A Wolf Has a Taste for the Unconventional in Spot for Mayo Brand Thomy

Floris Kingma is renowned for his sharp comedic timing and unexpected twists, often turning the ordinary into the absurd. His latest work—a quirky take on necessity, absurdity, and the unexpected—showcases his signature style: an eye for unique casting and a knack for blending humour with life's delightful oddities … and a pet wolf with a taste for the unconventional. Floris continues to push the boundaries of storytelling, raising the bar with each new project.

LBB>The story of Thomy is an interesting one. How did it all begin? 

Floris>Oh, it was one of those delightful oddball projects. For reasons only the universe knows, the German agency decided to pack up and move the whole project to the UK. Luckily, the agency really vibed with our first chat and hooked me up with Armoury.

Now, Armoury and I had never worked together before this, but we both went in headfirst— hungry like the wolf (cue '80s synth music)! I like to think you can see that untamed energy and our obsession for making kickass ads in the end result! After this smooth like Thomy sauce production, Armoury and I now rave together! 

LBB>What were your first thoughts when you saw the script? 

Floris>I thought, This needs some spice. Not literal spice, but layers—dialogue, quirky characters, weird relationships, and offbeat twists. Everything had to relate to the concept of ‘unnecessary necessary.’ Take the guy with the Saurk, for example. He needed something that was both brilliantly absurd and utterly pointless but still felt just right. Writing his nonsensical monologue was like making surreal art: the sense of stop making sense.

What a delight it was that Donovan Bryan (ECD-McCann), aka The Don, was totally in sync about what was ‘unnecessary necessary’. An upwards ping-pong-spiral of creativity. I don't kiss ass because it tastes like shit (Suicidal Tendencies), but working together on this was exactly why I love my job so much. 

LBB>With tight timings and winter weather as factors, was it preferable to craft your own forest set? 

Floris>Oh, absolutely. At first, we were like, “Let’s do this in a real forest. Nothing beats the real deal.” But mid-December quickly reminded us why Mother Nature isn’t always the best production assistant. Short days, unpredictable weather, and, oh yeah, a real live wolf. 

That’s when Armoury convinced me to check out the folks at Solent in Bulgaria. And they nailed it. The art direction was incredible, and bonus: no frostbite or grumpy wolves … Just a DOP getting covid 

LBB>How was the wolf-sourcing process? Any tales that would have us howling? Did you have a favourite wolf? 

Floris>Oh, this was a trip. There’s an animal trainer for any animal you can imagine. Snakes, penguins, even tarantulas (yes, really). And, of course, a wolf expert in Germany. He’s like the Kevin Costner of Wolves. 

But here’s the kicker: wolves don’t usually do ‘chill.’ No one asks them to sit quietly or look cute in a bandana. They're all about snarling and prowling menacingly. So, just in case, we had a more manageable wolf-lookalike dog on standby. 

Credit to Armoury for keeping both options in play until the shoot. But let’s be real—only a real wolf can pull off a wolf. 

LBB>The hangry man and guitarist have great yin and yang. Did you explore this during casting? 

Floris>Oh, absolutely. The hangry man sent in a self-tape from the middle of a forest, practically in full costume. It was like he was already living the role. He got it immediately.

And then there’s the guitarist—he was basically Neil from The Young Ones. A soft-spoken, peace loving guy who wouldn’t swat a fly. The perfect counterbalance to his uptight, hangry friend. In real life, they hit it off so well that I half-expected them to start a buddy sitcom. 

LBB>Was the wolf always destined to eat our hangry friend?

Floris>Not initially. In the first version of the script, the hangry guy already had one arm missing. But as said before, I wanted some development in the story so I thought, let’s have his arm get torn off on screen. That would be fun. 

Then someone said, “Hey, with everything going on in the world, maybe that’s a little too... war like.” So, instead of toning it down, I went the other way into absurdity. Kudos to the client for understanding that a wolf eating someone—completely unnecessarily—was the funniest and most *on-concept* option.

LBB>Has this commercial inspired you to put condiments in other cutlery? 

Floris>Absolutely. I won’t leave the house without my wasabi-filled chopsticks.

Next project: cheese-filled fondue sticks.