JOJX's Johnny Green Recreates Art Masterpieces in Debut Film for HR Solutions Provider UKG

HR solutions and workforce management provider UKG helps businesses chart their success by the motivation and happiness of their employees. This concept is brought to life in their debut commercial 'Work of Art', which artfully illustrates the possibility of turning a business into more than just a place to work, but in fact, into a work of art.

In 'Work of Art' – which was created by ad agency Zambezi, and directed by Johnny Green with production company JOJX - workplaces transform into iconic works of art. We see the employees of a technology company gather around to celebrate a co-worker. From the lighting and their poses, we see the scene transform into a recreation of Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam. From there we move to a roadside paving crew who recreate Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware and a hospital staff whose birthday celebration for a co-worker recreates da Vinci’s The Last Supper. We eventually pull back to a gallery where all of the workplaces that have been turned into works of art hang, and we learn about UKG’s role in helping businesses reach their full potential.

There is an obvious challenge when working with iconic works of art, because they are so universally recognized and embedded in our consciousness.

Says JOJX founder and executive producer Jackson Morton: “It was a unique creative opportunity because we weren’t featuring a physical product, but rather a service that is being illustrated more conceptually. We knew we were threading the needle and that it had to be executed perfectly.”

They achieved the precision of each scene by filming them backwards, starting in the end position and then having each actor move through the choreography of the scene in reverse. Says Zambezi CCO and Partner Gavin Lester, “The beauty of this idea is its simplicity, but the execution needed to meet a very high standard to feel visually spectacular,” said Zambezi Chief Creative Officer, Gavin Lester. “The concept brought on creative challenges and required a mix of creative thinking and technical expertise to truly bring this to life.”