ODV and Archies’ popular commercial returns with sequel

Programmatic

1 year ago

Kiwi video production company, ODV, and Australian footwear brand, Archies, are creating a marketing universe with a charismatic character at its centre – celebrity foot masseur Yanderas Janderas (aka the most renowned man in the world of feet).

With multiple sold-out shipments of the product and an audience calling for more Janderas, Archies took the hint and gave the people what they wanted: Part 2 – a Tony Robbins meets Oprah spinoff.

“When people ask for more ads, you know you’ve really hit on something good,” says Archies’ Head of Marketing, Ruben Thompson.

ODV Co-Founder and Director of the Archies’ commercials, Matt Dawson, says: “We’re building a character-led marketing universe with Janderas Yanderas at its centre – each new commercial is a Janderas side-quest with a loyal fanbase invested in the adventure.”

When the first installment went viral on TikTok earlier this year, the most-loved comment on the platform compared the ad to the iconic Old Spice commercials.

Part two follows Yanderas Janderas into a world of emotive-fuelled inspirational conferences and adoring fans, while part three involves a book signing event, and perhaps most intriguing of all – an encounter with arch-nemesis Hans Sprutzman (coming soon).

Archies has made the move to centre the brand around a single character who will now appear across all its brand videos, creating a familiar thread that ties its brand marketing together.

“Our motivation behind these ads was to connect with a new audience who might not typically pay attention to our ads – and we wanted to start that conversation with humour. It’s certainly had a huge impact getting new eyes on our brand,” says Thompson.

The comments on the ads include lots of love shown for Anthony Butters, the New-Zealand born lead actor.

This commercial was written by New Zealand actor and creative, Adrian Hooke and Matt Dawson describes the concepting phase as the most hilarious experience he’s been part of.

“At ODV we know that humour is memorable, so we’re often trying to strike comedic gold in our commercials. Sitting down with Adrian and Ruben to collaborate with no creative boundaries allowed these commercials to become what they are – incredible.”