Forget beds in boxes--this elevator operator leads a curious couple to mattress nirvana

Like minimalist furniture or hot dates, add mattresses to the list of unlikely commodities that are easiest to find online. Where once sleep stores competed on opposite ends of the strip mall, now mattresses come in boxes, or with try-before-you-buy deals, or even with white glove delivery. Saatva, the largest online mattress company, is one of the latter, and a new campaign from Preacher aims to differentiate the brand from well-known competitors like Casper. “The Path to Sleep Enlightenment” stars a knowledgeable elevator operator with plenty of tips for choosing and buying a bed. In a quirky short film, he arrives to help a confused couple navigate the options, narrowly avoiding the cacophony of online search results and the depredations of aggressive mattress salesmen. A hapless bed-in-a-box buyer drags his purchase like a lodestone. But on the top floor, sleep nirvana awaits--a paradise of pillow-tops and cheery delivery people. The campaign, which is running on paid social, includes additional videos, some of which will also air on TV. The same pitchman, eternally clad in his uniform, answers common questions about mattresses, describing the scary elements that can be found in non-eco-friendly mattresses, or dismissing boxed bed offerings. Full-page print spreads will also run in the New York Times Magazine and Washington Post Magazine.

Forget beds in boxes--this elevator operator leads a curious couple to mattress nirvana

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