From AdWeek on February 1st, “Poseidon and a Couple of Mer-Bros Vouch for Gorton’s in the Best Fish-Stick Ads Ever: Plus, an incredibly grateful castaway” by Gabriel Beltrone:
MerBros appreciating the protein they get from the Gorton fisherman (not from his fish, mind you, but from the fisherman)
Gorton’s frozen fish is so good, even Poseidon, God of the Sea, loves it, says a new campaign from Connelly Partners.
The mythological Greek deity joins other unlikely — but ocean-savvy — endorsers in the comedic series of ads. There’s a bedraggled island castaway who’ll naturally evoke a more cracked-up version of Tom Hanks’ character from the 2000 film. And there’s a pair of fitness-obsessed “mer-bros” — jacked surfer dudes with fishtails instead of legs — who just can’t get enough clean protein.
Perhaps most important, they all trust Gorton’s yellow-slicker-clad fisherman, who stars alongside them in the ads, under the tagline, well … “Trust the Gorton’s fisherman.”
The spots, shot on White Point Beach in San Pedro, California, and directed by Hungry Man’s Conor Byrne, are visually engaging and sharply written. The Gorton’s guy and Poseidon have known each other for a while, it turns out. He’s also giving the castaway — who after 20 years stranded on an island is somehow miraculously not sick of fish — a casual lift to a less hostile environment, earning the title of literal hero for the rescue (and figurative hero for the fish sticks).
The campaign’s real epic winners, though, may be the semi-aquatic meatheads, Chad and Brody. While bro jokes are played out, the merman twist is a delightfully random one, and breathes fresh life into the genre. Kind of like a squirt of lemon juice on frozen seafood.
The whole set of commercials is available on the AdWeek site.
(Hat tip to Kim Darnell, who pointed me to the MerBros commercial.)
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