It’s been a big year for the Sesame Street gang popping up in ads. So far, Cookie Monster tried Califia Farms almond milk, Oscar the Grouch flew United Airlines and the Count scared up buzz for NerdWallet.

All of these outings offer amusing antics and feel true to the Muppets’ classic and much beloved characterizations.

That said, this colorful fabric-and-foam-rubber crew excels best when sticking to their enduring mission of helping kids. Muppet equity is through the roof in this regard, and watching them express love and concern for youngsters and families, especially in song, feels oh-so right.

Which brings us to their appearance in a new Ad Council “Sound It Out” PSA timed to Mental Health Awareness Month. 

Elmo and his dad Louie; Wes and his dad Elijah; Big Bird with Granny Bird; plus Abby and her mom Maggie perform an original track, “Me & My Grown-Up.” It’s all about nurturing little ones and letting them know you’ll help if they feel confused, frightened or sad.

“You’re my grown-up and I know you’re there.
   I’m your grow-up and you know I care.
‘Cuz it’s you and me and me and you…
   So when you are OK or not OK, I’ll take care of you.”

It’s tough to imagine a simpler, more direct way of putting the message in perspective. And it’s surely comforting for kids to hear expressions of compassion and love, especially when they’re “not OK,” owning to stress, depression and anxiety.

“We hold a vision of a world in which all children can flourish and feel the joyfulness of life,” says Sherrie Westin, president of Sesame Workshop, which produces Sesame Street and developed the campaign. “Through the power of our beloved characters and proven resources, we’re raising awareness about the importance of nurturing children’s emotional well-being and lessening the stigma associated with seeking support for children’s mental health.”

Sesame Workshop also created a 45-minute special, “Elmo’s Mindfulness Spectacular,” featuring Juanpa Zurita, Jenny Slate, the Fitness Marshall, Lauren Riihimaki (LaurDIY) and Marques Brownlee:

And here are two more videos tackling similar themes:

We’ve all got to make changes eventually. There was a time, after all, when Sesame Street characters didn’t appear in ads.

Lately, however, they’re working overtime for brands. Cookie’s pal Oscar the Grouch signed on as United Airlines chief trash officer, and the Count sank his teeth into NerdWallet.

These campaigns boast considerable charm, with commercial portrayals true to the puppet personalities we know so well. In the Califia spot, there’s an especially fine shot of Cookie’s face reflected in a bowl, adding a whimsically artful touch. (Not as whimsical as last year’s “Calilujah” musical. Thankfully.)

“We believe plants can offer something different and something better, opening up a whole new world of delicious possibilities and prompting consumers to rethink everything, including the type of milk they add to their cereal,” says Califia CMO Suzanne Ginestro.

Other recent notable efforts from plant-based brands include Silk’s next-gen nod to milk mustache campaigns, and an OnlyFans spoof from Kevin Hart’s restaurant startup.

Five decades of living in a trash can and embracing refuse of all sorts uniquely qualifies Oscar the Grouch for his first corporate position.

Today, United Airlines casts the beloved Muppet as its chief trash officer in a series of videos, digital and OOH content that champions sustainable aviation fuel. Naturally, the Sesame Street fixture doesn’t clean up for his first day of work. In fact, he decorates his C-suite digs with debris, and makes a point of un-straightening his tie.

The gruff critter seems well chosen to help make United’s point that some common waste materials—such as leftover cooking oil and grease—can be used to make jet propellant, resulting in reduced lifecycle emissions.

Not the grungiest boss I’ve encountered, actually. We like how Oscar’s in the office but WFH too, perched inside his iconic metal can behind the desk. Guess that art career wound up in the Dumpster.

“Every airline burns jet fuel to run their business, but no airline will solve climate change on its own,” says Josh Earnest, the carrier’s chief communications officer. “United has enlisted Oscar to help us educate the traveling public of all ages about SAF and rally them to the cause of fighting climate change. From banana peels to fryer grease, Oscar is uniquely qualified to help us explain why trash could be the treasure that fuels the jets of the future.”

Sure, but would you take the office next to his? Pee-ew!

The Muppets crew flies best for brands when they deliver lessons in a fun way. That approach feels true to the source material and resonates with audiences of all ages, because the characters pack multi-generational appeal.

Such dynamics drive United’s campaign from agency 72andSunny Los Angeles, as well as the Count’s numerical narrative for SmartWalelt and Elmo’s Covid vaccination pitch.

