BBDO Taps World War Seven for AT&T Short Film Starring Craig Robinson and 'The Office' Peers
AT&T Business has premiered "Wake Up with CrAIg: The Movie," created by BBDO and directed by David Shafei of World War Seven, marking one year since the launch of the "Wake Up with CrAIg" ad campaign. Built to shine a light on the real journey of small business owners and celebrate what it takes to build something from the ground up, the campaign followed Craig Robinson and a cast of familiar faces — including Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Creed Bratton, and Oscar Nuñez — as they turned a simple idea, an AI alarm clock designed to motivate small business owners, into a growing business.
The campaign began in summer 2025 with a leaked video of Craig announcing that he was quitting stand-up comedy in order to spend more time on his new venture. Throughout the year, the story unfolded across four chapters, watching as their doors opened, the company expanded, and everyday challenges began to surface. Mirroring what so many small business owners experience daily, the campaign became some of AT&T's most-shared spots last year.
“Wake Up with CrAIg: The Movie” weaves together scenes from the previous chapters, with new footage from the core cast, and a newly inspired Leslie David Baker, whose own business needs a wakeup call from CrAIg. Comedic heavy-hitters Robby Hoffman, Chris Gethard, and Hannah Pilkes also join the fold, staying true to the campaign's tone and the chemistry of a cast fans know and love.
“Wake Up with CrAIg has become a powerful example of what happens when creativity and culture work together. We put small business owners – those whose hard work powers the communities they’re in – at the heart of the campaign. And in doing so, we showed how AT&T Business connectivity and security can support them through the real challenges of running and growing a business,” said Val Vargas, SVP Creative Content & Advertising.
True to the campaign's spirit of putting small business owners at the center, the film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, as well as at a “blue carpet” screening event in Los Angeles, where business owners were invited to connect with the film’s cast over shared experiences and real challenges. AT&T Small Business Contest winners attended the LA premiere, which also featured a panel with Robinson, Kemper, Bratton, Kinsey, Núñez, and Shafei, hosted by Arturo Castro. At Tribeca, BBDO ECD Danger Bea joined Shafei for a panel about how they brought the campaign and film to life, and Shafei offered insights as a business owner himself.
“WW7 started above a tattoo shop in Silver Lake, and we definitely could’ve used a CrAIg alarm clock back then,” says Shafei. “The trick with this campaign was honoring what people already love about our stars while grounding it in something real. Starting a business is exciting, but it’s also stressful, uncertain, and sometimes pretty lonely. Small business owners live with that every day. That’s where the truth is, and honestly, that’s where a lot of the comedy is, too. Having a cast like this and giving them room to play was a real gift.”
CREDITS
AT&T
Chief Marketing & Growth Officer: Kellyn Smith Kenny
SVP Creative Content & Advertising: Valerie Vargas
SVP Audience Marketing and Planning: Vinay Shahani
VP Business Marketing: Benjamin Harms
AVP Business Marketing: David Ohrn
Lead Product Marketing: Jennifer Garza
AVP Marketing Communications: John Starkweather
Principal Marketing Communications: Amy Santillana
AVP Marketing Communications: Richard Beale
Director Marketing Communications: Michelle Aman
AVP Marketing Communications: Melissa Smith
AVP Social Media: Katie Riley
Director Social Media: Jessica Sutherland
OTP
Head of Production: Andrew Tucci
Executive Producer: Juliet Diamond
Executive Producer: Tommy Costello
Producer: Marinna Breda
