep your brain from imploding when Abraham Lincoln cracks a pun about a Leonardo DiCaprio movie.

CREDITS
Client: Sonic
Campaign “Sipsters”
Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners

Creative
Executive Creative Director/Partner: Margaret Johnson
ACD/Writer: Jon Wolanske
ACD/Art Director/Designer: Kevin Koller
Copywriter: Justin Ralph

Account Services & Strategy
Group Account Director: Leslie Barrett
Account Director: Jenna Duboe
Assistant Account Manager: Olivia Mullen
Business Affairs Managers: Chrissy Shearer, Jane Regan
Senior Communication Strategist: John-James Richardson

Production
Director of Broadcast Production: Tod Puckett
Broadcast Producer: Melissa Nagy
Production Company: eLevel Films (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Director: Claude Shade/Jon Wolanske
Director of Photography: Brett Simms
Executive Producer: PJ Koll
Line Producer: Genevieve Giraudo
Production Manager: Haley Klarfield
Make-up Artists: Sarah Coy, Victor Cembelin, Sophie Smith and Monica Bishop

Postproduction
eLevel Films (Goodby Silverstein & Partners)
Editor: Quinn Motika
Executive Producer: PJ Koll
Post Producer: Samantha Liss
Telecine: Nathan Shipley
Online: Kyle Westbrook
Audio Mix/Sound Design: Nic DeMatteo, Jody Scott, Jon Shamieh
Music: APM Music
End Title Design: Kevin Koller