Photographer Bil Zelman kicked off the 2025 holiday season with two standout campaigns that showcase his signature blend of humor, nostalgia, and cinematic storytelling. From playful mischief in Ocean Spray’s “Just Add Cran, Beware of Cranpus,” to warm, irreverent charm in the Manscaped holiday campaign, Bil’s work brings festive narratives to life with creativity, authenticity, and a distinctive visual style.
Ocean Spray’s 2025 campaign, “Just Add Cran, Beware of Cranpus,” stars Bryan Cranston as Cranpus—a Christmas demon who steals everyone’s cranberries (a play on the Germanic Christmas character, Krampus).
Shot in Los Angeles, the integrated campaign features Cranpus causing chaos from cranberry bogs to holiday parties, karaoke bars, and cooking shows. Bil captured the images using vintage 3D toy film cameras from 1982 to achieve a naïve, kinetic feel—cycling through multiple cameras to ensure reliability within tight shooting windows, with a fifth digital camera used as a safety backup. His photography adds a whimsical, motion-filled energy that complements Cranston’s unforgettable performance.
For the Manscaped holiday campaign, Bil served as creative director, writer, and photographer, producing the project over two days in San Diego. Drawing on ’70s nostalgia and the warmth of family traditions, he crafted sets that felt lived-in and imperfect—gifts wrapped as if by slightly buzzed college students, tape left on walls, and scratches on decorations intentionally preserved. Using his signature “fall-off vignette” lighting, Bil prioritized authenticity and narrative over polish, creating playful, humorous holiday imagery that translated seamlessly across print, social, and large-scale in-store signage.
See images from both projects below. For more of Bil’s work, visit his Workbook portfolio.
Ocean Spray Campaign
Manscaped Campaign
