“Even Cool Kids Have to Clean” in Kärcher’s Latest Spot
In the latest dose of ‘Beautiful Insanity’ from cleaner brand Kärcher, we see a couple tackle a tedious day of tidying up before things go a little crazy. In an impromptu break into dance, we see cleaning turn them feral, when all they needed to do was pick up a Kärcher product to ease the stress.
Shooting the spot across two days in South Africa, the campaign’s directors King She – otherwise known as Radha Ganti and Robert Lopuski – share how they gave each protagonist a personal cleaning battle to tackle in an effort to make the story feel more authentic. Reflecting on each dancer’s own style, and how this worked together, they collaborated with choreographer Holly Blakely to create the narrative, making it play out to perfection.
Sharing how they rigged up a vacuum to actually blow up, as well as how the prep work beforehand made the shoot and edit far easier, King She talked LBB’s Nisna Mahtani through the process.
LBB> A calm moment of cleaning turns into a chaotic, energetic and expressive dance in Kärcher’s latest spot. What were the initial ideas you threw around during the conception phase?
King She> We originally wondered if this was a tale of domestic conflict. Mainly because during the pitch, we were in the middle of fixing our chimney and that was an interesting domestic disturbance.
But ultimately the story was simple – it was about people who really didn’t want to clean.
We knew the film needed to give each protagonist their own journey and experience of cleaning. They both needed a personal experience battling their own tool and somehow that needed to bring them together.
There’s a cathartic quality to cleaning and we felt that could be expressed and extended toward their relationship. And that ultimately defined the way we ended the film – with them coming together and the products beginning to clean for them, literally putting their environment back together.
LBB> What did Kärcher want to achieve and can you tell us a little bit about the target demographic of the spot?
King She> The campaign had a global focus. It was important that we found ways to communicate a story that was clear to a wide audience. Since there was no dialogue or VO, we decided that we would treat it as if we were making a silent film. Everything had to be able to fully communicate visually without sound. Every detail from cast to wardrobe, cleaning tools to environment, shots and story endings. It put a really interesting rigour on the process.
LBB> The choice of music helps to create the narrative, was this chosen before filming and how did that play a part in the process?
King She> We’re sound and music obsessed. One of our core creative goals was to start making the music immediately. The agency and client were super on board with this timetable – and it was a bit of a rush. But we all agreed this film needed a unique track that would serve the narrative and feed directly into the larger choreography.
Once we had the base tone and structure of a track, we started to design little moments of choreography around this and allowed the discovery of the dance (and our talent) to inform how and where to take the track.
LBB> What was the post-production process of the spot like? What were some of the considerations?
King She> With the amount of prep we did, the post was relatively straightforward. A lot of it felt like it followed through with music and sound taking the final lead.
LBB> Where was the campaign shot and what was the timescale of the shoot?
King She> We shot this over two days in South Africa.
LBB> In terms of shooting on the day, did you have a specific plan for each shot or was it a process of letting the dance flow organically and following along with that?
King She> During prep we tried many choreographic and visual ideas. We spent two days in the dance studio rehearsing and mapping out sequences that would play out in the film.
LBB> How did you find the two protagonists who feature and why were they the perfect fit for bringing this spot to life?
King She> For us, it was very important to cast trained professional dancers. We knew we didn’t have much time to rehearse or shoot, so we needed dancers who were already working at a high level. But because casting was happening all over Europe and the US, we had to decide who would become a couple without seeing them in callbacks together. That was a very difficult and speculative process.
We really leaned into trying to understand who the cast were as people. Who would not only have chemistry but also create an interesting contrast with their dancing styles. The objective was to make sure you would enjoy watching this couple and really believe that they were really in this unfortunate circumstance together. The whole thing had to have levity and charm.
LBB> Without any words, the movement creates a real narrative for the audience. What are some of the challenges that come with crafting a spot in this way?
King She> Dance is a beautiful and complicated language to carry a story. A simple gesture can say so much. We took a lot of care in finding those nuances in our cast and exploring how we could bring them out. Our choreographer, Holly Blakely, is a world class talent and it was a joy to find and build this film together.
LBB> The vacuum blowing up is an integral part of the story. How did you create this effect and what were some of the challenges of bringing it to life?
King She> We rigged an old vacuum and actually blew it up! This was done 100% in camera. It was one of the last ideas we pitched to the client and agency before we went into production and we were thrilled they were on board with it.
LBB> If you had to describe the campaign in one sentence, what would it be?
King She> Even cool kids have to clean.
