We open on a woman laying in a hospital bed. She is bald, presumably from chemotherapy. The camera moves back to reveal that the bed is on a heavily trafficked city sidewalk, next to a public transportation Metro station.
The woman is strong in voice and spirit as she earnestly seeks help, holding up a collection cup, asking passersby during work commute time to donate to research in the fight against Hodgkin’s Disease. One pedestrian after another ignores her, preoccupied with getting to their workplaces or wherever.
A supered message then appears on screen against a backdrop: “Youth are the #1 victims of Hodgkin’s Disease. Funding for research is largely non-existent.”
An end tag carries a website address–fight2win.org–for those who care to learn more and hopefully help.
The website is that of the Alese Coco Fight 2 Win Foundation, which aims to find a cure for Hodgkin’s Disease and recurrent Hodgkin’s Disease through increasing awareness and raising money to fund research grants.
The PSA was directed by the Russo Brothers of RSA Films for Draftfcb, Irvine, Calif. Editor was Hovig Menakian of Optimus Santa Monica. The spot is slated to run on FOX, Turner and ESPN through the end of the year.
“[Hodgkin’s Disease] victims are literally being ignored,” said creative director/writer Scott Murray of Draftfcb, Irvine. “We decided that was the story we needed to tell, and we went out of our way to make sure the spot felt as real as possible–from the casting to the sound design to the look of the film to the way we edited the story–so as to make sure nothing got in the way of the message.”
The PSA originated when Greg Creed, the president of Taco Bell who sits on the board of the Alese Coco Fight 2 Win Foundation, asked Draftfcb and Optimus to develop a spot to help the organization’s mission.
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More