CREDITS

United Airlines
Chief Communications Officer: Josh Earnest
Managing Director, Advertising & Social Media: Maggie Schmerin
Creative Director, Advertising & Social Media: Meg Mitchell 
Advertising & Social Media, Film & Special Projects: Dana Hughes
Advertising & Social Media, Film & Special Projects: Yareli Morales
Advertising & Social Media Manager: Lauren Eiden
Advertising & Social Media Copywriter: Liz Kozak

Creative Agency
72andSunny Los Angeles

Sesame Workshop
Vice President, Global Strategic Partnerships: Jennifer Ahearn
Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships: Jason Johns
VP & Executive Producer; Sesame Street Production: Sal Perez
Sr Director of Content: Autumn Zitani Stefano
Creative Director, Character Design: Louis Mitchell
Content Operations & Programming Director: Emilie Bandy
Content & Programming Director: Alyssa Menard

Jim Henson Company
Senior Production Manager: Melissa Creighton
Creative Supervisor: Jason Webber
Performer Coordinator: Joe Roddy
Assistant to the Creative Supervisor: Delassie Gadzanku
Puppet Wranglers: Lara MacLean, Stacey Weingarten

Bob Industries
Director: Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton
Executive Producer: TK Knowles, John O’Grady
Producer: Phillip Sheridan
Staff Producer: Kathleen Custer
Production Supervisor: Donald Cager

Whitehouse Post
Executive Producer: Joanna Manning
Editor: Heidi Black
Assistant Editor: Joe Carugati

Color
Colorist: Arianna Shining Star

Audio
Mix Engineer: Raphaël Ajuelos

Walter Schupfer Management
Photographer: Sami Drasin
Digi Tech: Charley Parden
Production Manager: Jung Kim

With the CDC now recommending Covid-19 vaccines for kids as young as 6 months old, who better to spread the word that everyone’s favorite 3 ½-year-old, Elmo?

The diminutive red Muppet, a perpetual preschooler, stars with his dad Louie in a minute-long PSA from Sesame Workshop, the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative’s COVID-19 Vaccine Education Initiative. The spot is the latest in a vaccine series featuring the Sesame Street Muppets, first targeting adults and later children 5 and up.

But with kids between 6 months and 5 years old now eligible for Covid shots, Elmo takes center stage. Though actually, his old man does a lot of the talking, too.

Getting parents to innoculate their under-5’s may be the most challenging sell yet in a country that never fully embraced vaccines against the global pandemic, now in its third year. New Ad Council research found that 52 percent of parents have not firmly made up their mind either way about getting their child under 5 vaccinated.

Thus, the spot wisely acknowledges that parents may have many questions, and directs them to getvaccineanswers.org.

“We know there is tremendous relief that comes with the authorization of these vaccines for kids under 5, but many questions too,” says Lisa Sherman, president and CEO of the Ad Council. “It’s important that parents feel informed and confident about what the COVID-19 vaccines mean for their families, and we are proud to work with our partners, medical experts—and of course Elmo—to spread that message. Our work with Sesame Workshop has been invaluable in helping us to connect parents and caregivers with the accurate information they need when deciding to vaccinate their children against COVID-19—an important decision many need to make in advance of the upcoming school season.”

“Wash washy wash washy wash—wash your hands!”

Based on “Brushy Brush,” Elmo’s toothbrushing smash that’s been viewed more than 1 billion times, “Washy Wash”—a key component of Sesame Workshop’s coronavirus response—doesn’t leave much room for misunderstanding.

But just in case the soapy message slips your mind, here’s another tuneful take on cleanliness:

That’s right, wash those paws or … u can’t touch this. And by this, we mean anything. (Rick James, Hammer, Elmo … they’re all hardcore!)

Next, Grover teaches kids how to cough and sneeze safely—plus a “Washy Wash” encore with the whole gang:

All four spots drop today, shared across HBO, PBS Kids, local PBS TV stations, Univision, YouTube, Ad Council platforms and elsewhere. Versions in many different languages are on tap. Here’s “Washy Wash” in Spanish:

The clips will also live on a “Caring for Each Other” hub, which went live last week. It boasts a range of content to help parents and children navigate the pandemic.

Sesame Street turned 50 last year; several generations have grown up with program. That iconic stature positions Elmo, Grover and Cookie as reassuring, familiar ambassadors of hope for kids of all ages.

“Sesame Street is there for children and families whether it’s a sunny day or a stormy one, and unfortunately many families are facing unprecedented challenges right now,” says Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, senior vp of U.S. social impact at Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit that has long produced the show. “We’re committed to supporting families for the duration of this crisis and beyond—equipping them with the tools they need to get through this together and look to the future with hope and optimism.”

