Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard navigating parenting while dancing along to a cover of Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow” sung by Bob Mervak

Parenting is anything but easy, yet advertising for child-related products and services has traditionally leaned into love and serenity. With millennial parents preferring realism in depictions of child rearing, advertisers are taking note and getting creative.

Keeping the messiness of parenting in mind, leading diaper-subscription plan Hello Bello is embracing the chaotic side of things through its first-ever brand campaign, “They Call Me.”

Created in collaboration with Hello Bello’s AOR Brains On Fire and directed by Christopher Scott (Emmy-nominated choreographer for In The Heights), the platform’s leading spot colorfully shows co-founders Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard navigating parenting while dancing along to a cover of Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow” sung by Bob Mervak. This time, its central lyrics are rewritten as “They call me Hello Bello” to reflect the branding.

“We are so proud of the new Hello Bello campaign. Our friends at Brains on Fire developed the concept of honoring parenthood with transparency, whimsy and humor and we are thrilled with the result,” said Bell in a quote for Adweek.

Great minds think ahead

According to Benjamin Hart, co-president of Brains On Fire, “Kristen and Dax are always very hands-on with us when it comes to creative. They let us run with whatever idea we’re all excited about and trust us to deliver a brand that’s representative of them.” Hart continues, “Our collective creative North Star is to always be a little irreverent and never too precious.”

As Hart explains, the development of this campaign was a collaborative effort that began with a long-gestating idea from Bell herself. “It was basically day one of the Hello Bello launch that Kristen had the idea to cover ‘Mellow Yellow.’ It took us all about three years to find the right thing to do with that idea,” he said. “We really started there, knowing the song would be the (very sticky) centerpiece of the spot and campaign.”

Hart continues, “Kristen has a deep love of and background in musical theater so we knew she could carry the concept. We then set Dax up to come into each scene and hit the comedy beats … which we all know is what he’s better at than almost anyone.”

“They Call Me” debuts Nov. 15 during Ellen, with the theme set to be released across platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. For every stream through 2021, the brand will donate a diaper to a charity organization.