Dad is a hamster, voiced by Andrew Dice Clay. One son, played by new Saturday Night Live cast member Kyle Mooney, is supposed to be at college, except he's home most of the time. Another son is an eccentric drawn to scrapbooking and ventriloquism. The sole daughter speaks only in French. Mom is actually normal (i.e., exceptional by being unexceptional). The family is mostly white, except Grandpa is black. And let's not even get into their motley group of friends.

Sprint's new ad family (or rather, "framily"), the Frobinsons, created by Figliulo&Partners, are even more diverse and inclusive than your average Honey Maid family. They're a lot more peculiar, though—and no wonder. They're based partly on the multi-species Shitaro family (in which Dad is a dog) from Japan's famously quirky yet beloved ads for Softbank, which acquired Sprint last year.

Sprint breaks two launch spots (see both below) on Monday night. The new theme will be "Happy Connecting." The question is, will U.S. viewers be as open to such self-conscious weirdness as the Japanese have been?

"The American family has changed. Our families today are more than our relatives, but also our friends, our neighbors—basically all the people we love," Sprint CMO Jeff Hallock says in a statement. "So we created a product to give the new American family the flexibility and value they need from a wireless plan, brought to life through the Frobinsons. Our campaign acknowledges that we all have families that are unique with interesting personalities. It's a fun, lighthearted look at one group going through life as one big, happy Framily."

"The Frobinsons are a typical American family. They are a strange mix of individuals that care very deeply about each other and we wanted to create a group of characters that are familiar and very unique at the same time," adds Mark Figliulo, who opened Figliulo&Partners last fall and signed Sprint as his first client after leaving TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York. "We know that people are happiest when they are connected to the people and things they care about most. That's why everything we do ends on a beginning: Happy Connecting."

The first two spots are basically trailers for what will be an episodic story over the next several months, featuring various celebrity cameos. It's certainly an ambitious approach. And while it seems obvious to say so, a lot will depend on the execution. If the spots are well written, the characters will come to life and the premise will quickly seem endearing; if not, the work could just as quickly be in trouble.

But the client seems excited about it, and clearly has faith in Figliulo—or should we say, fraith in Frigliulo. It should be an interesting ride.

CREDITS

Client: Sprint

Brand Agency: Figliulo&Partners

Chief Creative Officer: Mark Figliulo

Creative Directors: Jonathan Mackler, Joe Ventura

Art Director: Jonathan Mackler, Craig Duffney

Copywriter: Joe Ventura

Account Executive(s): Judith Carr-Rodriguez, Dena Graham

Planning: Caroline Krediet

Head of Production: Robert Valdes

Producer(s): Katherine Cheng

Art Producer: Carly Chappell

Print Production: Sarah Whinnem

Business Affairs: Samantha Norvin

Digital Agency: DigitasLBi

Creative Directors: Lewis McVey

Art Director: Keith Henneman, Christine Monahan

Copywriter: David Shih, Nate Winter

Project Manager(s): Courtney Klein, Matt Hill

Account Executive(s): Davin Power, Alex Raymond, Caitlin Kelly, Cristin Jordan

Planning: Mark Kirby

Business Affairs: Dan Simonetti, Wilmien Blake

Technology: Tony Bailey, Paul Nagorney, Nathan Dill, Angie Khumdee

Media Agency: MediaVest

Media Spend: TBC

Media team: Terry Whitney, Tracy Reimers, Debbie Hutchings, Bridget Scanlan, Kandace Barker

Photographer/Designer: Emily Shur with Giant Artists

Production Company: Imperial Woodpecker

Director: Stacy Wall

Director of Photography: John Lynch

Executive Producer: Charlie Cocuzza

Line Producer: Betsy Oliver

Editorial: Whitehouse Post

Editors: Lisa Gunning, Alaster Jordan

Assistant Editor: Josh James

Executive Producer: Lauren Hertzberg

Producer: Nick Crane

Publishing:

Music: Home Sweet Home/Motley Crew

Composer: Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx

Audio Mix: Sound Lounge NY

Home Sweet Home performed by Tatyana Richaud in "Framily Portraits"

Home Sweet Home arrangement for "Meet The Frobinsons Framily": Lee Wall

Mixer: Tom Jucarone

Talents:

Dad's vo: Andrew Dice Clay

Chuck: Kyle Mooney

Mom: Judy Greer