7UP's Joyful Spots Tap into Life's Essential Moments

Madrid-based director Martin Jalfen, represented by REVERSE in the US and Primo in Spain and Latin America, recently directed two heart-warming 7UP spots for the Latin American market. ‘Laughter’ and ‘Karaoke’ tap into the joy of life’s little moments with montages of people laughing and singing, respectively. The jubilant campaign was conceived by agency Isla to rekindle the longed-for moments and feelings of being together, as family and friends reunite, coming out of lockdowns.

‘Laughter’ taps into the intimate human moments between family, friends, and lovers. To similar effect, ‘Karaoke’ trades laughter for singing with a host of charming, silly, and impassioned renditions of a song by Luis Miguel, ‘El Sol de México.’  

“It’s been a long couple of years for the whole world, and if there’s anything we’ve missed, it’s the human touch; the simplest moments of just being together in the same space that can’t quite be replicated in the digital space,” remarks Martin. “These spots are a very human tribute to the emotional connections we longed for and need.” 

Martin explains that realism and authenticity were the pillars around which both ads were created. He achieved this in part by street-casting real people in Mexico City where the shoot took place. 

“What makes these spots work is they feature real people who are actually singing and laughing as their authentic selves,” adds Martin. “Conjuring the laughs was a collaborative process with the talent, which we achieved in a variety of ways, such as sharing stories, jokes, videos — anything, really, that would tickle their funny bone. It was a challenge at times because whether you’re an actor or not, people have a tendency to go into performance mode once the camera rolls, so the key was creating a safe and welcoming environment for everyone to let loose and be themselves.” 

Further dialling in the realism and vibrant tone of the spots, Martin and his production crew shot them on a 16mm camera while making use of a wide array of compositions and camera pans to slowly draw the viewer into the intimacy of each scene in a way that felt organic and human. 

“I'm tremendously grateful that Isla entrusted me with the freedom to visually experiment with their concept. From composition and cinematography to the art direction and colour grading, each scene in these spots feels like a moving photograph. And kudos to all of the talent, production crew, and post pros who had a hand in the beauty of the final product.”