An orchestra plays “Singing in the Rain” while the camera moves in through the vines to show a jungle in the rain. An energetic elephant tap dances across the screen, blasting his trunk as the other animals look on from the trees. Some tropical birds become excited and start singing along as the elephant jumps into a pool of clear water. The narrator reveals the reason for all this excitement is the efforts of GE to build cleaner jet engines, trains and power plants that run cleaner. This effort is called “ecoimgination” the drive to build more environmentally friendly technologies. The commercial ends by displaying the GE logo and the phase “imagination at work.”
Agency: BBDO North America, Atmosphere BBDO David Lubars, chief creative officer; Don Schneider, executive creative director; Ted Shaine, senior creative director/art director; Tom Darbyshire, senior creative director/copywriter; Regina Ebel, executive producer; Rachel Seitel, producer; Rani Vaz, director music/radio production. Production Company: PYTKA Joe Pytka, director/DP; Tara Fitzpatrick, executive producer; Linda Masse, producer. Shot at Universal Studios Stages, Universal City, Calif. Editorial: Crew Cuts Sherri Margulies and Matt Shapiro, editors. Postproduction: Nice Shoes Chris Ryan, colorist. Visual Effects: Semerad Johnnie Semerad, animation director/visual effects supervisor; Amy Taylor and Steve Holiner, executive producers; Boris Ustaev and Anderson Ko, lead animators; Sandor Toledo, Sam Cuttriss, Chip Lotierzo, Michael Lasker and Steve Parish, animators; Kris Rivel, CGI supervisor/technical director; Dave Bernkopf, assistant set supervisor; Steve Koenig, Kim Harv
The Best Work You May Never See: Diamond, Director Mark Zibert “Finish It” For Terry Fox Foundation
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