Lab Rats

Have scientists found the best coffee in the world? That’s the premise in “Lab Rats,” a new, gonzo spot for goodboybob coffee – a DTC roasting company with a growing number of physical locations – which features a fictitious lab experiment in which scientists test the theory on some very special lab rats.

To develop the film GoodBoyBob partnered with Erich and Kallman, the independent, award-winning agency known for campaigns that are as fun and funny as they are unforgettable. The brand also tapped creative production partner Tool for the project. Erich and Kallman embraced the weird with its creativity, following a scientist who, after one sip of goodboybob, sets out to prove its superiority the best way she knows how: a lab rat experiment. Approaching different lab rats equipped with literal human senses, she feeds a drop of goodboybob to a rat with a CGI mouth, causing the rat to exclaim, “That’s the best coffee I’ve ever tasted!”

Behind the creative
“I was watching the movie Elf,” says Eric Kallman, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Erich and Kallman who find inspiration everywhere, “There’s a funny scene where Buddy enters a random diner to congratulate them for the “world’s best coffee” sign they have in the window. We started joking about how one would actually go about proving such a thing, and that eventually led to our lab rats script.”

Started as a hobby by accomplished commercial director and filmmaker Erich Joiner, the goodboybob brand launched its first location alongside Tool, the creative production company Joiner also founded in 1995 in Santa Monica, CA. Since its founding, goodboybob has added two additional locations in Los Angeles and won two Golden Bean awards. An old friend and industry peer of Kallman’s, Joiner was happy to put the campaign creative into the agency’s hands. Joiner also directed the spot.