Stop motion director PES takes us into a room of the citizenM Hotel in Times Square. Swimming on the bed are two swans who come together with the curves in their long graceful necks to form a heart. All seems blissful until a shark emerges from the blue bedspread and devours the swans.
Supered on screen is the message: “Farewell hotel cliches. Hello affordable luxury.”
Client citizenM Agency KesselsKramer, London & Los Angeles. Frank Anselmo, PES, creative team; Amy Jadine van der Veer, producer. Production PES Film/Reset/Stoopid Buddy Stoodios PES, director; Helder K. Sun, DP; Dillon Markey, animator; Almitra Corey, production designer; Sarah Phelps, exec producer; Janet Dimon, supervising producer; Ethan Marak, Scott Pourroy, producers. Fabrication/Production Studio Stoopid Buddy Stoodios. Sound Design PES.
When dozens of Klick Health team members said they wouldn’t be able to hug loved ones over the festive season, the agency turned to AI and other magic to orchestrate a series of sentimental, surprise reunions captured in its “Holiday Hugs” video. The heartwarming four-minute video, benefitting the D.C.-based Foundation for Social Connection (F4SC), parallels recent findings from a Maru/Blue Public Opinion survey commissioned by Klick. The poll found 74 percent of Americans and Canadians won’t be able to hug at least one person they wish they could over the holidays. And like those in the video, survey participants cited geographical distance and loved ones having passed away as the leading factors preventing their hugs. “I just wish I could really squeeze her right now,” says teary-eyed New York Klickster Kari Bocassi watching her AI-generated hug with her sister Marlene, moments before she bursts onto the set for a long in-person embrace. The siblings have spent the past 14 years caring for their mother since her Alzheimer’s diagnosis, but haven’t been together for the holidays since Marlene moved to Virginia. Similarly, Toronto’s Fred Duarte gets the bear hug of his life when his brother Rico, who lives in Brazil, walks into Klick’s production studio for their first holiday reunion in seven years. Directed by James Cooper via Cooper Films, “Holiday Hugs” also taps into the fact that hugs don’t just make people feel better emotionally, they also have numerous health benefits. According to the National Institutes of Health, hugs can lower blood pressure and boost the immune system. “There’s nothing quite like the warmth and reassurance of a heartfelt hug,” said Klick’s chief creative officer Rich Levy. “With ‘Holiday... Read More
