December 21 is College Signing Day—the annual event where top NCAA football programs do their best to attract talented Black athletes.
Many of these universities are in states where “college football is religion,” and where a championship, trophy or title is the ultimate prize. Which means no effort is spared in luring and enticing the best Black athletic talent in the country.
What’s eye-opening is that these same universities hail from places at the forefront of Black voter suppression and disenfranchisement.
This film points out the paradox of Black college athletes playing for schools in states where lawmakers actively muzzle the voices of Black communities. Its goal is to start a movement of awareness—encouraging recruits to weigh their options with a broader perspective of the kinds of institutions, and the people behind the institutions, hoping to sign them.
Talented, young Black athletes have a choice, and they deserve to be reminded of what they’re really choosing when it comes to many football programs in many states across America.
This Yards For Votes piece was directed by Kiran Koshy of production house Slash Dynamic. Koshy and Christian Uka served as creative directors for the initiative.
Credits
Production Company/Creative Slash Dynamic Kiran Koshy, director, creative director; Christian Uka, creative director; Brian Dunaway, copywriter; Charles Gerstner, DP. Talent Daniel Uka. Voice Mansa Wakili Editorial Checkmate Edit Peter Tarter, editor. Music Shindig Austin Shupe, composer; Scott Glenn, creative director; Debbi Landon, exec producer; Caroline Hudson, head of production. Color Apache Digital Jennifer Gaida, DI colorist; Kevin Sian, color assistant; Stefanie Schaldenbrand, head of production; LaRue Anderson, exec producer. Typographer Jayr Sotelo
NHS England, M&C Saatchi UK, Director Tom Tagholm Team On PSA Highlighting The Overlooked Signs Of A Stroke
National Health Service (NHS) England has unveiled a multichannel campaign, “Act FAST,” to raise awareness of the individual signs of a stroke and get people to call 999 as soon as they suspect they may be experiencing any one symptom. The push, which is part of the ongoing “Help Us, Help You” campaign, was developed in partnership with M&C Saatchi UK.
The campaign depicts everyday situations where everything might seem relatively normal, but where there’s the sign of someone experiencing a stroke.
A key component of the campaign is this :30--directed by Tom Tagholm of Various Films--which sets up the idea that initially, a stroke might not seem like much, highlighting key symptoms: from struggling to use a paint roller, to not being able to smile when watching TV, to slurring your speech when reading a story to your grandchild. The PSA emphasizes that time is critical, ending with the line: “Face or arm or speech, at the first sign, it’s time to call 999.”
Jo Bacon, Group CEO, M&C Saatchi UK, said, “We want to ensure people take action on the first symptom, rather than waiting for more conclusive signs. To help them understand that even when everything seems normal, something serious might be happening.”
Matt Lee, executive creative director, M&C Saatchi UK, commented: “This is important work. We wanted to explore that precise moment when your world shifts, quietly yet powerfully, off its axis during a stroke. We highlight how a tiny external moment can actually be seismic—an extraordinary gear change, framed in a really ordinary way.”
Director Tagholm shared, “My Dad suffered a stroke a few years ago and was saved from the worst by acting quickly, and by the work of the NHS. So there’s... Read More