Minneapolis creative agency Bolster starts new company to eliminate 'preachy' part of ads

When he first heard about an elusive retired teacher who drove around Minneapolis giving out sandwiches to the homeless, Jesse Roesler knew he wanted to tell his story.

Years later, Roesler's personal project turned into a full-fledged business when the Minneapolis creative agency Bolster, where he is a partner, launched Credo Nonfiction, a new production company committed to making "films that reveal purpose with passion."

Credo has debuted during a time when companies have started to experiment more with branded content, which can look more like films than commercials, to try to connect with their target audiences.

"It presents an opportunity for brands to highlight who they are and what they stand for without being preachy about it," Roesler said in an interview.

Procter & Gamble's "Like A Girl" campaign for its Always brand of feminine hygiene products doesn't have anything to do with menstrual pads or pantyliners. It's a video showing how teenagers and adults interpret what it means to do something such as running "like a girl" as the company explores gender stereotypes and trumpets girls' self-confidence. Procter & Gamble is no stranger to longer-form content. Leading up to this year's Rio Olympics, it launched an ad campaign called "Strong," which followed the journeys of four Olympians who were given strength by their mothers.

Earlier this year, the Tribeca Film Festival in New York awarded its first honor for branded entertainment to a five-minute film that followed a colorblind man who has an antenna in his skull that allows him to "hear colors" through vibrations in his head. The film was sponsored by Samsung Electronics Co.

Credo, which officially started in June, is focusing on "cinematically impactful content for brands, causes and content platforms," according to a release announcing its launch.

A video sponsored by life insurance company Allianz Life showed how people are living longer and profiled a couple who started an alpaca farm, a 96-year-old saxophone player and a young man and woman who decided to travel the country. The only mention of Allianz is when its name appears on the screen in the closing seconds.

"It's one thing to share statistics about longevity and take an academic approach to communicating the impact of Americans living longer lives, but quite another to show examples of people who are already living their lives with longevity in mind," said Rick Gibson, creative director in charge of brand and creative services for Allianz Life.

The idea for the production company did not start as a business endeavor but more of a passion project.

In late 2010, Roesler began to use gear and production equipment from Bolster to record a documentary project about several generous people across the globe who were working to end hunger in their own ways, including former Minneapolis teacher Allan Law. It took a year for Roesler to convince Law to be interviewed. Roesler argued that his story would inspire people.

The finished film, "The Starfish Throwers," won numerous film festival awards, including the audience award and the Minnesota-made award for best feature documentary at the 2014 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival. Earlier this year, it was also named best documentary at the 2016 James Beard Foundation Book, Broadcast and Journalism Awards.

"The creation of this new venture allows for the freedom to focus on and explore the full potential of cinematic storytelling with new partners — including burgeoning opportunities in streaming episodic content presented by brands," said Bolster partner and brand director Jason Hammond, in a statement.

Bolster was started six years ago and has built a niche in the food and beverage, health and wellness and cause marketing spheres. The firm has done branding, design and web development work for companies like Life Time Fitness, Land O'Lakes and the YMCA. Bolster has nine employees and shares an office in northeast Minneapolis with Credo, which has three employees.

Credo is currently working on a campaign with Ecolab in which Bolster will handle the strategic planning and Credo will work as the production company.

Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495 • Twitter: @nicolenorfleet