Part of Droga5's "Chapter Two" campaign for Prudential, this docu short introduces us to Jennifer McKinley, a retiree who finally gets the chance to pursue her passion and aspiration.
The film was directed by Carol Lewis, a retired postal worker who too is realizing her ambition–to become a director.
Her directorial debut also reflected the pursuits of two other contributing retirees–IT director turned composer Martin Welling and retired agency producer Jon Marias who served as an exec producer on the project.
Credits
Client Prudential Agency Droga5 New York David Droga, creative chairman; Ted Royer, chief creative officer; Kevin Brady, executive creative director; Ray Del Savio, Jerry Hoak, creative directors; Bryan Wolff, Ant White, copywriters; Daniel Sumarna, Karen Short, art directors; Sally-Ann Dale, chief creation officer; Ben Davies, head of broadcast production; Anders Hedberg, sr. producer; David Justus, technology director; Teodor Florea, head of brand strategy; Zach Foster, brand strategy director. Production Brainwashed Martin+Lindsay, directors; Carol Lewis, co-director; John Marias, executive producer; Kathy Saelee, production manager. Editorial Cut+Run NY Isaac Chen, editor; Ryan Harrington, assistant editor; Rana Martin, Carr Schilling, exec producers; Remy Foxx, Ashley Thompson, producers. Post Company 3. Music Sion Dey/Martin Welling Assets, composers.
Director Marc André Debruyne--who’s handled by production house Open Swim for U.S. representation--brings Coca-Cola’s legacy of celebrating holiday traditions to life in this campaign spotlighting Filipino Balikbayan boxes. The spot--out of Toronto agencies Taxi and VML--features Tita Rosita, owner of the oldest Filipino-Canadian grocery store in Toronto, whose much-adored shop was wrapped like a massive Coca-Cola-themed Balikbayan box as she prepared hundreds of boxes for customers to send their loved ones, with Coca-Cola paying for the boxes and the cost of shipping them to the Philippines. The spot is a testament to the brand’s prevailing facilitation of cultural and generational connectivity, especially during the holiday season.
The collaborative project--produced by Toronto production company MOWAD--was particularly special for Debruyne, who’s Filipino, because of the large presence of Filipino crew members on set. “It’s a totally surreal feeling when a work project crosses over into your personal life. It’s not too often that happens,” shares Debruyne. “The number of Balikbayan boxes I’ve sent home since I was a child, being surrounded by so many Filipinos on set – both crew and cast, and even being served pancit by Tita Rosita for lunch (and getting yelled at after because I didn’t have seconds) brought back so many wonderful memories of my mom. It was such a fun vibe on set. This wasn’t even a job, it was truly something special.”
