Fallon Floats a Light, Airy Approach for Mattress Firm

Mattress Firm dials down the weirdness of its past campaigns in work that drops today from Fallon. That said, the ads remain quirky, a hallmark of the retailer's efforts from the past few years.

Below, a young woman gets such a good night's sleep (thanks to the brand, natch) that she literally floats around the house, inches above the floor.

"I feel like things are clearer now," she says. Alas, this may turn into a relationship nightmare for her gamer/slacker boyfriend.

Mattress Firm's oft-creepy "Junk Sleep" oddness has been ... junked. The new commercials, representing Fallon's first big push for the brand, substitute one strange element (hovering) for many. This significantly lightens the tone, and the approach feels more accessible.

In fairness, Mattress Firm's surreal, noirish comedy held some charms. Liv Schreiber riding a bed through the late-night cityscape was memorable. Even so, its impact proved difficult to gauge. Perhaps the company's recent financial slide served as a wake-up call.

Other ads feature more levitation, if that sort of thing floats your boat.

"'Junk Sleep' was great—it pointed out a problem in modern society: people's poor sleep habits can have a massive impact on their lives," Fallon co-CCO Leslie Shaffer tells Muse. "With this work, we're moving to an answer. We're showing the upside of life on the right mattress. In fact, after sleeping on the right mattress, you might achieve a blissed-out transcendental state where things in your life are suddenly made clear to you. Also, it turns out you float."

Or not. Still, the hover scenes flow smoothly throughout, giving the ads a buoyant charm.

"I love that it is just there and isn't explained, and it doesn't overpower the stories," Shaffer says. "People just float after sleeping well. It makes sense."

What's more, "Everyone on the creative team and crew questioned if they were sleeping well," she recalls. "Some of us even went to Mattress Firm and bought new mattresses."

Hope they got an agency discount!

Matias Rygh and Mathias Erikse of Epoch Films directed the spots, which break this week nationwide.

Fallon Leslie Shaffer, Co-Chief Creative OfficerNikki Baker, Co-Chief Creative OfficerJacqui Bontke, Art DirectorCaroline Stamy, Copywriter Erin Simle, Head of ProductionPatrick Gantert, Senior ProducerBrendan Lawrence, Director of Business Affairs Savanah Brihn, Group Strategy DirectorMatt Garcia, Executive Sponsor Josh Ahlberg, Group Account Director Karli Kolbert, Account Director

Publicis Toronto (paid social)Helder Defreitas, Co-Creative DirectorAllon Tatarka, Co-Creative DirectorGreg Roumanis, Associate Creative DirectorEmily Nixon, Associate Creative DirectorPam Portsmouth, VP, Broadcast ProductionChristine Stephens, Senior ProducerAlister Adams, GM, Chief Digital OfficerScott Harrison, Digital StrategistAshley Weber, VP, Brand DirectorJenny Chen, Account Supervisor

Mattress Firm:John Eck, Chief Executive Officer Mickey Mericle, Chief Marketing and Experience Officer Sam Bennett, SVP, MarketingSofya Vannelli, Senior Director, Brand MarketingChristine Reiter, Director, Marketing

Live Action Co. - EpochMatias and Mathias, DirectorsRitu Paramesh, Line ProducerDirector of Photography, Benjamin Loeb

Editorial Co. - WhitehouseEditors: Brian Gannon/Heidi BlackAsst editor: Joe Carugati

VFX - Volt StudiosFlame artists: Steve Medin/Pete OlsonFlame assist: Sarah Thomas

Color - HarborColorist: Oisin O'Driscoll

Audio Mix Co. - SisterBossEngineer: Micah Johnson