What do you say to parents who just had a child with Down syndrome? You can say almost anything, but the only bad word you can say is the one that begins with the letter “S.”
Titled “The ‘S’ Word,” this video is at the center of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society’s “Anything But Sorry” campaign created and produced by FCB Canada. The video features people with Down syndrome sharing alternate things to say to these new parents–using every inappropriate phrase they know except “sorry.” The point is that the most inappropriate thing to say to parents of a child born with Down syndrome is “sorry” and that the birth of every child should be celebrated.
The current campaign is the follow-up to last year’s “Down Syndrome Answers” which was Canada’s most-awarded campaign in Cannes (2017) with 10 Lions and made FCB Canada the most-awarded Canadian agency in Cannes (2017).
Credits
Client Canadian Down Syndrome Society Agency FCB Canada Nanci Crimi-Lamanna, Jeff Hilts, chief creative officers; Marty Hoefkes, sr. copywriter; Michael Morelli, sr. art director; Cody Sabatine, Gira Moin, art directors; Joseph Vernuccio, copywriter. Production FCB Canada Elias Campbell, director; Stephen Mcloughlin, DP. Editorial Rooster Post Production Chris Parkins, editor; Joey Whitelaw, assistant editor; Melissa Kahn, exec producer. Casting Jigsaw Casting Shasta Lutz Telecine The Vanity Andrew Exworth, colorist. Online Fort York Ernie Mordak, Flame artist; Melissa Vasiliev, assistant Flame artist; Armen Bunag, producer. Music Grayson Matthews Mark Domitric, music producer; Igor Correia, music supervisor; Brian Bernard, sound engineer; Ben Swarbrick, Laura Titchner, sound designers; Sharon Yokoyama, producer; Nicholas Shaw, project coordinator.
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
