Gatorade’s new “Messi Don’t Go Down” campaign debuts with a 60-second TV and digital spot featuring soccer superstar Lionel Messi from agency TBWAChiatDay. The work highlights Messi’s unique style of play in which he refuses to dive, flop or give in during adverse situations on and off the field. Messi’s message, according to the commercial, is that “life has more in store for you, if you just stay up.”
Stuart McIntyre of production house Imperial Woodpecker directed the Messi spot with VFX from The Mill.
Credits
Client Gatorade Agency TBWA\Chiat\Day Brent Anderson, executive creative director; Renato Fernandez, worldwide creative director; Mark Peters, creative director; Brian O’Rourke, director of production; Guia Iacomin, executive producer; Chris Spencer, sr. producer. Production Imperial Woodpecker Stuart McIntyre, director; Doug Halbert, Charlie Cocuzza, exec producers; Matt Wersinger, line producer. Editorial Whitehouse Charlie Harvey, editor; Devon Bradbury, assistant editor; Jonlyn Williams, producer. VFX The Mill Bill Higgins, lead 2D artist; Tara DeMarco, Krysten Richardson, 2D artists; Andy Wheater, matte painter; Matt Longwell, Massive (crowd simulation); Enca Kaul, exec producer; Ben Sposato, producer; Pat DeVaney, production coordinator. Postproduction The Mill Adam Scott, colorist; Thatcher Peterson, exec producer. Music Barking Owl Kelly Bayett, creative director; KC Dossett, producer. Sound Design stimmung Gus Koven, sound designer; Kristina Iwankiw, producer. Audio Post Formosa John Bolen, mixer; Hermann Thumann, second mixer; Lauren Cascio, exec producer. Research STALKR Colleen Cavanaugh Anthony, exec producer; Oliver Merchant, producer; Ed Cook, research.
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
