The first blush of infatuation in middle school, the devastating impact of a nasty fight between partners, the sweetness of a decades-long love—these and other emotional slices of life are gathered into a cinematic ad that has what, exactly, to do with facial tissue and toilet paper?
Everything, as it turns out.
Canadian conglomerate Kruger Products follows up its lauded 2020 campaign with a new long-form spot, continuing the “Unapologetically Human” theme and turning its attention to intimate connections of all types.
The work, from Toronto-based agency Broken Heart Love Affair, uses the tagline “Life can be messy—love can be messier,” aiming to infuse staid commodity categories like paper towels and dinner napkins with warmth and intensity. And true to its slogan, things definitely get sloppy, for better and worse.
The mini-movie features snippets of proposals, weddings and births, alongside hardships, disappointments and distress, representing a broad spectrum of love. Decorated director Mark Zibert, who worked on the 2020 campaign, returns for the two-plus minute spot that uses a Paloma Faith remake of the INXS hit “Never Tear Us Apart” as its moody soundtrack.
“When we first launched Unapologetically Human at the height of the pandemic, we wanted to spotlight messy, important moments that make us all human,” Susan Irving, chief marketing officer at Kruger Products, said in a statement.
Carrying that concept forward into 2023, “we wanted to be real about love in all its forms, from the toughness of heartbreak and the thrill of first love to the softness and strength of enduring relationships,” Irving said.
Telling truths, busting tropes
Like its predecessor, “Love is messier” breaks new ground for marketing grocery store staples. The approach might have been considered risky had the earlier campaign not been so well-received, but some brands still shy away from that kind of unvarnished reality, according to Jay Chaney, Broken Heart Love Affair’s partner and chief strategy officer.
