A family gets an elf-guided tour of Santa’s workshop in the North Pole. However when a youngster veers off into another room, we find Santa’s deep, dark delivery secret, FedEx Office.
Aaron Stoller of Biscuit Filmworks directed this comedy spot–in which Santa tries to cover his tracks but to no avail–for BBDO New York. A :30 of "North Pole" is running on broadcast and cable programming while a longer :43 version debuts online.
Client FedEx Agency BBDO New York David Lubars, chief creative officer, worldwide; Greg Hahn, chief creative officer, New York; Peter Kain, Gianfranco Arena, executive creative directors; Paul Alsante, creative director/copywriter; Matt Nall, creative director/art director; David Rolfe, director of integrated production; Amy Wertheimer, group executive producer. Production Biscuit Filmworks Aaron Stoller, director; Shawn Lacy, managing director; Holly Vega, exec producer; Mercedes Allen-Sarria, Rachel Glaub, heads of production; Mala Vasan, producer. Editorial NO6 Jason MacDonald, editor; Malia Rose, producer. Postproduction Company 3 Tim Masick, colorist. Audio Heard City Keith Reynaud, mixer/sound designer.
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
