UKG visits the happiest workplace ever in joyful musical spot from Zambezi

The 60-second spot is inspired by—and set to—the 1980s hit song ‘(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life’

Published On
Jan 31, 2024
A new hire at a company beaming with happiness on her first day

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Much has been made about the state of the American workforce lately, but workplace management platform UKG seeks to show that a person’s entire outlook can change when they have a great employer—in an upbeat new campaign from Zambezi.

Set to “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” the ’80s hit by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes from “Dirty Dancing,” the campaign’s anchor spot shows a range of employees at a Great Place To Work-certified corporation—from executives in a boardroom to forklift drivers in the warehouse—all taking turns singing the tune as they go about their days.

As their voices gradually crescendo, music suddenly chimes in, and before long, dozens of cheerful workers flood in to sing and dance together in unison on the warehouse floor. The spot was directed by Tucker Bliss of Reset.

 

“We know the impact that workplace culture has on both employees and the business,” said Meghan Setzer, general VP of marketing communications at UKG, whose HR, payroll and other workplace technologies are “designed to help organizations create a great place to work for all their people,” she said.

The new multichannel marketing push, titled “Nothing Feels as Good as a Great Place to Work,” is underscored by a new wide-reaching study commissioned by UKG to get a reading of the average U.S. workplace’s challenges and successes.

Among other findings, it shows highly rated companies have consistently outperformed the market over the past 25 years by a factor of 3.36, according to FTSE Russell data published by the Great Place To Work Institute, which UKG acquired in 2021.

Released on Tuesday, the “Time of Your Life” work will reach across broadcast TV, OTT, print, out-of-home and digital and social media, with its public launch being conducted in tandem with a Today show segment featuring Pat Wadors, the company’s chief people officer.

With assistance from Zambezi-owned media agency Scale, the campaign’s distribution in the coming months will particularly focus on high-profile events and media tentpoles including the Paris Olympics, SXSW and March Madness in a bid to focus on UKG’s target audience: corporate executives.

Deploying that type of integration “shows that UKG understands where their core customer lives in media,” said Grace Teng, chief media officer at Scale by Zambezi.

Credits

Date
Jan 31, 2024
Client :
UKG
Agency :
Zambezi
CEO :
Jean Freeman
Founder :
Chris Raih
President :
Laura Stayt
Chief Creative Officer :
Gavin Lester
Group Creative Director :
Matt Sherman
Associate Creative Director :
Laura Lapham
Associate Creative Director :
Julie Soluri
Executive Producer :
Jeri Low
Senior Producer :
Faye Armstrong
Print Producer :
Karen Youngs
Senior Integrated Producer :
Alex DeSantis
Group Account Director :
Alyssa Tigue
Account Supervisor :
Rachel Lynn
Account Executive :
Angelina Nguyen
Group Strategy Director :
Matt Babazadeh
Strategist :
Cat Marsh
Senior Project Manager :
Lauren Northcott
Media Agency :
Scale by Zambezi
Chief Media Officer :
Grace Teng
Group Media Director :
Kyle Zvacek
Media Director :
Denise Jensen
Associate Media Director :
Jessica Pedraja
Media Planner :
Michelle Bustamante
Assistant Media Planner :
Fergeneil Borjal
Live Action Production :
RESET
Director :
Tucker Bliss
Executive Producer :
Jen Beitler
Line Producer :
Matt MacLannan
Director of Photography :
Katelin Arizmendi
Production Designer :
David Pelletier
Choreographer :
Amy Gardner
Service Company :
Sailor Productions
Service Producer :
Tom Lariviere
Head of Production :
Joelle Raymond
Production Manager :
Sebastien Poussard
Editorial :
Cabin
Editor :
Emma Backman
Editor :
Talia Pasqua
Assistant Editor :
Jeanette Suleiman
Assistant Editor :
Astrid Cedeño Franco
Assistant Editor :
Nicole Lefteau
Managing Director/EP :
Adam Becht
EP :
Britt Carson
Director of Production :
Liz Lydecker
Managing Partner :
Carr Schilling
Producer :
Stephanie Rose
Producer :
Lorelei Polk
Color :
Trafik
Colorist :
Mark Gethin
Managing Partner :
Robert Owens
Producer :
Greer Bratschie
VFX & Online :
Shape + Light
Managing Director :
Cara Lehr
Executive Producer :
Crystal Rossmann
Creative Director :
Aidan Thomas
Creative Director :
Aaron Neitz
Finishing Producer :
Rachel Pring
Lead Flame Artist :
Nathan Hurlburt
Flame Assist :
Austin Lewis
Music Sound Design and Mix :
Walker
Managing Director :
Sara Matarazzo
Executive Producer :
Stephanie Pigott
Senior Producer :
Danielle Soury
Sound Designer & Mix Engineer :
Meg Ochs
Mix Engineer :
Topher Wright
Business Affairs Manager :
Deanna Romine

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