San Jose Sharks 2019

Division of Labor has been the agency of record for the San Jose Sharks since 2016. As one of the top ad agencies in San Francisco, Division of labor works with Bay Area institutions kike the Sharks. But this particular campaign grew out of a radio idea; “You don’t have to be into hockey to see a Sharks game.” The basic premise was that if other stuff changed a little bit here and a little bit there, it’s be like hockey. Sharks hockey. But the little changes we imagined and the whole premise, really, was so out there, it worked in radio because the listener could imagine it. To make it visual, it would have to be animated. So we wrote a bunch of other scripts imagining if gardening were more like hockey or if going out to dinner was more like hocky or if baby sitting was more like hockey and the scripts were funny. But to pull it off, we’d need a great animator. Enter Matt Vescovo.

Division of Labor partnered with Matt Vescovo, an old friend and an amazing animator and writer. His style is simple and odd. Sorta like South Park meets an over-caffeinated, A.D.D. fisherman.

We rewrote scripts with Matt based on his visual style and unique sense of humor. Julie Costanzo produced everything so we pulled off 8 or 10 TV spots plus a bunch of radio spots all within a tight budget.

Since Division of Labor has carved out a niche working with Bay Area startups and Bay Area institutions, we were able to create more content for less money than a traditional ad agency.

Each commercial has something different that still makes me laugh today. Division of Labor is a creative boutique that works with startups and Bay Area institutions to create work that can not be ignored. This campaign is a good example of mildly insane humor that hits on that unique piece of truth. “Gardening” is a great example. A woman is trying to plant a bulb in a hole but the hole is being defended by a giant badger and a group of animalsand Joe Thornton and they all have rabies.