She adds: “We wanted to have spots that combined healthy practices to model for children in ways that are fun, but also so that they can learn through detailed and repeated actions. We use catchy music and engaging lyrics, paced appropriately, but not frenetic, so that both grownups and children can easily sing along.”

Numerous media properties and celebrities have stepped up with PSAs during the crisis, many doing so in partnership with the Ad Council and government entities such as the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

On Friday, NBCUniversal unveiled new “The More You Know” spots with stars including Kelly Clarkson, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen, and Savannah Guthrie.

Two weeks ago, Viacom preached social distancing with #AloneTogether, featuring social posts from late-night hosts Trevor Noah and David Spade.

An effort from Clear Channel, the Out of Home Advertising Association of America and Circle Graphics makes premium OOH space available for timely pandemic-related information on billboards, kiosks, car-tops and airport TVs.

With this new reality comes the realization that the press and public won’t leave him alone. Ever. Oscar’s in demand 24/7/365. “I’ve never been more miserable in my life,” he moans. 

Luckily, that’s the green grump’s favorite state of mind, so all ends well, with the magazine covers, adoring admirers and even his own Manhattan art museum. The film closes with the line, “A website makes it real,” introduced in similarly themed ads last month (sans muppets).

“We hope to tap into the childhood nostalgia that Sesame Street evokes and get viewers to think back to the big dreams Sesame Street encouraged us to have when we were kids,” Squarespace director of brand creative Ben Hughes tells Muse. “Oscar’s journey is like many of our customers’, and we want to convey that building a website is an important part of shaping your idea and bringing it to life. We hope that everyone who watches realizes that there is no better time than today to get started on making their dreams a reality—no matter how unconventional they may seem.”

Oscar’s been enjoying a vogue, thanks to Sesame Street’s 50th anniversary (the whole gang appeared in Farmers Insurance ads) and David Harbour’s eerie Joker/Grouch fusion from Saturday Night Live: 

Twenty-five “trash capsules” inspired by Oscar’s artwork (and signed by the Grouch) are up for sale. Proceeds will benefit Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit that produces Sesame Street. Justin Gignac, a real-life garbage artist and Squarespace customer, helped create the capsules, some of which you can check out below: 

Launching online today, the centerpiece film will also air on TV during Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

“When you shoot with a beloved character and huge trash sculptures on the streets of New York, you’re going to attract a crowd,” recalls Hughes. “The PAs and officers from the NYPD Movie and TV Unit had their hands full keeping curious onlookers out of our shots.”

Getting the tone just right for an iconic imp in a commercial setting was paramount.

“We had a lot of on set conversations with Eric [Jacobson], the puppeteer who is the voice of Oscar, about how to phrase his lines in a way that would be true to the character,” Hughes says. “Oscar is always grouchy, but never mean, so there were many debates about where a certain line reading was on that continuum. These puppeteers really inhabit their characters and were constantly bringing up amazing trivia. For example, Oscar has an online degree, so he’s familiar with the internet even though he lives in a trash can.”

Eat your heart out, Idris Elba!

CREDITS

Q4 Squarespace “A Cautionary Tale” (Nov 2019)

TV

Client / In-House Creative: Squarespace
Chief Creative Officer: David Lee
Director of Brand Creative: Ben Hughes
Creative / Senior Art Director: Leilanni Todd
Creative / Senior Copywriter: Matt McCarron
Creative / Senior Art Director: Tim Scales
Director of Creative Production: Sandra Nam
Head of Production / Brand: Amy Kommatas
Creative Producer: Jen McKenzie
Business Affairs Manager: Kiersten Bergstrom
Director of Brand Strategy, Content, Partnerships: Kevin Nabipour
Partnerships / Senior Manager: Natasha Ivankovitser

Still Photography
Creative Producer: Kim Santella
Photographer: Craig Reynolds

In partnership with Sesame Workshop

Production Company: O Positive
Director: Jim Jenkins
DOP: Stuart Dryburgh
Production Designer: Julian LaVerdiere
Executive Producer/Line Producer: Marc Grill

Editorial: Arcade
Editor: Geoff Hounsell
Assistant Editor: Jeff Lopus
Executive Producer: Sila Sawyer
Producer: Andrew Cravotta

Finishing + VFX: Method
VFX Supervisor: Doug Luka
Lead VFX Artist: Steve Morris
Executive Producer: Graham Dunglinson
Producer: Irka Seng

Color: CO3
Colorist: Tom Poole
Color Producer: Alexandra Lubrano

Music + Sound Design: Q Department

Mix: Digital Arts

The ads will air on broadcast networks during college football, MLB and NFL games, in theaters and digitally on Hulu and BuzzFeed. Zenith handled media. Farmers is also sponsoring a short-form video series on Sesame Street’s YouTube channel, produced by Sesame Workshop, focused on problem solving. 

