Movie clichés are unavoidable–unless you go to the Canadian Film Fest. That’s the message of this tongue-in-cheek campaign which takes us to the fictitious Academy of the Cliché, a school that teaches up and coming actors the tried and true cliché techniques of acting and film. Lessons are taught in innovative range, including a shooting range in which actors fire a barrage of heavy artillery–without a single bullet hitting the hero target.
In the words of Clement Bishop, the head instructor at the Academy, “The Cliché technique is 100% reliable. Everything we teach has been done a million times before.”
At the end of each spot, the viewer is encouraged to “Escape the Cliché” and to come to the 2015 Canadian Film Fest which runs from March 25-28 at Toronto’s Royal Theatre.
Jono Hunter of OPC directed this two-minute cinema ad, part of a campaign out of J. Walter Thompson Canada.
Credits
Client Canadian Film Fest Agency J. Walter Thompson Canada Brent Choi, chief creative and integration officer; Ryan Spelliscy, sr. VP/executive creative director; Colin Winn, VP, associate creative director/copywriter. Tyler Schell, Pip Scowcroft, copywriters; Christian Martinez, Kara Wark, art directors; Caroline Clarke, Chris Huber, producers. Production OPC, Toronto Jono Hunter, director; Andre Pienaar, DP; Liz Dussault, Harland Weiss, Donovan Boden, exec producers; Dennis Beier, line producer. Editorial School Editing Aaron Dark, editor; Drew MacLeod, editorial assistant; Sarah Brooks, exec producer. Post Alter Ego Conor Fisher, colorist. Post/VFX Fort York Music Grayson Matthews Casting Mann Casting
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
