All Grown Up

“All Grown Up” is the latest campaign for Jones Coffee Roasters and the second winning script resurrected through hungryman’s Dead Ad Society, an “anti-award show award show” created to give promising advertising ideas a second chance. The absurd premise follows a toddler who wants a sip of his mum’s coffee and, after being told it is only for grown-ups, somehow transforms himself into a fully grown man to get a taste.

Written by Jagger Moore while at INNOCEAN USA and directed by hungryman’s Lena Beug, the idea was originally created years ago for a different coffee brand. Moore and his creative partner wrote dozens of scripts around the idea of the world’s best-tasting coffee, but another concept was chosen, leaving “All Grown Up” behind. Moore later submitted the forgotten script to Dead Ad Society’s second annual awards.

From more than 250 submissions, the script became one of 16 finalists and was performed live by improv actors at The Mint in Los Angeles. A jury of leading creatives selected it as the night’s Gold winner, even though it had no client attached and existed only as a live performance. Less than a year later, the idea has been turned into a finished commercial for Jones Coffee Roasters.

As part of the prize, hungryman provided full production with support from a group of industry partners, while INNOCEAN USA championed the winning idea and helped find a client to bring it to life. The collaboration came together in an unusual, almost backwards way, proving that a strong creative idea can survive for years and find its audience when the right people are willing to give it another chance.