Bodega’s Dave Merhar for Preen

New York/San Francisco-based content creation/production company Bodega director Dave Merhar exposes extreme measures for weed-free gardens in the comedic new :15 “How I Do It – I Use Preen Garden” for Preen out of Merkley + Partners, NY. The spot features ruthless de-weeding tactics including a man who torches his weeds with a flamethrower and a woman in absolute histrionics over pulling and spraying.  The campaign also features the additional :15 “How I Do It – I Use Preen Mulch.”

 

 

Notes Merhar, “You can’t help but love a creative team that wants flames bigger, isn’t afraid to laugh at emotional breakdowns and scoffs at those tedious “No animals were hurt in the making of this commercial.” supers.”

 

“How I Do It – I Use Preen Garden” opens on the frantic woman rattling off, “Weeds?  I spray and I pull and I pull and I spray!” Each subsequent home gardener has their own equally desperate and sometimes extreme method for keeping the weeds at bay, until we finally reach a woman who is calmly luxuriating in her garden.  Instead of slaving over the dirt to make it presentable, she explains her secret: Preen.  We close on the Preen logo and tag, “Stop weeds before they start.”  

 

As with all of Merhar’s work, the spot features spot-on casting and exceptional performances.  The director has a knack for uncovering hilarity in mundane, everyday life.