LG2’s Secret to Crafting Show-Winning Bye Bye Work
It was a great year for creative agency LG2 at the annual Bye Bye awards. Expanding its growing portfolio of all-time competition hits, the team took home first and second place for its work with Mondou and Les Producteurs de lait du Québec (PLQ) – an outcome which provides ample reason for celebration.
Unsurprisingly, per Guillaume Bergeron, partner and copywriter at LG2, a lot went into bringing these spots to life. Whether it was striking an appropriately humorous, non-product focused tone, working with a competition-seasoned dog, or creating a choir of duplicates to sing a song about growing up and hitting pre-adolescence, the journey from ideation to having these on Quebecer’s TV screens across New Year’s Eve was a long, sometimes tricky, but fulfilling one.
So, to learn more about the specifics, as well as the tips, tricks and ethos LG2 uses when approaching the big show every year, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with Guillaume for a chat.
LBB> Guillaume, congratulations on winning the number one and two positions at this year’s Bye Bye awards! How are you feeling right now, and were you expecting to do this well going into the event?
Guillaume> It feels good! The team is very happy because, as the years pass by, there's more and more strong work in this competition between advertisers.
Going in, we knew we had some strong messages on our hands, but being on the podium twice couldn't be a better result. Well, three times would have technically been better, but hey, maybe next year!
LBB> Specifically, what do you think made people vote for these as their favourites? Did you do anything special during the creative process?
Guillaume> I wouldn’t go so far as to say there’s a definitive winning recipe, however, the Bye Bye audience likes it when an ad references a news item from the past year. In our case, talking about the ongoing (and exhausting) construction problems rallied Quebecers. The idea of showing that there's a bit of positivity with a common irritant appealed.
LBB> Building on this, what was the writing process like for each spot?
Guillaume> The process was no different than usual, except that it was important to consider the context. People watching these are in front of their screens, many of them together, talking loudly and laughing. So you have to make concepts that simply grab attention, without trying to talk about a promotion or a benefit that's too specific. The key is to entertain.
LBB> How do you do this while staying true to the brand and its expectations?
Guillaume> It's important not to stray too far and to ensure that brand recognition is there. The goal is to delight without fluff or unsubtle plugs. Moreover, messages that are a little more promo-oriented and similar to campaigns from the rest of the year quickly stand out from the crowd, but not in a good way.
LBB> Tell us more about how each came to life! For the Mondou spot, did you work with an actual dog? And if so, what was that like?
Guillaume> Yes, for Mondou, it was important that the dog (her name is Babine) already be an excellent competitor, and she is! (Otherwise, the first part of the message wouldn't have worked). Since the judges in the script are highly impressed and complimentary when describing the dog’s performance, it wouldn't have been convincing if the dog was slower and clearly not used to it.
LBB> The PLQ spot is equally hilarious, especially seeing as it's a follow-up to the brand’s holiday work! Why was this something you wanted to do, and how did you ensure the one-two punch would land effectively?
Guillaume> The Lait holiday campaign is always a huge hit in Quebec. We talked about it in another article. So, when it lends itself to it, we like to give people a little extra gift, by ending the campaign with an extra spot just for the Bye Bye. It's not a prerequisite every year, but when it's appropriate, we like to do it. It's a shortcut to becoming attached to the characters.
As for the nature of the concept, it’s based on a pun in French that doesn’t translate directly in English. It’s based on the homonyms choeur and coeur. The spot is named ‘Choeur de Parents’, meaning ‘Parent's Choir’ (choir is choeur in French, and is pronounced the same way as coeur which means heart), so there's also a pun here: parents are singing about how they are heartbroken to see their kids growing up, but are also singing in a choir.
The story illustrates with humour and emotion the upheavals associated with the transition from childhood to pre-adolescence, revealing the depth of family ties through symbolic choruses and heartfelt dialogue. The spot underlines that, despite appearances, family love remains constant.
LBB> Specifically, splitting the boy into a pre and post puberty version of himself is super funny. How did you cast in order to find effective lookalikes?
Guillaume> First of all, we had to find the right pre-teen, because it's not an age where acting comes ‘easy’ so to speak. Also, even if we humorously addressed the fact that the pre-teen is leaving the ‘cute’ phase, we still had to find someone who was a bit cute anyway.
We then held auditions to try and find a younger version of this cast. But it wasn't just a question of looks, because the young kid still had to be switched on to say his lines and make the right gestures. After all, it's weird for a kid to do the same thing five times, but move only a few steps. He didn't really understand that we were going to create a chorus in post-production.
LBB> Between the two, do you have a favourite spot, or a favourite moment in one of the spots? Why?
Guillaume> I like both spots for different reasons. I'm really happy with the PLQ spot because several people posted on social media that while watching, they had a few tears in their eyes or a little emotion that came up. I think it's great to have succeeded in doing something that's both funny and emotional at the same time. It's rare to see that at the Bye Bye.
On the other hand, as soon as we edited Mondou's spot, I knew we were on to something because it was already making me laugh. It was a punchline (wishing you a happy new year without any detours) that people couldn't see coming. Then, the recording session with comedians in Paris put the final nail of satisfaction in the coffin. Their interpretations and flights of fancy made me laugh too.
LBB> Overall, do you have any anecdotes from the experience of making either of these?
Guillaume> For the Lait spot, filming each character in different positions on a green screen while repeating the same song over and over again really didn’t make for the most ‘exciting’ shoot, let's say. It's very much the kind of spot that really hits home in the final product, rather than on set.
On the other hand, here's an anecdote about the Mondou shoot: what’s funny is that when we were shooting the construction part, we had to block off a street, and the drivers were complaining about the construction because they thought it was real, seeing all the signs.
LBB> As a whole, what challenges came with creating these two spots? And how did you overcome them?
Guillaume> The challenges were different with each. For Mondou, the challenge was to find the right dog who could do the right number of shots while being agile and believable throughout. For Lait, we had to make sure, in post-production, that the multiplication effect would work well and not be too cheesy.
LBB> What lessons have you learned from this year’s process? Are there takeaways that you’ll be using to influence your approach to competing in next year’s awards?
Guillaume> I can't say that I've learned any specific lessons, but one thing I do know is that having clients who give you a bit of carte blanche for this time of year and who understand that you have to stay in the realm of pure entertainment gives you a better chance of winning the competition.
LBB> Finally, how will you be celebrating this year’s success?
Guillaume> Hmm, good question. I could have said ‘while drinking a glass of milk with my pet’, but that would be too cheesy, so I won't say it.
