Purina created a community, Find Your Old Friend, to help individuals find their horses from the past. So far, the initiative has celebrated over 50 reunions between people and their beloved horses.
This film celebrates Richard, who has fourth stage cancer, reuniting with his horse Dusty after 15 years.
The Martin Agency helped launch the Find Your Old Friend initiative back in May 2018 with a film April & Dixie that told the story of a girl and a horse born days of each other, growing into best friends and eventually separating. It reminded people that an equine friend from their past may be out there still and people in our group are willing to help find them.
Richard & Dusty is the latest film in that Purina initiative.
Credits
Client Purina Mills Agency The Martin Agency Karen Costello, chief creative officer; Jerry Hoak, EVP, executive creative director; Steve Sage, VP, creative director; Alex Herwig, sr. art director; Brandon Willingham, sr. copywriter; Kim Zaninovich, VP, executive producer; Coleman Sweeney, content producer. Production SpotMPG Alvaro Aro, DP; Marianne Griesedieck, producer; Aleta Harris, exec producer. Editorial Running With Scissors Jim Vaile, editor; Cheryl Lage, producer; Brian Creech, head of production. Color MadBox Post Matt West, colorist; Macy West, exec producer. Music APM Audio Post Rainmaker Bob Arno, audio engineer.
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
