Pop icon Kesha and her younger brother Sage, director Ben Smith at Mill+, and ad agency McCann NY have teamed to create a music video for March for Our Lives that dramatizes the cycle of gun violence and reminds young people that voting is the only way to end it.
Just like gun violence in America, the video repeats over and over again–and in chain-reaction Rube Goldberg-esque fashion. The piece features a song, written the day after the Parkland shooting by Sage who was a senior in high school at the time. The song is performed by Sage, Kesha and up-and-coming rapper Chika. The film includes a memorial scene, honoring actual victims of gun violence from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, the Pulse Nightclub shooting, as well as everyday gun violence in different parts of Chicago. Footage supplied by David Hogg, from inside his classroom the day-of, is also included, to remind viewers of the personal nature of the gun-violence epidemic. Everyone involved hopes to increase voter turnout and change gun laws forever.
Credits
Client March For Our Lives Sarah Chadwick, Sofie Whitney, project strategists & coordinators; Ryan Deitsch, content creator; Jackie Corin, national outreach director; Matt Deitsch, chief strategist. Agency McCann New York Andre De Castro, Nick Larson, creatives; Gaby Levy, producer; Sean Bryan, Tom Murphy, chief creative officers; Joyce King Thomas, creative advisor; Nathy Aviram, chief production officer; Rob Reilly, global creative chairman; Susan Young, Daniela Vojta, executive creative directors. Production Mill+ Ben Smith, director; Ian Bearce, Christina Thompson, exec producers; Tia Perkins, producer; Andrew Hollingsworth, Danika Casas, production coordinators; Kyle Cody, shoot supervisor. Editorial The Mill Ryan McKenna, editor; Matthew Campbell, edit assist. VFX The Mill Christina Thompson, exec producer; Grace Tober, producer; Roshni Kakas, line producer; Umesh Chand, production coordinator; Angus Kneale, chief creative officer; Ben Smith, creative director; Kyle Cody, shoot supervisor, 2D lead artist; Venuprasath D, 2D lead artist; Christian Nielsen, 3D lead artist; Molly Intersimone, Badarinath Chinimilli, Prasanna Bhatt, Rajeshkumar K, 2D artists; Tim Kim, Ryan Federman, Todd Akita, Tighe Rzankowski, Dave Barosin, Weicheih Yu, Sudakshina Sridharan, Vittal Kuntla, Fazal Khan, Giri Prasath S, Raj Kumar M, Sunil MM, Sendil Kumar J, 3D artists; Scott McGinley, Alex Allain, John Wilson, animation; Clemens den Exter, design; Laura Nash and Wendy Eduarte, motion graphics; Anish Mohan, asset supervisor; Senthil Murugan Balasundaram, tracking supervisor; Mikey Rossiter, colorist. Audio Sound Lounge Marshall Grupp, sound designer; Tom Jucarone, mixer; Becca Falborn, sr. producer. Foley Alchemy Post Sound Music Music supervised by Rob Kaplan and Aaron Mercer from Wool & Tusk; “Safe” Track: Produced and Engineered by Drew Pearson; Mixed by Jon Castelli; Engineer for Mix by Ingmar Carlson; Mastered by Emily Lazar at The Lodge, NY; Assisted by Chris Allgood; Written by Kesha, Sage, Chika, Pebe Sebert, and Drew Pearson; Chika vocals recorded by Mitch Davis at Pull Music; Executive produced by Lagan Sebert and Hampton Howerton for Vector Management; Digital marketing, Jon Romero for Vector Management; Kesha appears courtesy of Kemosabe Records/RCA Records
When dozens of Klick Health team members said they wouldn’t be able to hug loved ones over the festive season, the agency turned to AI and other magic to orchestrate a series of sentimental, surprise reunions captured in its “Holiday Hugs” video. The heartwarming four-minute video, benefitting the D.C.-based Foundation for Social Connection (F4SC), parallels recent findings from a Maru/Blue Public Opinion survey commissioned by Klick.
The poll found 74 percent of Americans and Canadians won’t be able to hug at least one person they wish they could over the holidays. And like those in the video, survey participants cited geographical distance and loved ones having passed away as the leading factors preventing their hugs.
“I just wish I could really squeeze her right now,” says teary-eyed New York Klickster Kari Bocassi watching her AI-generated hug with her sister Marlene, moments before she bursts onto the set for a long in-person embrace. The siblings have spent the past 14 years caring for their mother since her Alzheimer’s diagnosis, but haven’t been together for the holidays since Marlene moved to Virginia. Similarly, Toronto’s Fred Duarte gets the bear hug of his life when his brother Rico, who lives in Brazil, walks into Klick’s production studio for their first holiday reunion in seven years.
Directed by James Cooper via Cooper Films, “Holiday Hugs” also taps into the fact that hugs don’t just make people feel better emotionally, they also have numerous health benefits. According to the National Institutes of Health, hugs can lower blood pressure and boost the immune system.
“There’s nothing quite like the warmth and reassurance of a heartfelt hug,” said Klick’s chief creative officer Rich Levy. “With ‘Holiday... Read More
