Dunkin NHL "Empty Net" Dir Peter Sluszka from Hornet on Vimeo.

From director, Peter Sluszka, of Hornet, comes a spot for Dunkin Donuts showcasing life inside the National Hockey League (NHL) bubble during last year’s unusual pandemic season. Teaming up with BBDO New York, this is a series of ads on the theme. Using clever dialogue and shot on a nostalgic table hockey game, the piece is as fun to watch as one of those old games was to play back in the day, with new twist containing some treats for the viewer along the way.

For one thing, the spot features celebrity talent, with NHL stars, David Pastrňák of the Boston Bruins and T.J. Oshie of the Washington Capitals and it’s entertaining to see these stars as toy players. The clever pun of the game being played within a plastic bubble works well and the team put a good deal of work into giving the players their due as toys: “ Since this was Dunkin’s first-ever stop-motion work, we went to great lengths to make the players come to life—developing nearly two dozen different, hand-painted heads for both Pastrňák and Oshie to bring their personal characteristics and facial expressions to life and taking 6-8 hours per shot.”