FreshBooks launches ‘Would You Rather?’ campaign with a rectal-exam-giving honey badger

Ostrich Studios positions the accounting software as less of a pain than the worst thing imaginable

Published On
Mar 02, 2023

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Fans of the old Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger viral video, or honey badgers in general, will enjoy the new campaign from FreshBooks, the accounting software, which includes a cameo from the notoriously ferocious mammal—in a surprising medical setting.

The spot, created by Ostrich Studios and directed by the Perlorian Brothers, introduces a campaign themed “Would You Rather?” The amusing work sets up a broadly comic, repeatable premise that will be expressed across executions in the coming months.

“We wanted to put the pain of accounting on par with how people really feel when it comes to number crunching,” Ostrich founder Patrick Scissons told Ad Age. “FreshBooks understands this better than anyone else, which is why they design their software to be as simple as possible to use.”

The background to the campaign involves insights into small-business owners—that most fail not because they’re not good at what they do, but because the owner can’t manage money.  Many small-business entrepreneurs dread doing the accounting admin work, which takes time and effort. Scaling the business is often the most challenging part, with multiple projects, cashflow and time management concerns—all of which FreshBooks can help with.

“We really wanted to push the creative boundaries for the category,” said Paul Cowan, CMO at FreshBooks. “Grabbing people’s attention about accounting isn’t easy. The campaign’s ‘Would you rather’ insight and breakthrough appeal, while also making people laugh, is a big win for our team.”

The global campaign is launching in Canada, the U.S., U.K., Australia and New Zealand. There is also radio, digital out of home and social media planned as part of a follow-up to the hero film.

Credits

Date
Mar 02, 2023
Client :
FreshBooks
Agency :
Ostrich Studios
Chief Marketing Officer :
Paul Cowan
VP Product Marketing :
David MacLean
Sr. Director Content & Creative :
Jane Flanagan
Sr. Manager Brand Marketing :
Greg Foran
Creative :
Patrick Scissons
Creative :
Christina Yu
Creative :
Darren Clarke
Creative :
Rob Tarry
Creative :
Devin McGregor
Producer :
Terri Vegso
Production Company :
Merchant
Director :
The Perlorian Brothers
Executive Producer :
Ian Webb
Executive Producer :
Farrah Khaled
Line Producer :
Merrie Wasson
Production Manager :
Greg Jones
Coordinator :
Rebecca Young
1st AD :
David Strupp
2nd AD :
Chrissy Nielsen
DP :
Maya Bankovic
Production Designer :
Noelle Hindi
Editor :
Brian Williams
Assistant Editor :
Corrine Grans-Wood
Assistant Editor :
Phoebe Lorimer
Colorist :
Kassi Bellamy
Music :
Eggplant Music & Sound
Sound Design :
Peter Pacey
EP :
Nicola Treadgold
Creative Director :
Adam Damelin
Voice Director :
Adam Damelin
Engineer :
Nathan Handy
Online & Transfer :
Darling Post
Colorist :
Kassi Bellamy
Online Artist :
Alexa Salsberg
EP :
Stephanie Hickman
Producer :
Will Culverwell
Casting :
Shasta Lutz

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