Excitement is an emotion as well as a visceral feeling. It is a way in which we lose ourselves, which is the essence of the new spot for Swedish horse race betting company ATG.
In it, we follow a woman who wakes up to find a horse in her house, before she is catapulted through a fantastic journey.
Swedish agency Åkestam Holst and Danish director Martin de Thurah via production house Bacon teamed up to create this dream of a film. Through magical realism, subtle sound design, and poetic images, the audience is taken on a breathtaking and almost cathartic journey through the excitement of betting on horses.
(Director de Thurah is handled in the U.S. and U.K. by Epoch Films.)
Credits
Client ATG Agency Åkestam Holst NoA Joakim Khoury, creative director; Mark Ardelius, Jesper Holst, creatives; Harald Larsson, Henrik Sjuodin, stratgists; Helena de Brun, producer; Lotta Person, graphic designer. Production Company Bacon Martin de Thurah, director; Samuel Cantor, exec producer; Axel Herrlin, producer; Alina Gron, production manager; Staffan Kihlbom, 1st AD; Kasper Tuxen, DFF, DP; Greg Shoulder, production designer; Zeke Soderlund, set dresser; Johanna Borggren, stylist; Seth Ericson, stunt coordinator; Oscar Ohlson, drone operator; Daniel Casselby, Drone camera operator; Philip di Luca, horse wrangler. Editorial Bacon CPH Peter Brandt, editor; jasmin Falk Jensen, assistant editor; Louise Ryge, post coordinator. Color & VFX Post BaconX Jan Tvilling, VFX creative director; Elina Carranza-Pitcher, VFX exec producer; Cilie Kragegaard, head of production/sr. producre; Daniella Strand, color/VFX producer; Hannibal Lang, colorist; Mikkel Hansen, Mario Maruska, VFX lead; Kai Hauswirth, Thomas Banner, VFX artists; Lassse Selvli, Soren Knudsen, conform.
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
