Jeff Low Gets Kwiffed

A wise man once said “Look for small victories and build on that. Each small victory, even if it is just getting up five minutes earlier, gives you confidence. You realize that these little victories make you feel great, and you keep going.” OK, that man was Arnold Schwarzenegger, so it’s fair to say that exploits like ‘winning Mr Universe’, ‘becoming Governator’ and ‘getting to the chopper’ might not be in your day-to-day list of momentary achievements, but the sentiment is sound - little moments of winning make you feel amazing.

It’s with this idea in mind that Kwiff, a new mobile-only sports betting app that adds another thrill to sports betting by boosting odds, is using it’s first campaign to tell us about the feeling of being ‘kwiffed’. Through three commercials directed by Biscuit’s Jeff Low, the ‘It’s perfectly normal. Until it’s kwiffed’ spots ‘Father & Son’, ‘Bedlam’ and ‘Caught Glass’ celebrate the feeling of winning before you’ve actually won in dreamlike, surreal and hilarious style.

We were blown away by the smart execution of the chucklesome concept, so grabbed Jeff to chat small victories, big ideas and the appeal of the  kooky commercial.

How did you get involved in the project?

My friend David Kolbusz called me in the middle of a pack shot and said, “Hey I’ve got this thing I think we can make good. You want to do it?” I trust David completely so without even reading a script I said yes, hung up and directed the shit out of a nicely lit box on a coffee table.

What was it that attracted you to the campaign?

Once I read it I instantly liked the idea of taking an analogy way too far and treating it way too seriously. I also really liked my chat with Dave Wigglesworth & Ed Redgrave (creative team) who were full of openness and great ideas.

The brand, Kwiff, is pretty unknown to most audiences. Is it nice to be able to help mould that brand identity in its infancy or does it feel like a big responsibility?

I prefer it when things are unestablished and I am given some freedom to help find a singular voice that doesn’t feel like 14 other voices. It’s a rare gift that David and his team gave me.

How much pushback do you get from brands when it comes to surreal comedy like this? When it hits (like this one) audiences love it, but we can imagine that it may take a bit of convincing. Did you have to do much in the pitching/pre-production to remove any fears?

I often say to David (Kolbusz) that there should be a whole category of awards for selling things into clients. His ability to convince clients of things they really do not want to be convinced of is remarkable to me. I can’t take any credit for that part. That’s all David.

How was the shoot? Any challenges on set?

It was just fun. We went with theatrical style sets, 1 or 2 walls and we just locked ourselves in a stage for 2 days and fought for our lives.

The commercials have a dreamlike quality to them? Were there specific things you did in post with the audio/edit to enhance that?

A lot of that I think came from the music and the slow camera push ins.

The VO is pretty essential to nailing the tone of the campaign. What were you going for with the performance? Did you ever contemplate a ‘wackier’ tone?

That’s actually my voice on there and I was sort of going for ‘the dumbest eulogy ever recited’. No, I never imagined a wackier tone for the voice over. If the VO is wacky the visuals can’t really be.

The campaign is already getting plaudits all over the place. Are you clearing space on your award shelf yet? Do you get a sense that it’s something special whilst you’re putting it all together?

(Googles ‘plaudits’) I have no awards shelf I’m afraid, and no while you’re shooting you are just trying to make something good and hope that other people will think that too.

Do you have a favourite of the three commercials? Why?

I think ‘father & son’ just because I think we laughed the most while making it.

What’s up next for you?

If I announce it the job will go away I feel.