Savanah Leaf of Park Pictures directed this two-and-a-half minute film for Vrbo out of agency Crispin Porter Bogusky (CPB). The piece features John Legend and real-life families who didn’t realize they’d be experiencing surprise reunions with loved ones while cameras rolled. The scenes play out as Legend performs a new version of the classic song “I Can See Clearly Now.”
During this week’s season finale of The Voice, Vrbo released this film, titled After a Long Wait, which celebrates joyful reunions between loved ones who had been apart for some time.
Legend joined with close collaborator and singer/songwriter Raphael Saadiq to produce the song. And Leaf, whose credits include Gary Clark Jr.s “This Land” music video, was brought on board to direct.
Credits
Client Vrbo Lish Kennedy, VP of global brand; Danny Parker, global creative director; Kate Rush Sheehy, sr. director, global brand strategy; Hayley McKeon, sr. brand manager. Agency CPB Jorge Calleja, chief creative officer; Jason Pierce, Rafa Segri, Kiko Mattoso, creative directors; Kimberly McDonald, associate creative director; Divya Seshadri, sr. art director; Meghan O’Neill, sr. copywriter; Sloan Schroeder, VP, executive producer. Production Park Pictures Savanah Leaf, director; Jackie Kelman Bisbee, Cody Ryder, exec producers; Anne Bobroff, sr. head of production; Chelsea Schwiering, head of production; Alexandra Lisee, producer. Editorial Final Cut LA Ari Tomasettig, editor; Suzy Ramirez, exec producer. Color Framestore London Simon Bourne, colorist; Chris Anthony, sr. producer. Finishing Hecho Studio LA Gail Butler, postproduction director. Audio Post Lime Studios Matt Miller, engineer; Susie Boyajan, exec producer. Talent and Music Strategy 360 Agency
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.”
