A woman looks in the mirror. Staring back is someone she doesn’t quite recognize, someone who doesn’t seem to be her but it is–she is bald, in the throes of cancer treatment that at times can seem as devastating as the disease. We see her reflection in the mirror as she sheds a tear. Perched on a nearby dresser are numerous medication bottles and a framed photo of the woman, which shows her as she once was, smiling with a full head of hair.
We next see her walking downstairs from the bedroom but there’s an outline of slight hair growth. On the wall along the stairway are family pictures, again showing her as she once had been with a smartly coiffed hairdo.
Next, she is preparing a cup of tea but more follicles have grown in, signaling that she is much further along in her treatment.
A quick shower reveals that her hair, while short, has grown in considerably more. She wraps a towel around the top of her head.
Back downstairs in the kitchen, she is making peanut butter sandwiches. A slight playful half smile crosses her lips. Her hair has grown even more.
We next see her with her hair having filled in nicely, not quite the length of what we saw in her old photos but getting her back in terms of appearance a lot closer to her old self. We see her face in a foyer mirror; suddenly appearing in that mirror behind her is her young daughter who is ready to head out for school.
A female voiceover relates, “When you have every resource for beating cancer, you have every reason for hope.”
A super informs us that the patient is being treated by Oklahoma’s only comprehensive cancer center as mother and daughter walk out the front door to a beautiful morning.
An end tag carries the OU Medicine Cancer Center logo and website (OUcancer.com).
Essential performance Rafael Fernandez of Green Dot Films, Santa Monica, Calif., directed this :60 titled “Hair” for ad agency BVK, Milwaukee and Chicago.
A key for Fernandez was to find an actress willing to shave her head bald and who could express the authentic helplessness and eventual hopefulness of the lead role. That actress was Heather Ann Smith.
Mike Holicek, creative director at BVK who also served as “Hair” copywriter, observed, “The power of the spot really comes through in the woman’s performance. The opening scene in front of the mirror was actually filmed at the end of the day, and our actress was coming to grips with seeing herself for the first time with no hair. You can imagine she didn’t have to try too hard to look devastated.”
Director Fernandez added, “We wanted to respect the gravity of cancer and honor the true experience as best we could, so we all became very emotionally invested. Processing such heavy emotions and also trying to coordinate eight haircuts throughout the day was challenging, but incredibly rewarding.”
Showing growth BVK executive creative director Richard Kohnke, also an art director on OU Medicine Cancer Center’s “Hair,” related, “I’d seen many cancer spots over the years. And many that dealt with women and the emotion of losing their hair. I’d always felt emotionally manipulated. The idea of having one’s hair growth represent recovery was simple. Having the luxury of the :60 spot told without words in her own environment, in her own private moments was monumental. Having a director, actress and crew that understood that was priceless. The result is a hopeful, uplifting and emotionally powerful experience that never once borders on manipulative.”
Bryan Mir of Blend Studios, Milwaukee, served as editor, composer/arranger/musician on “Hair.”
Fernandez first landed on the industry map back in 2003 when he was selected for Saatchi & Saatchi’s New Directors Showcase on the strength of an anti-smoking campaign for the Partnership For A Healthy Mississippi out of Jackson, Miss.-based agency Maris, West & Baker. At the time he was with Slo.Graffiti, a former division of the now defunct Palomar. Fernandez later moved on to Rock Fight and in 2007 joined Green Dot Films.
