On Monday, June 17, Mastercard continued its support of World Pride with a street sign installation at the intersection of Gay and Christopher Streets called “Acceptance Street.” The street sign continues Mastercard’s #AcceptanceMatters initiative and is a symbol of support for the growing LGBTQIA+ community, 50 years after Stonewall.
The official street sign now expands from Christopher and Gay to now read Christopher and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Non-Binary, Pansexual, Two Spirit, + Street. Mastercard worked with the city’s Human Rights Commission to sanction the signs which were then crafted by the same company that builds street signs for New York City. The effort signifies Mastercard’s ongoing commitment to inclusion, diversity and acceptance.
Cheryl Guerin, EVP marketing & communications, Mastercard North America stated, “At Mastercard, inclusion and acceptance are what we believe in as a company and promote within our company’s culture. We fully stand by this belief. As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, we want to remind everyone that inclusion and acceptance matter. We have made progress but there is still work to do to ensure that everyone has a way to express their true selves. A day with 100% acceptance would truly be priceless.”
This video chronicles the “Acceptance Street” sign installation, the agency behind the newly named thoroughfare being McCann XBC.
Credits
Client Mastercard Cheryl Guerin, EVP, North America marketing & communications; Jim Issokson, SVP, Noth America communications; Seema Chibber, SVP, North America consumer marketing & sponsorships Agency McCann XBC Pierre Lipton, EVP, global executive creative director; Adrian Botan, global creative director; Pete Jones, Joel Rodriguez, EVPs/executive creative directors; Carlos Wigle, Evan Benedetto, VPs, creative directors; Antonia Orol-Berlinger, art director; Noah Benezra, sr. copywriter; Morgan Mack, copywriter; Lucas Crigle, associate creative director; Mikayla Lapierre, jr. art director; Hope Nardini, copywriter; Nathy Aviram, chief production officer; Judi Nierman, SVP, executive producer; Christine Lane, SVP, executive producer-innovation; Dagmar Wong, sr. integrated producer; Liz O’Connor, producer; Amber Briscoe, sr. integrated producer; Oriol Bombi, EVP, global strategy director; Dan Cohn, SVP, group strategy director; Rosalind Mowitt, sr. strategist; Nina Kossoff, strategist; Danielle Karr, VP, social strategy director; Kristen Levy, social strategist; Eric Perini, Brett Berman, Aude Cuenod, content creators; Jeremy Miller, chief communications officer. Sign Production Company Traction Creative. Production/Post Shannon Botts, Craft post producer; Benny Karas, Craft colorist; John Smith, Craft audio mixer; Ilya Katsap, Craft, Deb McMurtrey, Ted Maniatakos, Craft editors; Christine Doughty, Craft assistant editor; Adam Hirsch, Craft SVP, head of content, North America; Ray Klonsky, Craft executive producer; Amalia Bradstreet, Craft line producer; Dave Waldron, DP; Carrie Cheek, camera operator; Tyler Postiglione, Tim Race, sound mixers; Jacqueline Helene, hair/makeup artist.
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
