Font AwesomeWhen it comes to marketing videos, Font Awesome doesn’t just throw a couple of slides together, slap on some royalty-free ukulele music, and call it a day. Oh no. We go full Hollywood — except with fewer no explosions and more hot dog suits.
This is how we cooked up the Font Awesome 7 diner-themed marketing video.
Watch the Full Behind-the-Scenes Doc
A full-course creative meal
We’ve been making these videos for years now, and if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that tech doesn’t have to be boring. In fact, we reject that idea outright. If a marketing video doesn’t make us laugh, is it even worth making? (Uh, the answer is “nope.”)
For Font Awesome 7, we needed a theme that fit our whole “we’re always cooking up something new” vibe, and what’s better than a classic American diner? It’s warm, it’s nostalgic, and — most importantly — it gave us the perfect excuse to put Milton in a hot dog suit. (We’ll get to that later.)
Lights, camera, torrential downpour of pancakes!
Shooting a marketing video in one 12-hour stretch is no joke. It takes coordination, planning, and a lot of coffee. The day before the shoot, we had our “pre-production meeting”, which is a fancy way of saying we all hung out, caught up on life, and then Jory had to make a critical decision about the size of a heart-shaped butter pat. Yes, this is the high-stakes world of filmmaking.
The Cast: Our very own awesome cinematic universe.
Continuity matters. We’re building the Font Awesome Cinematic Universe, of course (FACU?), and that means keeping our beloved cast coming back. You know them, you love them — Rob, the guy so many people think founded Font Awesome (he didn’t, but we could be so lucky — no offense, Dave), and Steve, who has played every character from a skeptical, naysaying customer to, well, a man in a hot dog suit who’s finally glad we “changed the recipe”.
Speaking of which …
The hot dog in the room
Let’s take a moment to appreciate “Milton,” perhaps the unsung hero of this production, who spent an entire 12-hour shoot in a hot dog costume. Was it necessary? Technically, probably not. Was it hilarious? Yes. Had you been on set, you’d have spied Steve hanging out with the extras, sitting in the grass eating a snack, or having a straight-faced conversation with a crew member.
And the whole Notdog icon pack (one of Font Awesome 7’s new Pro+ offerings) inspired the scene where Milton finally embraces the change he once resisted. It was an example of glorious full circle character development in a marketing video.
Happy accidents and improv gold
Some of the best parts of a video shoot like this are the unexpected moments that turn into pure magic. Here’s a few highlights:
- The Pancake Incident: Albert had to react to thousands of digital pancakes falling from the sky. Except, on set, that meant people literally throwing pancakes at him. (Some missed. Many missed.)
- Ad-Lib Genius: Some of the best lines in the final cut weren’t even in the script. Our actors love to sneak in zingers, like when Rob casually threw in, “I don’t know, cause I’m not you and I live on a screen,” which made us all lose it.
- The Menu Mishap: Halfway through the shoot, we realized our printed menus were missing a key detail. The solution? A little digital magic in post-production. Nobody needs to know. (Except, well, you now.)
Location, location, location!
Shooting in a real diner (instead of a set built to look like one) was a real nice touch. Just like when we filmed in an actual coffee shop and an actual candy store for the Font Awesome 6 videos, this diner felt real because … it was. It had history, character, and possibly some ghosts from 1972 lingering in the corner. (They didn’t ask for SAG rates, so we let them stay.)
Documenting the process
An extra that made our time on set extra special was that for the first time, we put together (read: Isaac put together) a behind-the-scenes mini-documentary about the making of this video. As it turns out, the chaos behind the camera is just as entertaining as the final product.
Isaac, who has gotten his toes wet shooting documentary filmmaking, ran around the set with a camera capturing everything including …
- The crew’s incredible work ethic (shoutout to the food stylists running frozen sundaes in and out of freezers between takes!)
- The tiny decisions that make a huge difference, like the butter pat dilemma
- The absolute commitment to character, as evidenced by Milton refusing to take off the hot dog suit even when he wasn’t filming
Easter eggs: Because we can’t help ourselves.
If you freeze-frame at just the right moments, you might catch a few hidden gems:
- A certain red-haired co-founder raising a glass of blue milk (yes, Aunt Beru’s very own blue milk).
- Inside jokes on the menu board that only true Font Awesome nerds will appreciate.
- Nods to Star Wars, Back to the Future, and more — because we might have a problem with pop culture fandom and can’t stop sneaking in references.
Why we keep making these videos.
At some point in the planning process, we asked ourselves, “Do we even need a video for Font Awesome 7?”
The answer is yes.
Because it’s fun! Because it helps tell our story. Because it makes tech feel human. And because we have a big ol’ spot on our homepage that is just begging for a goofy video that will entertain our customers. And if not them, at least we’re entertaining ourselves.
So, if you haven’t watched the Font Awesome 7 diner video yet, what are you waiting for? Grab a coffee, and enjoy.
