Behind the Scenes @ Squarespace: Game Day Ad

With Squarespace now 7 big game ads deep, we don't often get to hear about how it all goes down! Every time Squarespace begins work on its next big game ad, so many people work tirelessly behind the scenes - creative brainstorming, finalizing the concept, creating a storyline, and making creative decisions down to every detail including wardrobe, props and so much more. We recently spoke with some members of the team who made the magic happen: David Lee, Chief Creative Officer; Gui Borchert, Senior Director of Creative in LA; Sandra Nam, Creative Production Director; Ben Hodgin, Senior Manager/Art Director; Kevin Nabipour, Director Brand Strategy, Content & Partnerships; Albert Chang, Design Lead; JC Abbruzzi, Sr. Manager/Writer; Marisa Wasser, Senior Producer; and Meklit Gebre-Mariam, Art Director.

Take us back to the initial brainstorming session for the 2022 big game ad. What was the meeting like? What came first, the concept or identifying the talent?

BH: Squarespace's product campaign is Everything to Sell Anything so the big game ad had to be rooted in our platform’s ability to help customers sell anything. Objects, experiences, you name it.?

In the initial brainstorm, one direction was exploring selling stories from history. It was sort of a joke when Sally Sells Sea Shells… came up; we wrote it off at first. We were like, “is it too childish??” Then we decided to put pen to paper, and it worked. What we actually wrote at first was very close to what we ended up with. But at the start there was no talent in mind. It was still sort of just a script on a page. We went back to exploring a lot of other ideas and actually abandoned this one for 2-3 months. But we kept going back to it. Then serendipity happened, and the idea of casting Zendaya as Sally was put on the table. That changed everything.

MGM: I remember pitching Zendaya for this role. We knew she’d be perfect. But deep down, I wasn’t sure she was a realistic option. I mean come on–she’s the hottest thing in Hollywood and she’s never done a big game commercial. But she said yes so always shoot for the moon, people!

BH: Then we needed to find someone special who could actually read this tongue twister. Enter the incredible Andre 3000. Another moon shot!

I can imagine that there are many moving parts to getting an ad this creative to fruition. What was the concept and ideation process??

GB: We wrote the script and the script became a storyboard which became the sketch spot. The two day shoot required a lot of planning as expected. The first day was ambitious–we got all of the shots we wanted. But the second day, the weather was bad and a myriad of other difficulties transpired. We shot Andre’s scene on the second day but not much else. So we scheduled a make-up third day shoot and started editing the film with half footage and half storyboards. But there was a silver lining in splitting the shoot days that way: we were able to come up with a much better ending once we got to see the assembly come together, which is a reminder that optimism is the best way out of most tricky situations.?

What does the timeline for planning a Squarespace big game ad look like??

MW: For the big game you schedule your timeline backwards. The competition for the highest caliber of talent is so strong. We have to work quickly to get the artists, talent, directors that we want before they are picked up. Usually there is a month and a half of planning and a few weeks for shooting and editing. At times it gets truncated. In our case, we ended up with two production timelines since we had to resume commercial shooting after our initial two dates.

SN: We started concepting in June 2021 and the whole creative team chips in. It’s an iterative process where some ideas can have different celebrity possibilities, whereas other concepts depend on a specific celebrity. It can be a challenging process: narrowing down the ideas internally, getting CMO and CEO signoff, checking celeb and director availability and interest –and if everything doesn’t line up, you have to go back to the drawing board. This year, our relationships with the agents and production companies we’ve worked with in the past really helped lock in this deal and we were so excited when everything started lining up with Edgar and Zendaya to make this idea a reality.?

KN: It's sort of our legacy to be at and show up big for the big game. Even with how tumultuous 2021 was, we decided early on to be at next year’s big game so on the media side we acted swiftly and because of that secured one of the first commercial breaks which is a great slot for the spot. You want to be early on because you don’t know how the game will go (blowouts or slogs may cause drop offs in viewership) and you want your spot to be the one viewers and social commentators compare later commercials to.?

What teams internally and externally partnered to get the ad accomplished? How did your teams interact with one another during the process??

GB: Every little detail requires a whole village to pull it off. Every piece of the set design, wardrobe, props–are all a part of a large, collaborative creative team. For instance: deciding the color of the bus was a process guided by the Production Design team. Another example: crafting and licensing the font for Sally’s Seashells was a meticulous process with the design team and business affairs. And when it was all said and done, we decided to treat the commercial like a theatrical release so we created posters for social – nothing is ever done until it’s on air.?

How were you able to prevent burn out and manage your day-to-day responsibilities while also adhering to the needs of this project??

AC: I attribute it to the staff. Every team that was involved in the process was on top of every nitty gritty detail. This made the process much smoother and allowed the space needed to balance the work with everyday tasks. Working with the talent was a pinch me moment and that kept me going. When the announcements are made and the world is reacting to the work, you get your second wind and can bask in the final product.?

What was the most exciting or monumental moment for you working on this ad?

DL: The biggest moment for me was definitely being in the studio while Andre 3000 laid down his voiceover. I will remember that moment for the rest of my life!

In the ad, Sally struggles to sell her products but once she becomes a Squarespace customer, business begins to boom. Sally establishes other business ideas that truly grow her brand. What message did you want to send to ad viewers?

KN: The message is about limitless possibilities. Not only can Squarespace help turn an idea into a successful business, it can help take that idea in a multitude of different directions and new revenue streams. Sally’s growth and diversification is a stand-in for creators and entrepreneurs in today’s new internet economy, and the expanding tools that help enable that in the Squarespace platform.

And what we’re all dying to know, what was it like working with Zendaya, André 3000 and Edgar Wright?

GB: At Squarespace we set an impossibly high bar not only with our creativity but also with the on-screen talent and off-screen as well. We wanted the best possible talent at every step bringing the idea to life. Zendaya is one of the biggest stars on the planet. Edgar Wright is not only a fantastic director but also an incredible collaborator. And then, to have the legendary André 3000 was the best icing you can add to an already amazing cake!?

JA: Edgar Wright was one of the most collaborative directors I’ve worked with. He spent countless hours with us going over boards, hammering out all of the creative details– and he was always open to ideas.?

MGM: Zendaya, Andre 3000, and Edgar Wright were incredible to work with. I knew they’d be smart, creative, and talented but I did not expect them to be so collaborative AND lovely! It was genuinely a joy to learn from and work with them.

DL: I’ll just say, creative people want to work with creative people.