Titled Unapologetically Human, the new ad features scenes from cradle to grave, all focused on the amount of mess we manage to produce in our lifetimes. Created by new Canadian creative agency Broken Heart Love Affair, the campaign is for Kruger Products’ brands Cashmere, Purex, SpongeTowels and Scotties.

It might be a bit uncomfortable watching an ad with this many different bodily fluids in at normal times, but during a global pandemic it will have you instinctively reaching for a mask. Despite this, it’s a refreshingly honest take for a tissues brand, showing us in all our bloody and emotional glory.

“We wanted to remind Canadians that, despite our differences, we are all human,” says Kruger Products CMO Susan Irving. “We cry, we bleed, we use the bathroom. Our brands are there for all of that and we aren’t shying away from it. In fact, this commercial really is an expression of gratitude for all of those gloriously real human moments.”

The ad is released in both English and French versions, with the English one, shown above, set to the track Human by Rag ‘n Bone Man (the French language spot is set to Passer a l’ouest by Quebec singer Dumas). Production for the ad, which stars real families, took place in Vancouver in mid-July.

“The brief was simple and strong with words like ‘raw’ and ‘unapologetic’ making it easy to get behind the idea and leaving room for interpretation and collaboration,” commented director Mark Zibert. “Of course, there were all kinds of challenges and limitations that we had to work around within the Covid-19 safety framework but everyone rallied together to find solutions.”

Credits:
Agency: Broken Heart Love Affair
Creative team: Carlos Moreno, Denise Rossetto, Todd Mackie
Production company: Scouts Honour
Director: Mark Zibert