Directed by The Perlorian Brothers via Canadian production company Merchant, this 45-second spot for Kicking Horse Coffee from agency Lifelong Crush opens on a donkey looking wistfully at the sun-splashed horses trotting past the humble barn where he spends his days.
His routine is dull and unvarying–until he spots a cobweb-covered motorcycle in the back of the barn. The sound of a revving engine signals the start of the music. At the same time, the song’s breakneck opening accompanies a color-splashed visual of the donkey barreling out of the barn, riding the motorcycle, and doing a donut before going full-throttle into the surrounding valley and onwards to the rest of the world.
The energetic and heartwarming spot captures the exhilaration that a good cup of coffee can provide and serves as an urgent reminder not to let life pass you by. In other words, be that donkey.
Titled “Kickstart Your Heart,” the commercial is being shown on TV and online across Canada and the U.S.
CreditsClient Kicking Horse Coffee Agency Lifelong Crush Christina Yu, creative director. Production Company Merchant The Perlorian Brothers, director; Natasha Braier, DP; Farrah Khaled, Ian Webb, Haley Taylor, exec producers; Andrew Sulliman, line producer. Editorial School Editing Ben Canny, editor; Yumi Suyama, exec producer; David Ngandu, assistant editor. CGI/VFX FABLEfx Kaj Steveman, VFX producer; Ulf Lundgren, VFX supervisor; Nils Lagergren, James Prosser, exec producers; Izmil Idris, production manager; Navaneeth Krishna, Wasim Ali, compositing; Vittoria Marini, Anurag Deshmukh, lighting; Mario Reitbauer, CFX; Dipti Patial, sr. creative rigger; Daniel Fotheringham, character animation director & character animator; Anton Blake, character animator; Aritz Basauri, character build & design; Johan Leuf, motorcycle prop build; Chawalit Jirattikansakul/DA, matchmove; Saurabh Gupta, head of pipeline; Alexander Bulygin, Solomon Ungom, pipeline TD; S.M. Shoaib, cloud/system administrator; Alexandra Berge, consultant relations. Color Grade Alter Ego Wade Odlum, colorist; Hilda Pereira, Jane Garrah, exec producers. VFX & Online Rodeo VFX Connie Dercho, exec producer; Laurent Taillefer, Igor Boros, VFX supervisors; Chloe Vankoughnett, post producer; Cesar Mion, Camille Potvin, Anne Georges, Flame artists; Jeremy Lewis, Flame assistant; Frederic St-Arnaud, matte painter. Audio House Eggplant Picture + Sound Nicola Treadgold, exec producer; Adam Damelin, producer/music supervisor; Nathan Handy, chief audio engineer.
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