How The Farmer's Dog took the lead by showcasing an Emmy-nominated advertisement
For the staff at The Farmer's Dog, the goal of their first Super Bowl ad was simple to make people cry.
"There was a phrase in the brief that was essentially like, if you don't get the viewers to cry and then fail," says filmmaker Goh Iromoto who helped bring The Farmer's Dog now-iconic (and Emmy-nominated!) advertisement "Forever" to the world of. "I'll never forget that line. That was a really big motivator, in terms of creativity, to me."
We wanted to know more about the Staff-Picked spot -- the most rated commercial in the 2023 Super Bowl and has received an Emmy nod (!) -- so we sat down with Goh and The Farmer's Dog's creative team of The Farmer's Dog to find out more about their fantastic collaboration process, their meticulous brief, and the dogs that inspired the ad campaign. Read on for the episode's key takeaways, or catch the entire conversation below.
| Name of the project | "Forever" The Farmer's Dog |
| Stakeholders |
Teressa Iezzi Director of Creative and Content
Sophie Forman, Director of Brand Design |
| Goals of the campaign |
Teressa and Sophie were looking to develop ads that would embody their company rallying cry, "Long Live Dogs."
In the past, the company concentrated its marketing on the nitty-gritty details of its product. However, Teressa and Sophie realized that the Q1 marketing campaign should be more clear in its approach to define its purpose that is to assist dogs live longer, more joyful, healthier lives -- into focus in a unique manner. |
| Goals |
• Recreate The Farmer's Dog purpose and rallying cry through a creative, powerful way
• Tell an emotional tale that goes beyond the specifics of the product. |
| Timeline |
The entire campaign took four month from top to tail to complete and the breakdown of production looking something like this:
October | Brief stage November | Goh is sharing his pitch with his team December | Shoot January | Post-production February |
| Resources | The Farmer's Dog team worked incredibly close with Goh in the creation of the final product. Goh played the role of creative director and project director as well as Teressa and Sophie played a key role in shaping the project. The three worked in close collaboration throughout the entire project, from beginning to end. |
| Key takeaways |
* Invest in your brief
• Focus on the story and not on the products * Great work deserves great promotion |