Directors Colin Hesterly and Le Cube worked together to recreate real stories of customers and Michelin employees in playful spots produced by Not To Scale New York for Michelin with agency Virtue Worldwide. As each “Real Heroes” narrative unfolds, we learn about the role of the Michelin employee when they went above and beyond the call of duty while helping customers in need.
Hesterly and Le Cube combined their skills in breathing life and personality into animated characters and storylines. Infusing a fun and quirky charm that feels silly yet sophisticated, the directors were inspired by the visual styles of classic UPA cartoons and School House Rock, bringing a modern eye to an iconic style.
In “Meg,” the title character is a mom who’s driving to the museum with her four boys as passengers when their car’s front tire picks up a nail. Michelin comes to the rescue, getting them back on the road and on to the museum.
“The agency gave us these wonderful stories, which allowed us to explore and have fun,” said Hesterly. “If you watch the films with a discerning eye, you’ll begin to notice all the tire-shaped objects–everything from the trees to the characters’ shapes themselves.”
Credits
Client Michelin Agency Virtue Worldwide Emma Starzacher, head of production; Momo Berg-Munch, producer; Tyler Pierce, creative director; Garret Mutz, Imran Hafiz, creatives. Production/Animation Studio Not To Scale/Le Cube Ralph Karam, Colin Hesterly, directors; Eve Strickman, Gustavo Karam, Juan Manuel Freire, exec producers; Brittany Wimmer, Antonela Castro, line producers; Martin Lara, animation director; Colin Hesterly, art director; Martin Vinograd, art; Katherine Pryor, Amelia Vidal. Aleta Vidal, Francisco Luque, Adriano Nizoli, Eugenia Casal, Sara Boix, Guy Charnaux, Cintia Czeszczewik, Memé Candia, Pablo Cuello, Sergio Kechu, 2D animators; Juan Pablo Barbieri, Florencia Laurenzi, Julieta Culaciati, 2D animation assistants; Jardeson Rocha, Erik Righetti, Javier Bianchi, animation; Vicente Ziegler, Christian Rey Willis, 3D modeling; Vicente Ziegler, Rodrigo Lopez, 3D animators; Ralph Karam, Jardeson Rocha, compositing.
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
