Havas NY’s pro bono campaign for the upcoming Brooklyn Film Festival (June 4-13) includes this spot, “Expedition,” in which the simple act of grocery shopping is dramatized in a post-apocalyptic style as a man prepares to venture out into an eerily vacant NYC neighborhood. In light of the pandemic, quarantines and lockdowns, a parting super reads, “If last year was a film, it would be playing at the Brooklyn Film Festival.
Ben Quinn, creative director at Hemingway Films, directed this and the other TV spot in the campaign, one of the first creative executions from Dan Lucey since he became the agency’s CCO.
Credits
Client Brooklyn Film Festival Agency Havas New York Dan Lucey, chief creative officer; Tim Maleeny, president & chief strategy officer; Jay Hunt, group creative director; Mary Ashton Burgh, Akos Papp, Juliana Bonsanti, Matthew DeCosta, creative directors; Alexis DeMontaigu, head of strategic planning; Suzanne Crowe, executive producer; Cathy Pitegoff, head of production; Melissa Tifrere, head of integrated production. Production Hemingway Films Ben Quinn, creative director/director; Charlotte Woodhead, exec producer; Sally Hanson, producer; Joan Wu, production manager; Tim Hudson, DP; Kim Rees, production designer; Fiona Chilcott, costume designer; Michele McKaig, key hair & makeup. Editorial Arcade Edit Brad Waskewich, editor; Sila Soyer, partner/exec producer; Sam Barden, assistant editor; Ellen Lavery, producer; Tristian Wake, Flame artist; Mark Popham, Flame assistant. Audio Post Honeymix Eric Thompson, founding partner/mixer; Conrad Sanguineti, mixer; Mary Tomasiewicz, founding partner/exec producer. Color The Mill Fergus McCall, colorist; Rochelle Brown, exec producer; Lucy Gatanis, associate producer; Andrew Ceen, David Franzo, sr. color assistants; Aaliyah Lambert, Stephanie Park, color assistants. VFX Jonah Hall, VFX supervisor. Music Ring The Alarm Jimmy Ascuitto, Stuart Miller, composers; Renee Krumweide, exec producer; Dylan Marder, creative director.
Stain remover Vanish presents this emotional short film--created by BETC Havas, Sao Paulo, and produced by LOBO--that explores the profound consequences of bullying and highlights the importance of open conversations between parents and children. Titled The Bully Monster, the animated film premiered at the Maquinaria Festival in Rio de Janeiro on February 15 in a special edition featuring family-focused programming.
The film’s protagonist is a boy who experiences bullying at school but keeps silent about his suffering. Isolation turns sadness into insecurity, creating invisible emotional scars that only grow in the absence of dialogue. When his mother notices stains on his uniform, these marks become the starting point for a revealing conversation. As words find space to make themselves heard, the stains begin to fade.
This initiative aligns with the Vanish Saves Your Uniform campaign, which, for the past three years during the back-to-school season, has engaged with parents by positioning the brand as a trusted partner in preserving school uniforms. This year, Vanish decided to broaden the conversation, bringing bullying into the debate as the real stain that can impact a child’s life.
The Bully Monster is being screened as preshow material in movie theaters starting February 20 and will also be available on streaming platforms and digital channels. In addition to the film, the campaign will include out-of-home activations and school initiatives through a partnership with Abrace – Preventive Programs, the founding organization of the “Bullying-Free Schools” program, which has been equipping institutions with resources to combat school violence for 12 years.
“Research indicates that stains on a uniform can... Read More
