ELEANOR taps into dorm life for Homegoods
Just in time for college move-in season, ELEANOR, HomeGoods and Mindshare’s new creative campaign Back to Campus sets a hilarious drama within the stylish world of Gen-Z dorm life.
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Production company ELEANOR launches this series of short, character-driven, social-first comedy films for HomeGoods directed by Danielle Calodney, whose storytelling instincts and comedy chops are turning heads in both the ad world and pop culture.
From love triangles and mistaken identities to FaceTime drama and fashion debates, the campaign follows the dorm adventures of “HomeGoods State University” students as they navigate roommate conflicts, dating mishaps, and decorating showdowns with a playful tone.
Back to Campus exemplifies a new, category-defying medium engaging younger audiences. The content was built for mobile: fast-paced, episodic, and highly visual. The campaign leans into themes trending with Gen-Z and is stylistically in conversation with the “micro-drama boom” referenced in recent publications like AirMail, where one-minute vertical cliffhangers drive billions in viewership.
Calodney directed six original vignettes including; Creative Differences - a design face-off between new roommates, The Blanket - a comedy of mistaken dorm accessories, and The Tea - an update on the current drama using dorm décor.
Shot in Texas and produced by ELEANOR, the project features a mix of comedic performances, quick-cut editing, and stunning art direction. HomeGoods products are effortlessly heroed in every vignette—from using household items to literally “spill the tea,” to a juicy betrayal revealed through a HomeGoods blanket.
“Danielle has this rare ability to build relatable characters and visual worlds that resonate deeply with online audiences,” says Sophie Gold, President of ELEANOR. “She’s playful, clever, and uncompromising in her execution. This campaign is a perfect example of that.”
