#NotSuitableForSpace

Aug 13, 2021
2 min read

Updated: Dec 15, 2021

(New Blood D&AD)

Brief: Write a film script using fresh language to let people know that Burger King's menu is now free of all preservatives, colours, and flavours from artificial sources. And a 100% real.

Execution (main): Film

Insight: Since we’re primarily talking to Millennials and GenZ, it was important to use language that was literally invented by this internet generation – a combination of drama, humour and obscurity.

Film: Astronaut

Background track: All By Myself – Eric Carmen

The film opens inside a space station. We see a scruffy looking astronaut floating around.

He reaches out to the window and gazes at the earth. He looks sad. Simultaneously, we see his wife who’s back on earth, standing in the yard, looking up at the sky.

We show how miserable the astronaut is, as he - zones out in the middle of monitoring signals, sadly gulps food all alone, mindlessly looks away while talking to his wife.

She stops talking mid-way, when she realises that he’s not even listening.

Later that night, we see her lying on the bed, thinking. She turns to the empty side of the bed. We see a photo frame kept on the other side. She looks at it with tears in her eyes. It's an old picture of her husband, with his friends and family at a Burger King. He looks incredibly happy.

At the same time, we see the astronaut looking at a pocket version of the same picture, in space. He holds it close to his heart, with tears rolling down his eyes.

Next, we see the wife driving somewhere. On the way, she sees the same Burger King from the picture and realises something. She makes a sudden turn.

She's trying to convince some officials for something, at the space research base. Moments later, she's thanking them.

The film moves back to the space station. The astronaut is drawing a Whopper and some fries on a board. Right then, he receives a message from his wife. “Honey, there’s something coming up there for you. And it’s exactly what you need!”, he reads. And smiles ear to ear, feeling overwhelming happiness.

Now we show how happy he is, as he - shaves and cleans up, floats around with a smile, and eagerly looks out of the window. This time, he looks hopeful.

Finally, he receives a package. We see him hold it, but not quite hold it together. But when he opens it, we see the excitement being wiped off face. After looking inside, the astronaut starts bawling. He’s unable to hold back his tears.

And we realise why, when we see that it’s a Big Mac meal by McDonald's.

The astronaut was hoping for Burger King, but all he got was disappointment and a broken heart. He's sad, angry, and tired all at once.

(Black out)

Burger King (logo)

Super: Free of all artificial preservatives, colours and flavours.

Super: Now a 100% real. And not suitable for space.

We cut to show a quick glimpse of the astronaut screaming and vehemently destroying his computer. ---

Other execution