Morton Salt Creates A 90-Second Short To Sell Its Ice Melter

Selling something unsexy like a salt-free ice melter isn’t easy, but this spot for a Morton Salt product does an effective job of communicating its value to dog lovers through an entertaining short story.

Titled “Neighbors,” the 90-second piece was produced by Blacklist and Studio AKA, and will screen both as a theatrical ad and online.

The spot was directed by Marc Craste, with art direction by Olga Stern and character design by Steve Small. Original music was composed by the audio studio, Antfood.

If you can get past the fact that it’s a blatant riff on the design style of Disney’s Feast, it’s an otherwise appealing piece of advertising. The cel-shaded CGI characters, which appear to have been enhanced with some drawn linework, are well designed, though some of the abrupt 3D camera moves (especially the one at the :47 mark) dispel the warm nostalgic glow of the setting.