TD Ameritrade looked to recreate the most iconic training montages from the Rocky movie franchise but with a new hero and coach. Jim and an aspiring investor, who is already confident but wants to get better. Deploying the iconic “Gonna Fly Now” Rocky soundtrack, we see the investor trainee get stronger and smarter before our eyes–dovetailing nicely with TD Ameritrade’s new “Where Smart Investors Get Smarter” campaign created in partnership with Havas New York.
Harry Bernstein, Havas NY chief creative officer, said, “It started with a simple insight: knowledgeable hungry investors can go to TDA (TD Ameritrade) to become smarter. So we brought this insight to life, in the literal sense, by tapping into nostalgia and the successful hungry trope of one of the most powerful and unforgettable training montages from the Rocky franchise. Fueled by iconic music and imagery, we showed what this smarter training looked like from the inside of a trader’s mind. We even had Rocky star Ivan Drago—Dolph Lundgren, who has a 160 IQ—make a guest appearance, further fueling and blurring the lines of reality and daydream.”
Titled “Training Montage,” the spot was directed by Brian Aldrich of production company Furlined.
Credits
Client TD Ameritrade Agency Havas New York Harry Bee, chief creative officer; Israel Garber, global executive creative director; Peter Gosselin, executive creative director; Jay Hunt, group creative director; Kevin Kearse, Akos Papp, creative directors; Chandler Bullock, copywriter; Allyn Scherr, art director; Tim Maleeny, president, chief strategy officer; Elaine Purcell, co-head of strategic planning; Jim Howell, strategy director; Cathy Pitegoff, head of production; Arlene Steinwald, executive broadcast producer; Victoria Lepham, jr. producer. Production Furlined Brian Aldrich, director; Jay Wakefield, exec producer; Jason Gilbert, line producer; Corey Walter, DP. Editorial Arcade Will Hasell, editor; Andrew Cravotta, post producer. Postproduction The Mill Mikey Rossiter, colorist; Luis Martin, sr. post producer; Kieran Hanrahan, lead Flame artist. Audio Post Sound Lounge Rob DiFondi, audio engineer; Lauren Mullen, producer. Music "Gonna Fly Now," from "Rocky" franchise
Blinkink director Jack Brown created this stop motion film to tell a handmade story for Tekla’s holiday campaign.
Established in Copenhagen in 2017, Tekla was born from a desire to bring modernity and freedom of expression to the homeware category. As a brand, it rejects rapid trend cycles by designing for longevity, with an uncompromising focus on quality and responsible production. Brown’s use of stop-motion animation, using only Tekla fabrics, places both the brand’s story and its values front and center.
The film takes us on the journey of a teddy bear exploring the enchanted interiors of the Tekla Copenhagen store. The vibe feels dreamlike and the addition of stop motion adds a tenderness to the film. Inspired by the stories of Hans Christian Andersen, the campaign features iconic figures and nods to his fairytales; the towering mattresses of The Princess and the Pea, the magical umbrella of The Sandman, and the floating luggage of The Flying Trunk.
Brown said, “What an amazing little project this was, and for such a great brand. Tekla was such a cool client to work with. I suggested making the whole ad out of their fabrics and within 24 hours, there were boxes of beautiful fabrics being delivered for us to cut to pieces. Everything you see is about the size of an A4 sheet of paper and all hand cut, stitched and animated by a very small team of very talented people. Anita Bruvere was the lead builder and animator and did such an amazing job of turning all these tiny pieces of fabric into a magical world.”
