Supermodel Carolyn Murphy Takes a Chainsaw to a Kitchen in This Mesmerising Ad

Team One has created the first creative campaign for Dacor’s luxury home-appliance line. The work — which is for Dacor’s new collection, The Modernist — carries the theme line, “Let the show begin” and has been shot in the style of a fashion-film. A full 90-second spot will live on the Dacor website, with shorter versions running during the Emmy’s, on the web, and across social media.

The spot and its variations depict supermodel Carolyn Murphy assessing a sterile white kitchen space and then using various tools, such as a chainsaw and sledgehammer, to violently destroy it for the purposes of a remodel. In the blink of an eye, the space is transformed, and so are the feelings of Murphy and her surprise guests.

 

“In collaboration with Team One, Dacor seized the opportunity to disrupt a category that has traditionally focused on the kitchen for pro-style cooking or as a design museum, while missing the fact that kitchens are about collaborating and entertaining,” says Etienne Houseknecht, director of marketing at Dacor.

 

Housenecht adds: “Consumers are yearning for products that appeal to their aspirations of being a modern entertainer.  Dacor is excited to be introducing its new line of next generation creative tools to inspire creativity, experimentation and play.”

The work broke on September 17, including TV spots during the live broadcast of the Emmy Awards on CBS. Two 15-second “teasers” and one 30-second spot will run throughout the broadcast to tell the story of the remodel—and it is the only TV buy for this campaign. “For years, the kitchen has been ruled by rules,” a female voice says during one of the shorter spots. “It’s time to set it free.” In another, the voiceover says, “The kitchen has been treated like a museum for far too long. It’s time to make a little noise.”

 

Each print ad features a single appliance from The Modernist collection such as a refrigerator or stove, with the theme line, “The status quo is starting to sweat,” and in smaller print, a description of the product’s capabilities.     

 

The strategy behind the work was inspired by learnings from Team One’s Global Affluent Tribe(GAT) research. GAT, a continuous study since 2010, focuses on the lasting values and emerging expressions of how affluent consumers, around the world, aspire to live.

 

“Stereotypically, the affluent lifestyle was personified by unapproachable individuals and their out-of-reach objects put on gallery-like display behind velvet ropes,” says Mark Miller, chief strategy officer at Team One. “That stereotype has since been replaced by the actuality that modern affluents place a real value on deep, not superficial, relationships, and prioritise meaning over mere possession. In turn, the idea of kitchens as museums needed an update.”

 

Team One handles all creative, digital, experiential, media planning and buying for Dacor. The shop also has created behind-the-scenes content for the client’s web site and is involved in product development.

 

All creative executions are intended to drive customers to the Dacor web site to further interact with the brand and its place among modern home entertainment.