Associate Producer: Alex Gill
Group Business Affairs Lead: Desiree Townsend
Senior Talent Manager: Dawn McCormick
West BBDO
Chief Executive Officer/Chief Creative Officer: Matt Miller
President AT&T and Global Clients: Joe Rivas
Chief Strategy Officer: Nicole Granese
Executive Creative Director: Danger Bea
Creative Director: Chris Santaiti
Creative Director: Kurt Warner
Associate Creative Director: Helen Torney
Senior Copywriter: Olivia Romas
Senior Designer: Patrick Cambria
Art Director: Jose Hurtado
Copywriter: Matt Epstein
Group Strategy Director: Trae Watlington
Senior Strategy Director: Steffanie Golliher
Business Lead: Matty Candelario
SVP, Account Director, LOB Lead: Jenn Estorga
Business Director: Niki Lohr
Business Manager: Anna Medley
Business Manager: Natalie Cervantes
Critical Mass
Group Creative Director: Lauren Barrett
Creative Director: Matt Goldberg
Creative Director: Lowell Ong
Senior Copywriter: Molly Learner
Senior Vice President: Shannon McEvoy-Halston
Strategy Director: Kaitlyn Mason
Senior Account Director: Elisabeth McMenamy
Senior Project Manager: Lisa Del Castillo
Hearts & Science
Senior Director, Experience Planning: Colton Moisan
Director, Experience Planning: Jordan Bundy
Associate Director, Experience Planning: Sally Wade
Senior Director, Investment Solutions: Alan Lazebnik
Senior Director, Integrated Investment: Haley Rohrer
Director, Social Investment: Vic Sanchez
Associate Director, Social Investment: Allison Havner
World War Seven | Production Co
Director: David Shafei
Social Unit Directors: Jamsbash
President / Co-Founder: Josh Ferrazzano
Partner / Managing Director: Sloane Skala
Executive Producer / Head of Production: Kat Garelli
Line Producer: Michael Mitchell
First Assistant Director: Jason Lombardo
Director of Photography: Ken Seng
ASC, BSC, Director of Photography: Polly Morgan
Production Designer: Jerrod Littlejohn
ADLA | Photography
Photographer: Mathieu Young
Digital Tech: Louis Heredia
Producer: Anna Langston
Cabin Editing Company
Executive Producer: Britt Carson
Editor: Randy Baublis
Editor: Brad Dupuie
Editor: Nick Divers
Assistant Editor: Maura Kent
Assistant Editor: Jay McConville
Assistant: Diego Astorga
Senior Producer: Ginna Schilling
Senior Producer: Micayla Myles
Jamm | VFX/Finishing
VFX Supervisor/Comp Lead: Mark Holden
Comp Lead: Trent Shumway
Comp Artist: Brady Doyle
Comp Artist: Rashabh Butani
Comp Artist: Vivek Rajasekaran
CG Supervisor: Ben Martin
Associate Producer: Anne-Marie DePauw
Senior Producer: Justine Pregler
Executive Producer: Ashley Greyson
Executive Producer: Asher Edwards
Lime | Audio/Mixing
Sound Design Mix: Matt Miller
Sound Design Mix: Peter Lapinski
Sound Design Mix: Tom Paolantonio
Audio Assistant: Ian Connie
Producer: Cassie Underwood
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan
Audio Assistant: Jeremy Nichols
Audio Assistant: Trevor Hilton
LVLY | GFX/Delivery
EP/VP: Bryce Edwards
Motion Designer: Billy Pence
Senior Producer: Jackson Rogers
TRFK | Color/Finish
Lead Colorist: Ricky Gausis
Supporting Colorist: Taylor Pool
Supporting Colorist: Nate Seymour
Color Producer: Alexandra Garcia Ortiz
TOOL — Clock Fabrication & AI Craig Pipeline
Executive Producer: Adam Baskin
Head of Production: Kaili Kubpart
Senior Producer: Syahirah Mansor
Creative Director: Tyler Cohen
Technical Director: Wim Vanhenden
Creative Developer: Juan Ramon
Designer: Mar Cubillos
Motion Designer: Alex Moy
Industrial Designer: David Sutton
Hardware Technologist: James DeVito
IoT Developer: Dylan Fashbaugh
Front End Web Developer: Richard Mattka
Back End Dev: Niels Bril
3D Leads: Sophie Langlohr & Valentin Gault
Music | Duotone Audio Group
Principal and Chief Creative Officer: Peter Nashel
Head of Music Production: Ross Hopman
Senior Creative Director: Giovonni Lobato
Creative Producer: James Beer
Managing Director / Head of Music Licensing: Dana Hom
