Butter Menthol TVC - Prodigy Films

Directed by Dael Oates of Prodigy, the spot opens with a group of girls in a bleak, winter playground struggling to enjoy a game of hopscotch. The focus shifts to one little girl with blonde hair who rubs her nose with a sniffle and a cough. The piece develops from an aloof and almost numinous tone to an “over the top” sense of sentimental dream-like warmth, rich with possibility. Oates, inspired by Jean-Pierre Jeunet films such as Amelie, Delicatessen and City of Lost Children, has managed to keep the spot beautifully crafted, yet simple. “I want[ed] to make this theatrical [and] over the top…Play up the sentimentality and the dream like ‘warm glow’ sequence”, says Oates. “This [was] all about the styling and how far to push it."