The Project
Not even a global pandemic can stop love. In the very first weeks of the pandemic, and before the prevalence of Zoom, Jared Jewelry launched a free virtual wedding platform to help couples host their celebrations online. The platform gave couples space to design a custom ceremony streaming look, link to their registries, and create a virtual guestbook for viewers to sign.
From project brief to shipping to broadcast networks, our team had 4 days to storyboard/script, source and license UGC footage, find the right music, and cast / record voiceover talent for this :15 spot highlighting Jared’s new platform.
As if this wasn’t challenge enough, we were tasked with finding footage that showcased authentic jewelry pieces from Jared’s. After a day of searching for the perfect UGC clip, it was decided that I should film the footage instead. But how to do this in the middle of a government-sanctioned lockdown…
Jared Jewelry arranged for the manager of their Houston flagship to open the store location and facilitate a jewelry pick-up. I met her the next morning, masked and gloved, where she handed me a set of his-and-her’s engagement/wedding rings. I had 24 hours before the rings needed to be returned.
The grocery stores may have run out of toilet paper, but they still had plenty of roses and a few cakes left in the bakery section. I bought several bouquets and every cake I could see to complete the set of my “virtual wedding” in our apartment. My husband dug out his suit from our wedding and I convinced my next door neighbor to come over, masked and gloved, and film us cutting the cake with a close-up shot of the Jared rings on our hands. After several film tests, (on my iPhone to match the style of the other UGC footage), we realized the rings needed more attention in frame. So another neighbor came over and shone a flashlight on the rings so they would sparkle. I call it early-pandemic, homemade “movie magic.” Several hours later, we had cut through every cake until we captured just the right angle.
Several days later, I saw our hands briefly flash on our TV screen during the commercial breaks of The Jimmy Fallon Show.
The spot may look simple, but the making of it took a village of creators, dedicated to bringing the Client’s vision to life, and hopefully, a little hope to couples whose weddings were far from going as planned.
Credits
Agency: Hawkeye Agency
Executive Producer: Sally McGuin
Producer: Annie Varberg
Editor: Jesse Unruh
