[Interview] Jordy van Meer, Creative Director, Nosh Foodfilms (part of PAKT)

Today, we're sitting down with Jordy van Meer , Creative Director of Nosh Foodfilms (part of PAKT), known for their work in the world of food and drinks advertising.

Jordy played a major role in the production of the global "Taste and Quality" campaign for Starbucks, in collaboration with MRM Madrid, Nestlé, and of course, Starbucks themselves.

We dive deeper into the creative process, the challenges, and the successes of this project.

How do you inspire your team to create innovative campaigns like "Taste and Quality" for Starbucks? What role do you play in such projects?

What I find particularly important is to create an environment where creativity and innovation take priority. This means encouraging the team to think outside the box and sometimes take risks, albeit in a strategic manner. It's my responsibility to bring together the best talent, such as directors, DOPs, and food stylists, and match them with the right projects or scripts and facilitate this environment.

For this campaign, I had to convince a small army that Filip Engstrom was the right choice for direction. Fortunately, this worked out fantastically for all parties involved.

By providing input at the right moments or perhaps applying a little pressure here and there, creativity is guided in the right direction, leading to great results. It's not always easy to get all involved parties on board because the process can sometimes be less visible.

The collaboration between Nosh Foodfilms, MRM Madrid, Nestlé, and Starbucks is not what we are traditionally used to. What is your vision for building and maintaining successful strategic partnerships in the creative industry?

Our collaboration has been very strong for years. There was great chemistry from the start, but like any relationship, it takes a lot of work. Over the years, we have learned to trust each other completely. It's incredibly beneficial to be involved in the concept and script phase from the early stages to give our input. This results in fewer surprises later on and better creative choices.

We build on clear communication, transparency, and shared goals. The most important aspect is certainly the respect for each other's expertise. The 'trickle-down' (client > agency > production) model is really outdated. All parties are equally important, and we constantly make this clear to each other.

If ever a moment comes when one of these values is compromised, there is always room to discuss it openly and honestly. It sounds like a huge cliché, but with intercontinental partnerships like these, simple things are not always a given.

This strategy has proven to be not only good for the current partnership but also opens many other doors. Within Nestlé, this is called a 'best-in-class' example, which we are incredibly proud of.

Can you share an example of a significant challenge during this campaign and how it contributed to the final result?

As I mentioned earlier, getting Filip on board was the biggest challenge. He's a director I had wanted to work with for a long time, not just because of his creative vision but also due to his technical knowledge and experience, which doesn't obstruct his vision but rather strengthens it. The client and brand side were not immediately convinced, so quite a few rationales were written, and reels presented. In hindsight, he has become a Starbucks Favorite, and we will likely work together again soon, which makes me very happy.

What made him a 'Starbucks Favorite' afterward?

The memes that communicate taste and sensation were only loosely defined in the script, as they are not literal copies of internet culture but more a nod to these memes. Filip turned those loose ideas into visuals that can make a big impact in a short time while also communicating the right emotion. All the visuals were pre-visualized using Generative AI (MidJourney / Dall-E), but then actually filmed—yes, even that horse! Filip's input on how those sets came to life was very valuable to the client since a lot of imagination was needed in pre-production.

This process was a close collaboration with the art director, producer, and myself. Now you might think, that's what every director should do and be able to do, right? And yes, essentially that's true, but at this scale and complexity, it becomes significantly more challenging, and all the puzzle pieces must fall into place seamlessly.

Hey, but one more thing... cat memes and rearing horses, that doesn't have much to do with coffee or 'food film,' right?

Correct, at first glance, but if you look at what we do and our mission, it's not that crazy. Nosh's payoff is 'Creating Appetite,' which means making every client's product as appealing as possible to the consumer. The phrase 'oh now I'm craving product [x]' is something we hear all too often when people see our work. In this case, the reaction to taste and quality was depicted by subtly referring to memes in pop or internet culture.

After the success of "Taste and Quality," what are the next steps for Nosh Foodfilms? Are there new projects or directions you can share?

Thanks to the good reception and results of the campaign worldwide, we have shown that 'food-film' is not just about beautiful slow-motion shots of falling droplets, marbling, and perfect swirls (in the case of coffee), but that you can also create 'appetite' in other ways. As you might know, we have joined forces with Scrambled (part of PAKT), and the combined proposition is landing very well with our clients.

 At the moment, we are exploring several directions for other clients such as McDonald's, Signature Foods, Lamb Weston, and Swinckels. Ultimately, it's about distinguishing yourself as a brand in a fully saturated landscape of assets, and that's exactly what we can achieve together across the full spectrum.

Shall we wrap this up in full YouTube fashion with 'Like and Subscribe?' That way the work will fill your feeds automatically ;-).

www.noshfoodfilms.com

www.pakt.co