“This collaboration is an amazing opportunity to continue to extend Farmers into pop culture, which we’ve had great success with in the past, and work with characters we all know and love,” says Joe Baratelli, chief creative officer at RPA. 

“For over 90 years, education has been a key component of Farmers efforts to help make a positive impact in our communities,” says Leesa Eichberger, head of brand marketing at Farmers Insurance. “The opportunity to work with one of the most engaging and educational programs, Sesame Street, and its cherished characters to help people learn a thing or two from Professor Burke was a natural fit for Farmers.” 

“We’re incredibly pleased to work with Farmers on new content that encourages families to be healthy and safe,” adds Scott Chambers, general manager of educational media and licensing, North America, at Sesame Workshop. “Farmers’ support of the new YouTube series allows us to extend our mission of helping kids grow smarter, stronger and kinder.” 

Station Film’s Seyi Peter-Thomas, the director of the campaign, recently won a Daytime Emmy for Nickelodeon’s “Black History Month” campaign and a Webby for Motionpoems’ “How Do You Raise A Black Child?” He also directed a Youth Ambassadors PSA campaign (see below), through VMLY&R in Kansas City, that also featured puppets—though not from Sesame Street. 

Peter-Thomas talks about the Farmers work in the Q&A below. 

What was it like bringing new, albeit well-known, characters into this established campaign?

I love the Farmers campaign, and Sesame Street was a huge part of my childhood. So, I was very excited to see where we could take this mashup. I told the creatives early on that I saw this as kind of a Twilight Zone episode of the campaign. The spots had to do everything we expect Farmers spots to do, but in the unmistakable voice and tone of Sesame Street. Same goal, new set of rules. Creating that world and pushing these well-loved characters to bring out the more adult side of their humor was tons of fun.

How was working with J.K.?

J.K. Simmons is one of those actors you can’t take your eyes off when he’s on screen—he pulls you in. Of course, so does Cookie Monster. The character J.K. plays in the campaign has a breezy, seen-everything demeanor. In these scripts, however, he is taking Bert under his wing as his apprentice. So, I wanted to bring out a slightly more nurturing side to the character. If you watch J.K.’s performance, he very subtly brings out a warmth we haven’t seen, but that is still very much in character. 

How did your work for Youth Ambassadors prepare you for shooting the world-famous puppets of Sesame Street? And were you working with the regular puppeteers? 

In both cases there’s quite a specific balance to strike between staying true to the voice of a nostalgic children’s show and creating something that appeals to a modern adult audience. I thought about that a lot while prepping Youth Ambassadors, and it’s a similar tone with these spots. 

Also, on Youth Ambassadors, I learned about a lot of the technical aspects of working with puppets—what they can and can’t do, how to build sets that are friendly to the puppeteers, what lenses to use. So I was able to hit the ground running this time. 

We worked with the puppeteers who play the characters on the show. It’s pretty amazing to watch them work. There’s a true athleticism to what they do. Not only are they portraying the characters, but at each moment they are also selling an illusion to the camera. That requires great technical precision; on any given shot, there’s a mess of puppeteer arms and legs that are right below the lens that only they understand. As a director, you’re constantly adapting your plan in small ways to accommodate their needs and also take advantage of all they can bring to the table. It’s a close collaboration.

When directing puppets versus people, what is the biggest difference for capturing engaging dialogue and performances?

Unlike with humans, you can threaten to set the puppets on fire if they don’t do what you say. It helps. 

My process, regardless of who’s in front of the camera, is to talk with the performers. I talk with them about the beats, the emotion of a moment, the best way to land the joke. There were some surreal moments, though. Like the time I asked Ernie, the puppet, to roll his eyes at something and he started yelling at me because, of course, his eyes don’t roll. Then I look down and the guy with his hand up Ernie is grinning at me. And on the next take, somehow he did actually convey an eyeroll. 

What kind of projects are you interested in directing now? 

The through-line for the commercial work I respond to is a cinematic sense of scope, spots that are telling a bigger story. My ideal balance right now would be a healthy dose of big-concept, cinematic comedy with a few pieces that make you think. I’m a big fan of the work P&G have been doing around bias in the last few years, “The Talk” and “The Look.” For me, story and scope is more important than genre.