The Challenge: Once a household name, Pine O Cleen had suffered a slow but steady decline in sales and brand equity over the past decade. Lost in a sea of similarly positioned products, the brand lacked distinctiveness and cultural presence. The Insight: To cut through, the brand needed to do more than show cleanliness—it needed to earn attention. By embracing the gritty reality of household grime—and doing so with unexpected beauty and wit—we could position Pine O Cleen as the brand unafraid to tackle the truly disgusting. This was a rare brief: one that called for creative bravery, and a client willing to risk boldness in service of brand revival. The Approach: My directorial approach was to treat filth with the same visual reverence usually reserved for food or fashion. Inspired by the cinematic craft of Lurpak’s macro food campaigns, we applied that same production precision to build an engrossing (and yes, gross) visual narrative—showing the sticky, smeared, gunk-covered realities of daily life in extreme detail. Every frame was crafted to elicit equal parts revulsion and delight. Working closely with the agency and a client unaccustomed to such creative territory, we carefully navigated approvals while maintaining the integrity of the concept. The shoot required meticulous art direction, custom rigs, and lighting setups that could bring grime to life in unexpected ways. The result was a campaign that sparked immediate online conversation—divisive, talked about, and impossible to ignore. Some praised its originality and humor. Others complained it was “too gross.” But no one could deny it: a forgotten brand had just forced its way back into the spotlight—and sales responded accordingly.