A young girl lies dead by the side of a suburban road, her body propped up against a tree. Yet without any medical aid, she miraculously comes back to life in this TV/cinema :30 for the U.K. Department of Transport, directed by Walter Stern of Academy, London, via Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, London.
Slowly, we see the fatal injuries she has sustained start to heal. Blood oozing from her ear gradually reverses its course and flows back inside her, disappearing from sight. Her mangled, broken arms twist back into place.
The girl’s voiceover gives us context for what we’re witnessing. “If you hit me at forty miles per hour, there’s around an eighty percent chance I’ll die.”
An invisible force then moves the girl’s body from the tree to the middle of the road. “If you hit me at thirty,” continues her voiceover, “there’s about an eighty percent chance I’ll live.”
Suddenly the girl looks up and takes a deep breath. She is alive again. The impact of the car didn’t throw her as far, reducing the severity of her injuries.
An adult voiceover intervenes: “Hit at thirty miles per hour, eighty percent of people live.”
Supered across a black background is the message, “It’s 30 for a reason. Think!”
Titled “Lucky,” this spot graphically illustrates the lethal consequences of increasing a vehicle’s speed by just 10 miles per hour. A little girl’s life is saved by a driver being cognizant of and obeying the speed limit. Eerie and unsettling, the commercial has an emotional impact while also provoking thought–and hopefully adjusting behavior–in regard to driving responsibly.
The core creative team at AMV BBDO consisted of art director Andy McKay, copywriter Mary Wear and producer Trish Russell.
Laura Kaufman produced for Academy. The DP was Alex Barber.
Editor was Rick Russell of Final Cut, London. Colorist was Adam Scott of The Mill, London.
The Mill created the visual effects, which breathed life into the story–and into the girl. Visual effects supervisor/lead Flame artist Chris Knight of The Mill had to reverse her fatal injuries before our eyes in a believable manner. Towards that end, the creative decision was made to depict an organic, random transition. Rather than just fading between bruised and then clean skin, the scene went for a gradual transformation that for the viewer is harder to watch but more poignant and moving. It’s painful yet emotionally riveting to see the girl’s broken limbs twist back into their normal positions.
Knight deployed the same Flame techniques developed by The Mill for Levi’s famed “Twist” spot (directed by Frank Budgen of Gorgeous Enterprises for BBH, London) in order to manipulate the girl’s broken arms in “Lucky,” healing the bones before our eyes. (Budgen is repped stateside via bicoastal Anonymous Content.)
Other members of The Mill’s team included producer Ben Hampshire, with Flame assistance from Danny Morris.
Sound designer/audio mixer was Parv Thind at Wave Recordings, London. Music composer was Mark Revell at Square Peg, London.
The child actress was Ronnie Creed. The child voiceover was provided by Courtney Fudge.
