Seattle's Best Coffee and Joel McHale to the Rescue

Let java smooth your day

Kids and clowns—who needs ’em?

Joel McHale headlines Haymaker’s latest campaign for Seattle’s Best Coffee, where a boisterous birthday party and mountains of sports equipment cause adults stress. Naturally, a smooth cup of branded joe makes everything better.

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“Any parent with kids enrolled in youth sports is all too familiar with the never-ending gauntlet of weekend activities,” brand manager Courtney Backman tells Muse. “Traveling to and from events, making sure the right uniforms and snacks are packed and ready, and then there’s the gear. The massive amount of gear! It can make for some pretty rough days.”

Of course, caffeine can make a person edgy. But let’s not think about it too hard.

And, maybe just skip having children? Also, avoid clowns. Has Stephen King’s It taught us nothing?

Director Neal Brennan captures just the right tone. His mild blend of self-awareness and mirth goes down … smooth. No huge laughs, but the colorful set pieces manage to please.

And best of all, no AI required.

“To achieve this visual effect, we designed a wearable massive ball of sports gear and rigged it to an external frame backpack,” Backman recalls. “That backpack was then connected to a climbing rope, which was attached to a large overhead slide track—supported on either end by two heavy metal beams. This allowed our talent to move with the load.”

Obviously, “While filming, his kid wasn’t actually in the massive ball,” she adds. “He poked out from behind the wall of gear to deliver a perfectly timed line.”