Docter Twins Imagine Mother Nature's Garden in Mystical Spots for Cold-EEZE and Defend-EEZE

“What does Mother Nature’s garden look like? This isn’t a question you get to answer every day,” says THINKING MACHINE’s Matthew Docter when describing the process of creating this visually stunning, two-spot campaign for Brunner & Vespyr Brands. “Words like natural, fantastical, and other-worldly were used more than once!” adds Jason Docter. “We knew we had the chance to create something unique, and both the agency and client agreed. They were super supportive and excited about pushing the idea from start to finish.”

Inspired by the surreal structures of Las Pozas, the twins worked closely with production designers Jorge Vujosevich (Mexico City) & Justin Trask (Los Angeles), as well as PS260 (post), to create a mystical, enchanting world that playfully balances reality and imagination. 

Shooting on a stage in Mexico City, the set build required massive amounts of practical plants and flowers watered daily, while the art and production teams finalized details. “It feels like anything is possible in Mexico City. It’s an inspiring place. Creativity is everywhere. We’ve all seen plenty of commercials for cold remedies before. This couldn’t just be one more that nobody remembered. We had to do something that was going to stand out in a big way,” says Brunner’s Kevin Corfield.

The lush setting is completely unexpected for a pharma ad, which was precisely the agency’s plan. “Our client was on the same page from the outset. Do something that stands out for the category,” adds Brunner’s Rob Schapiro, which was music to the Docter Twins’ ears.

Brunner’s Emily DeShantz adds: “Witnessing the evolution of comedy in the scripts was especially enjoyable. Between the bits our team wrote and the improv from the talent (who may never eat ginger root again), we ended up with a laundry list of edit options. It all came together with an extremely talented editor, JJ Lask of PS260, who managed to fit the bonus laughs into only 15 seconds.”

The Docter Twins also worked on original music for the campaign with their composing partner, Christian Moder. “Being able to creatively influence a job from start to finish is rare,” adds Jason. “We’re very grateful to the Brunner team for the opportunity.”