As we get closer to Valentine’s Day, the Ad Council has teamed up with Amazon Ads to help to redefine love. Launching February 1, people all over the world will be able to ask “Alexa, what is love?” to hear others’ interpretations of love and be inspired to take action in their own communities. This marks the latest installment of the Ad Council’s Emmy Award-winning “Love Has No Labels” campaign.
The campaign includes this documentary-style film directed by Rodney Lucas, a Brooklyn, NY-based documentarian who hails from the southside of Chicago. The film delves deeper into the lives of the people featured in Alexa’s new response, and how acts of love have helped them, and others, feel more included. In one instance, when a person asks Alexa about love, they will hear the voice of Dianne, a community leader and volunteer, who responds: “My love is in the safe space I create for Black women.” Other voices and stories are also heard.
Credits
Client The Ad Council Heidi Arthur, chief campaign development officer; Sheri Klein, VP, campaign development; Jenn Walters, VP, campaign director; Felicia Carmichael, director of media, social and emerging; Ariana Lee, assistant campaign manager. Creative Amazon Ads–Brand Lab Jolanta Aerts, creative director. Amazon Brand Lab Sim LeCompte, sr. copywriter; Carrie Schaer, executive producer; Stephanie LeBlond, sr. program manager; Rob Alley, head of Amazon Brand Lab, Telco & Entertainment; Alison Tintle, creative director, Amazon Alexa personality; Will North, associate creative director, Amazon Alexa personality; Robby Marston, sr. design technologist; Cassandra Krul, sr. UX/motion designer. Production Fanciful Films Rodney Lucas, director; Natalie Hill, exec producer.
After losing part of his right leg due to cancer, Terry Fox campaigned to raise national awareness and funding for cancer research by running his Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada 42-km daily run, on his prosthetic leg. Fox, who died in 1981, is a national hero. His image will be on Canada’s new $5 bill.
In this two-minute video titled “Finish It,” the Marathon of Hope is recreated. It’s all done in one take, and it features an actor/marathon runner who uses a prosthesis on the same leg as Fox. CGI was deployed to make him look more like Fox. To further ensure the actor represented Fox accurately, not only did the actor and team watch and study many videos of Terry, but Terry’s brothers, Fred and Darrel, coached the actor on Terry’s running style and mannerisms. They also created a copy of Terry’s prosthesis for the actor to use for the shoot.
The message is clear. As the Marathon of Hope now marks its 45th anniversary, we now have the opportunity to “Finish It” for Fox, raising money and awareness to get a cure for cancer over the finish line, completing the work that Fox started. The public service film starts with Fox on the marathon run, eventually joined by a crowd of other dedicated runners from all walks of life who take over the race.
Mark Zibert directed via production company Scouts Honour for Toronto agency Diamond. The video features a never-before-heard version of the song “Courage” from Canadian band The Tragically Hip.
“We wanted to create a campaign that captures the magnitude of Terry Fox’s legacy while driving meaningful action,” said Peter Ignazi, chief creative officer at Diamond. “By revisiting the Marathon of Hope with such care and reverence, we aimed to reignite Terry’s mission and... Read More
