A man and a boy–the latter asleep in his bedroom–seem destined to come together in this tale that unfolds in a most unsettling manner. The adult is making his way down a hall as we see the boy stir from his slumber. You can sense the youngster’s trepidation as he anticipates the man approaching the room. The scenes play out accompanied by the song “Hurt,” written by Trent Reznor and sung by Johnny Cash.
We see the bedroom door knob turn as the man is about to enter. The door opens slightly–but no further despite the man’s efforts. The camera reveals that the boy has a finger pressed against the door, stopping the man from gaining entry.
A super reads, “Unfortunately abused children don’t have super powers.”
“But you do,” reads the next super.
Follow-up supered messages urge viewers to “Become a childhood hero. Donate to the Australian Childhood Foundation.”
“Superhero” was directed by Mark Molloy via Exit Films, Melbourne, for agency Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne. (Molloy is repped in the U.S. by Furlined, Santa Monica.)
The agency creative team consisted of creative director/copywriter Emma Hills, art director Cameron Hoelter and producer Sevda Cemo.
Wilf Sweetland produced for Exit. The DP was Robert Humphreys. James Clark was the production designer.
Rohan Zerna cut the spot via Tide Edit, Sydney.
Supreme Court Seems Likely To Uphold A Law That Could Force TikTok To Shut Down On Jan. 19
The Supreme Court on Friday seemed likely to uphold a law that would ban TikTok in the United States beginning Jan. 19 unless the popular social media program is sold by its China-based parent company.
Hearing arguments in a momentous clash of free speech and national security concerns, the justices seemed persuaded by arguments that the national security threat posed by the company's connections to China override concerns about restricting the speech either of TikTok or its 170 million users in the United States.
Early in arguments that lasted more than two and a half hours, Chief Justice John Roberts identified his main concern: TikTok's ownership by China-based ByteDance and the parent company's requirement to cooperate with the Chinese government's intelligence operations.
If left in place, the law passed by bipartisan majorities in Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in April will require TikTok to "go dark" on Jan. 19, lawyer Noel Francisco told the justices on behalf of TikTok.
At the very least, Francisco urged, the justices should enter a temporary pause that would allow TikTok to keep operating. "We might be in a different world again" after President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Trump, who has 14.7 million followers on TikTok, also has called for the deadline to be pushed back to give him time to negotiate a "political resolution." Francisco served as Trump's solicitor general in his first presidential term.
But it was not clear whether any justices would choose such a course. And only Justice Neil Gorsuch sounded like he would side with TikTok to find that the ban violates the Constitution.
Gorsuch labeled arguments advanced by the Biden administration' in defense of the law a... Read More