Regarding Distantly’s professional opinion

This series of funny spots for the new Canadian small-business support website Distantly, sees people attempt tasks that the had previously hired professionals to take care of, leading to mixed results. 

As a young man puts hot wax on his girlfriend’s thighs, she attempts to direct him, leading to...less than exceptional praise from her. Across many different households, ordinary people try to take care of basic upkeep and find themselves unprepared for it. These spots are shot and hilariously comedic, poking fun at our own hubris and the pandemic as a whole. Do any of these people need to be installing a new light fixture or shaving their dog? Probably not. 

Waxing, Home Reno, and Dog Grooming all look great thanks to the work of FRANK. They’re all slick and well-produced, with excellent staging, despite having been shot in lockdown and with only iPhones as cameras. If there wasn’t a pandemic, nobody would have ever thought these pieces were produced in the actors’ living rooms with everyone dialing in remotely. Directed by Craig Brownrigg (who also wrote the scripts in collaboration with Juliet Creative), these three pieces are not a reminder of what we’re experiencing but instead show that there are people out there who still know what they’re doing, even if we’re stuck at home. The irony between content and production is not lost.