CP+B in Boulder, Colo., created this “Coaches vs. Cancer: Hardwood Heroes” campaign tied into the NCAA basketball championship March Madness for automotive client Infiniti. Centerpiece of the campaign is an eight-part mini-documentary focusing on two basketball teams consisting of cancer survivors who will play a live game during Final Four weekend. The game will be broadcast on CBS during the NCAA semifinals.
Guiding the teams are two former NCAA basketball coaches, Tom Pender and Jim Harrick.
Here is the intro video to the campaign directed by Richard Bullock of Hungry Man.
More than 70 million March Madness brackets are filled out every year in hopes of taking home a big payday. But this year, Infiniti created a bracket that actually gives back. For each round of the NCAA tournament, every winning pick selected at www.cbssports.com/infiniti generates a donation for the Coaches vs. Cancer charity.
Credits
Client Infiniti Motor Company Ltd. Agency CP+B, Boulder, Colo. Ralph Watson, VP/chief creative officer; Michael Raso, VP/executive creative director; Shannon Gibney, associate creative director/art director; Ryan Contillo, sr. copywriter; Kate Hildebrant, VP/director of video production; Aymi Beltramo, VP/executive integrated producer; Jackie Maloney, integrated producer; Chelsea Lines, content manager; John Frazier, John Heathfield, director of product strategy. Production Hungry Man Richard Bullock, director; Leora Backer Mohr, 1st assistant director; Kevin Byrne, Dan Duffy, Mino Jarjoura, Nancy Hacohen, exec producers; Josh Rothfield, producer; Alex Biotopoulos, production supervisor; Shane Kelly, DP. Editorial Plus Productions, Boulder, Colo. Nick Lofting, editor; Nick Rodriguez, assistant editor; Lennon Barnica, sr. producer. Postproduction Company 3 Stefan Sonnenfeld, sr. colorist; Rhubie Jovanov, telecine executive producer. Visual Effects Method Studios, Santa Monica, Calif. Kelly Bumbarger, lead compositor; Robert Owens, VFX exec producer; Paula Jimenez, VFX producer. Music JSM Music, NY Joel Simon, chief creative officer. Track: Uplifting Sparse Audio Post Lime Studios, Santa Monica Rohan Young, mixer; Susie Boyajan, exec producer; Ben Tomastik, mix engineer assistant.
Director Marc André Debruyne--who’s handled by production house Open Swim for U.S. representation--brings Coca-Cola’s legacy of celebrating holiday traditions to life in this campaign spotlighting Filipino Balikbayan boxes. The spot--out of Toronto agencies Taxi and VML--features Tita Rosita, owner of the oldest Filipino-Canadian grocery store in Toronto, whose much-adored shop was wrapped like a massive Coca-Cola-themed Balikbayan box as she prepared hundreds of boxes for customers to send their loved ones, with Coca-Cola paying for the boxes and the cost of shipping them to the Philippines. The spot is a testament to the brand’s prevailing facilitation of cultural and generational connectivity, especially during the holiday season.
The collaborative project--produced by Toronto production company MOWAD--was particularly special for Debruyne, who’s Filipino, because of the large presence of Filipino crew members on set. “It’s a totally surreal feeling when a work project crosses over into your personal life. It’s not too often that happens,” shares Debruyne. “The number of Balikbayan boxes I’ve sent home since I was a child, being surrounded by so many Filipinos on set – both crew and cast, and even being served pancit by Tita Rosita for lunch (and getting yelled at after because I didn’t have seconds) brought back so many wonderful memories of my mom. It was such a fun vibe on set. This wasn’t even a job, it was truly something special.”
