The 76th Emmys are set to air live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 15th from 5-8 p.m. PT / 8-11 p.m. ET on ABC
In a world where we groan at every 'skip ad' button, Michael Cera has done the impossible with his CeraVe ad: he made us want to watch the whole thing. Today, we’re in conversation with Cannes Lions juror and Top 40 Creative Director (according to The Drum), Hamza Amjad, to break down the magic behind the Emmy-nominated CeraVe ad starring Michael Cera.
From its wildly bizarre humor to its viral impact, this commercial has made a lasting impression on both audiences and the advertising world. Before it was nominated for an Emmy, Amjad sat on the Cannes Lions Jury that awarded it the Social and Influencer award. We’ll dive into what makes the ad so unforgettable, why it stood out amongst other Super Bowl commercial contenders, and how it reflects the growing power of social influence. Amjad shares his unique perspective on the craft behind this quirky collaboration and what it takes to create something truly memorable.
“That's one campaign that kept me grinning from ear to ear every time I watched it.” Amjad said. “Even after seeing it 100 times, it still got me.”
Courtesy of CeraVe
Turning a typically mundane skincare brand into something absurd, hilarious, and utterly unforgettable, the ad itself is a comedic masterclass. Cera, typically known for his awkward charm, takes it to new, absurdist heights. "Let my cream hydrate you," he declares with an overwhelming sense of gravitas (and innuendo), all while ominous music swells in the background. Just when the viewer thinks the ad has gone too far, the scene zooms out, revealing Cera pitching his concept as an ad to a panel of unimpressed dermatologists. “I just think it would be really nice if people think I make this,” he explains, in a cringeworthy attempt to convince them.
Directed by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim through Prettybird—per Cera’s request—and developed by Ogilvy North America, the ad is as much a send-up of commercial conventions as it is an expertly executed marketing campaign. The absurdity of Cera’s performance is precisely what made it work, according to Amjad. He highlighted that the campaign's success was due not just to Cera’s quirky humor but to the way it subverted expectations. Using someone like Michael Cera, who’s not your typical influencer, “then creating this whole fun conspiracy around it” was part of the genius, and made it something “people talk about it.” It created massive “impact on sales, the brand, and lift.”
Michael Cera's Emmy-nominated Superbowl spot, "Michael CeraVe"
“It's not just about the fact that there's a pun,” he mentioned. “I would suggest it's about putting everything together, including the narrative: they put up the case delightfully, yet convincingly.”
This campaign became part of the culture. It became something people wanted to talk about, share, and laugh at. And that, according to Amjad, is the secret sauce to a successful social influencer campaign. “Social media is where the culture is developing now. That needs to be at the heart of it. We're all moving at the speed of culture. If you're doing something on social media and it becomes a part of the culture, that defines the bigness of an idea, for me. Whether the execution is small, whether the execution is big, that is irrelevant.”
So what defines success? “If it gets a life of its own,” answers Amjad.
Amjad’s own creative process is just as eclectic as the campaigns he celebrates. Creativity is constant, unpredictable. “As creative individuals, we’re wired. You can't shut off,” he muses. “If I see something, that something sort triggers another thought, my mind starts working.” Sometimes an idea will hit him while he’s running, which he does, “not as exercise, but as catharsis” and he’’ll have to stop midway just to jot it down. Other times, it’s about conversation, bouncing ideas around until something clicks. “You need people who are porous to creativity. It's inspiring to have chats with them. It's so inspiring.”
But for Amjad, from Pakistan, it’s not just about clever ads. Diversity is also central to his work and his creative ethos, “I’m a walking, talking ad for my culture. I still feel like I'm from a part of the world that needs so much more representation. People need to know about our stories.”
Juror Hamza Amjad attends Cannes Lions 2024
He shared a powerful story from his time as a juror, where he had to advocate for a campaign from the UAE about menstrual hygiene, not because it’s his culture, but it’s a world he understood, and he could easily see how it would directly impact women from his culture. “Some of the women in the room said they wouldn’t use the product because they didn’t see the need.” He then had to go on to convince the other jurors, “on behalf of women from my home who were not there in the room” that women in Pakistan would actually find this campaign relevant.
He went on, “A woman in Pakistan cannot go to a grocery store and buy a sanitary napkin and walk out of the store. She has to put it in a brown bag because it's associated as something that's shameful. Being on your period is looked down upon. This is something I had to tell people in the jury room, and they're like, ‘Okay, wow, we obviously we weren't aware of this.’”
This is why Amjad believes Cannes Lions is so integral to the global creative process. “They bring together people from so many different parts of the world, and it's an investment.” And it’s why Amjad remains committed to making sure there is increased “representation from other cultures and markets so that this gap continues to sort of shrink over the years.”
As for what’s next? Amjad is all about purpose-driven work. “We’re in the business of selling, but when there's purpose behind it, when there's impact, that’s my my signature style, or preference: driving solutions to problems. In the future, I would really like to continue exploring solutions to problems in areas like gender inequality, climate justice, things that I'm passionate about. Creativity can drive action and impact.”
And in the case of Michael Cera and CeraVe? It seems creativity can also sell a whole lot of moisturizer.
Directed by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, Michael Cera’s spot for CeraVe, “Michael CeraVe” is nominated for Outstanding Commercial at the 2024 Emmy Awards. The 76th Emmys are set to air live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, September 15th from 5-8 p.m. PT / 8-11 p.m. ET on ABC.