Veep actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus is back to star in more commercials for Old Navy, and this time she's an uptight suburban smother mother helping promote back-to-school sales.
Last seen holding up an elevator full of people, she is way less obnoxious in this new work from agency Chandelier, which isn't necessarily saying much given that she's basically torturing her poor, overdressed son by being shamelessly overbearing on his first day.
She does get an assist from the world's least sassy pre-teens, who also know a surprising amount about the costs of their clothes and are very eager to share that information with an adult, rather than just giving her the side-eye she deserves. It's probably safe to say her son will pay in a pound of flesh later, though.
As usual, parts of the outtakes are better than the spots themselves. That's especially true when Louis-Dreyfus riffs for the Picture-day commercial, doing a great version of an entitled cell-phone conversation.
She has, in older commercials for Old Navy, also proved to be the world's most useless couples therapist, extravagant aunt, and socially inept holiday host. Amy Poehler recently starred in a number of ads for the retailer, as everything from a lawyer to a burrito server. Before that, Old Navy put out spots featuring Melissa McCarthy and Debra Wilson.
In other words, these fit solidly in the brand's oeuvre of silly ads featuring prominent female comics, and they're Louis-Dreyfus' best so far. The only real problem is that the kid actually looks more fly in his suit than the vagabonds do in their street clothes, even if it is true that the Argyle sweater vest is a classic instrument of embarrassment for middle schoolers.
CREDITS
Client: Old Navy
Agency: Chandelier
Creative Directors: Richard Christiansen, Lena Kuffner
Associate Creative Director: Michael Scanlon
Executive Producer: Sara Fisher
Account Director: Eileen Eastburn
Production Coordinator: Camilla Rothenberg
Writers: Josh Meyers, Laura Kraftt, Brad Hall, Patty Wortham, Matt Goldman
Producers: Chris Noble, Jill Andresevic
Production Company: Hungry Man
Director: Wayne McClammy
Executive Producers: Mino Jarjoura, Dan Duffy
Line Producer: Dave Bernstein
DP: Guillermo Navarro
Editorial: Final Cut NYC
Editor: Paul Zucker
Assistant Editor: Betty Jo Moore
President: Stephanie Apt
Executive Producer: Lauren Bleiweiss
Post Producer: Mackenzie Alexander
Telecine: Color Collective
Colorist: Alex Bickel
Producer: Claudia Guevara
Audio Post: Sonic Union
Mixer: Mike Marinelli
Visual Effects Studio: Significant Others
2D Visual Effects Artist: Dirk Greene
Producer: Alek Rost