Michel Gondry of Partizan directed this visual brand spot conceived by BBDO New York for FedEx, turning mundane overnight delivery into a magical experience–particularly magical for the happy recipients of toys and other shipped goodies.
E-commerce takes on a visually arresting dynamic as laptops fly like birds through the air, and toys parachute down onto the front porches of houses.
A voiceover relates, “What we do every night is like something out of a strange dream. Except that the next morning, it all makes sense.”
Credits
Client FedEx Agency BBDO New York David Lubars, chief creative officer, worldwide; Greg Hahn, chief creative officer, NY; Gianfranco Arena, Peter Kain, executive creative directors; Tom Kraemer, sr. creative director/copywriter; Dan Kenneally, creative director/art director; David Rolfe, director of integrated production; Amy Wertheimer, group executive producer; Sofia Doktori, sr. content producer; Rani Vaz, head of music production. Production Partizan Michel Gondry, director; Shawn Kim, DP; Maxwell Orgell, production designer; Raffi Adlan, producer; Joseph DeBartolo, production manager. Editorial Exile Eric Zumbrunnen, editor; Christopher Fetsch, assistant editor. Post/VFX Method Studios Bennett Lieber, sr. producer; Doug Luka, VFX supervisor. Color Company 3 Tom Poole, colorist. Music Barking Owl Audio Post Sound Lounge Tom Jucarone, mixer.
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
