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.
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
