TBS - The Detour

The Detour is a TBS comedy created by Samantha Bee and Jason Jones. We were asked to build awareness and interest in the launch without using any clips from the show or any of the actors. So we did this.

THE DETOUR ON TBS

After a few successful projects with TBS, Division of Labor was asked to promote a new show called The Detour. It was created by Samantha Bee and Jason Jones and it’s funny; Exceptionally raunchy, inappropriate, foul, sex-filled and not for children even though it stars two of them, but very funny. The problem was; we could not use any clips from the show, nor any actors from the show, nor anything else from the show. But we still had to promote the show.

We were sent a number of the episodes and the scripts about a family roadtrip gone bad. There’s pole dancing, drug use, public intoxication, you know, wholesome, family stuff. Which got us thinking about those cute family stick figures you see on the backs of mini vans. Which got us thinking about what Samantha Bee and Jason Jones family might look like if they were turned into stick figures on the back of a minivan. So that’s what we did.

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  • Division of labor is one of the top ad agencies in San Francisco. And the agency had a long-standing relationship with Turner and TBS. Because the show was fairly edgy and for a mature audience, we were comfortable presenting work that might make the clients uncomfortable.

    The idea for a horribly inappropriate stick figure family came up during a creative session and scripts came from ideas in the first six or seven episodes. So the linkage was pretty natural. TBS loved the idea but wanted to see how the animation would bring the idea to life.

  • Division of Labor is a full service ad agency in San Francisco so we produce a lot of the campaigns we create. But in this case, we needed a production partner that knew animation and could pull off the comedy. Where the Buffalo Roam was our choice because they have a great reputation for doing great work without a huge budget. Division of Labor wrote scripts and drew bad stick figure frame and WTBR brought them to life adding bits of unexpected humor along the way.

  • The minivan scene is something we shot as a master plate and gave to WTBR. Division of Labor is a top ad agency in San Francisco but also a production company so we have relationships with camera crews and DPs. In this case, our old friend Lou Weinert. Just don’t ask him about almost getting run over by the minivan.