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Metro T-Mobile Pulls Out the Stops for Reality-TV Spoof
BarkleyOKRP doubles down on guilty pleasures
Reality shows are having a moment. As true fans of the genre since the days of Jersey Shore (sorry, but not sorry), we’re all for it. So, we couldn’t wait for a chance to sneak that guilty pleasure into our work.
When our creative partners at Metro by T-Mobile briefed us on the launch of their new Metro Flex plan—which considers how existing customers can feel mistreated when their wireless carriers give new customers great deals—we knew that was our chance. Because you know who else is tired of being mistreated? Reality show contestants.
That sparked an idea. What if people burned by their toxic ex-wireless carriers spilled the tea about that relationship on Metro’s very own reality dating show?
Fortunately, it turned out that our Metro partners are huge reality show fans themselves and were equally excited.
And Metro’s Nada Yada Island was born.
But parodying reality shows in ads isn’t something new. So, we took the idea to the next level: By making a reality miniseries about people dumping their wireless carriers and seeking a new, perfect match.
DIRECTORS
We’re ad folks, what do we know about making TV shows? Thankfully, our directors—including Jason Woliner (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) and Ana Fabrega (showrunner for HBO’s Los Espookys)—had tons of it. They helped us make Nada Yada like the pros do: with real drama, tears and lots of beach time.
WRITERS ROOM
How do you plan out something that’s supposed to be unscripted? You have a writer’s room to think about setups and find the right places to punch up jokes. Being in a room with Golden Globe and Emmy Award winners is a little intimidating. But before you know it, they’re making you laugh out loud. Or they say your riff was really funny, and you’ve never felt more creatively validated. We came out of these sessions with scripts and premises that felt right for reality-TV, while working hard to deliver our campaign message.
CAMERA PACKAGE
In true reality fashion, we let the cameras roll at all times. And when we say cameras, we mean 20 of them. We’ve never been on a set with more cameras—A camera, B camera, hidden cameras in the wall, drones. In every corner of the house. The talent played out each situation as if it were 100 percent real.
CASTING
Speaking of talent, when we realized who we managed cast, we almost choked. We were able to land stars from Love Is Blind (Jess Vestal, Giannina Gibelli, Lauren Speed-Hamilton), Love Island (Marco Donatelli) and La Casa de Los Famosos (Clovis Nienow, Ariadna Gutiérrez). We were fanboying/girling out.
The production felt like we were working on a reality show. Even our cast told us how it all felt a little too real. At one point, even we were unsure if we were watching an improvised scene or (spoiler alert) witnessing our talent throw hands during one of the ceremonies.
But our teams weren’t the only ones convinced Nada Yada was the real deal. Before we wrapped, rumors swirled online as celeb gossip sites caught on that all these reality stars from different shows were filming something together. Two of our stars even got mobbed by fans at the Santa Monica Pier.
After the spots premiered, reality fans took to social media demanding a real show, even after knowing it was an ad campaign. We all knew a good thing when we saw it, but when we saw the numbers—a 33 percent organic engagement boost vs. prior campaigns—we had to double down. Using the days’ worth of footage, we crafted an entirely unscripted, five-episode original miniseries. The response has been universally positive, with millions of views.
What started as a simple thought born out of a not-so-secret love for reality dating shows and a brief for four spots became a miniseries.
Now that Season 1 is out, we hope to continue blurring the lines between reality and reality-TV.
