The 'Savings Wrangler' Rides Into Town for GoodRx

Her prairie dog sidekick steals the show

Chatty prairie dog Dusty Pete wants you to save on prescriptions with GoodRx. What more do you need to know?

The vivacious varmint stars in fresh spots from startup Ad-Like Objects, moseying around with a Savings Wrangler (Kristin Carey) who memorably rides a horse into a pharmacy:

Tarnation, that was silly stuff! Hungry Man’s Dave Laden directed, with Parliament and Legacy Effects helping bring Pete to life.

But no F/X were employed for the centerpiece equine incursion.

“Sometimes, the only way to sell the surreal is to make it more real—to let the Wrangler exist in our world without shortcuts,” Ad-Like Objects co-founder Ben Becker tells Muse. “The hooves, the shelves, the receipts flying—it’s all part of making the joke land in a way people don’t forget. And so they don’t hit the skip button. We wanted the Wrangler’s world to feel lived-in, tactile and kind of absurd—just like the prescription landscape in America. And nothing says that louder than Kristin riding clip-clop down the pharmacy aisle.”

Did you catch her in full cowgirl costume on Good Morning America? You can check it out here.

The crew filmed in Mexico City, “where the shoot turned into its own Wild West,” Becker says. “A dust-devil tornado touched down within minutes of day one, ripping through the set and nearly carrying off our facades as well as half the craft services table with it.”

Ah well, you missed lunch one day. Now, tell us about that diminutive furball with the disturbingly deep pipes.

“We mapped out every detail of the design, from animatronics and mouth movements to the exact texture of his fur and the styling of his lil’ bandana,” Becker recalls. “The result is a character that feels tactile and alive, as real as a prairie dog you’d meet on the trail But with the charm, grit and larger-than-life personality.”

This marks the big debut of his creative studio, which Becker launched with Nick Loftus. The creative vets employ an ads-as-entertainment approach, emphasizing storytelling and memorable moments over the hard sell. Such tactics have worked wonders for Liquid Death, Mischief @ No Fixed Address and Uncommon, among others.

Here, the Wrangler delivers, blazing a bonkers trail while keeping the USP high in the saddle.