How an agency used the writers’ strike to change the industry model—plus, its first spot with Paris Hilton

It was during the Writers Guild of America strike last year that Rob Hirst Hermans saw an opportunity to script a new agency. The former creative at Forsman & Bodenfors and KBS was freelancing when 11,000 screenwriters were idled during a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Recognizing the contribution Hollywood talent could bring to the early stages of commercial creative, Hirst Hermans formed an agency called The Room Service that assembles a “writers’ room” for brands composed of talent from its roster of writers from TV’s top shows. The Room Service represents writers that have worked on shows including “Arrested Development,” “Modern Family,” “The Simpsons,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Beavis & Butthead,” “Family Guy,” and “King of the Hill.” See all of Ad Age’s 2024 Creativity Award winners here The agency also offers “punch-up rooms” that give clients collaboration sessions in which a team of TV writers sits with agency creative teams to add a Hollywood perspective to ongoing ad projects. The goal is to make entertainment, not just commercials, Hirst Hermans said, which has been a growing trend in the industry as celebrity-owned agencies, such as Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort and Ben Affleck’s Artists Equity, flourish. He also cited “Barbie” movie as an example of “putting Hollywood talent to task on not just creating a film, but an advertising ecosystem and framework.” Also read: How Mattel worked with Warner Bros. to market ‘Barbie’ The nascent agency’s first brief is the launch of Paris Hilton’s self-tanning line with Tan-Luxe. The Room Service is handling a brand film for the new airbrush self-tanning mist called The Future. To develop the film, Hirst Hermans assembled a writers’ room that worked with Creative Director Claudette Martin and Tan-Luxe to develop a high-level premise—Paris Hilton brainstorms with an AI clone of herself to come up with a tagline for the Tan-Luxe product launch. The tone of the spot, described as “Barbie meets Bond,” required both strong storytelling and comedy writing talent. Hirst Hermans and Martin hired writers Chuck Hayward (known for “Ted Lasso,” “Wandavision” and “Dear White People”) and Glenn Boozan (known for work on “Conan,” “I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman,” “Home Economics” and “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”). In collaboration with producer Jenny Read from Slim Creative, The Room Service signed Hungry Man to produce the spot, with LJ Johnson set to direct. Rather than the typical process of handing a finished script to a director, the agency brought Johnson (who is also a comedy writer) into the writers’ room to collaborate on the script. The resulting spot juxtaposes three different Parises—past, present and future—as the script explores the questions of: How does Paris Hilton manage to consistently invent culture’s most iconic and lasting catchphrases? What if she has a secret? The spot tried to incorporate as much of her personality as possible, Hirst Hermans said, adding that aside from being funny, Hilton is also fascinated by AI and is a business mogul. “She invented invented [the phrases] ‘That's hot’ ‘Loves it.’ Now ‘Sliving.’ She must have some secret weapon,” he said. AI marketing blog How brands are using ChatGPT, DALL-E 2 and other tools Read more here

How an agency used the writers’ strike to change the industry model—plus, its first spot with Paris Hilton

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