In the last few years, many states have passed legislation banning specific books, and critical parts of American history–erasing the stories and contributions of marginalized people in our country. Just recently, Florida banned the use of state and federal funds on DEI programs at state universities. And it doesn’t appear like it will stop there.
So Courageous Conversations and agency Wieden+Kennedy New York teamed on a campaign based on the belief that all students deserve to have an education that represents our true history. The “America Erased” campaign was designed to show the dangerous repercussions of erasing stories that represent American values. A cornerstone of the campaign is this powerful film directed by Omar Jones via Riff Raff Films.
The film shows key pieces of history wiped away from photos and archival footage–with luminary figures like Dr. Martin Luther King banished from the classroom and Ruby Bridges eliminated from textbooks.
Credits
Client Courageous Conversation Agency Wieden+Kennedy New York Marques Gartrell, chief creative officer/creative director; Monica Roebuck, copywriter; Macaihah Broussard, art director; Nick Setounski, head of integrated production; Cecilia Ramirez, producer; Caroline Park, associate producer; Christopher Gonzalez, art producer; Christian Colasuonno, sr. interactive producer; Donovan Triplett, brand strategy director; Mia Lockhart, designer. Production Company Riff Raff Omar Jones, director; Matthew Fone, owner; Matthew Clyde, exec producer; David Wept, producer; Jagger Corcione, line producer; Nem Fisher, production manager; Madison Baker, production coorindator. Editorial Arcade Edit Paul Martinez, editor; Sila Soyer, exec producer; Arlene Perez, producer; Lucas Ferreira, editorial assistant. VFX Preymaker Angus Kneale, Verity Kneale, Melanie Wickham, Clairellen Wallin, Luis Martin, Ija Ochoa, Jabulani Simelane, Edward Lopez, Julian Fitzpatrick, Nathan Anderson, David Grzesik, Hassan Taimur, Casey Herrick, Samantha Woods, Nicholas Young, Wynand de Wet, Kelley Harris, makers. Telecine Company 3 Sofie Borup, colorist; Shannen Troup, producer; Kevin Breheny, head of production. Audio Post Sonic Union Steve Rosen, sound designer/mix engineer; Justine Cortale, studio director. Music Company Walker Sara Matarazzo, managing director; Neha Ewell, Dottie Scharr, sr. producers; Sam Zirin, associate producer; Malcolm Parson, composer; Garrett Chabot, music editor.
Can a sip of coffee spark progress? Family-owned company rolls out its first-ever brand awareness endeavor and illustrates a sustainable future.
A startling statistic: 80 million plastic coffee pods go into landfills daily. One week of this waste could circle the Earth, while one day could stretch from New York to San Francisco.
Committed to using coffee as a vehicle to create enduring change, the responsibly-sourced coffee brand, San Francisco Bay Coffee – which is owned by the Rogers Family Company – along with its creative and media agency of record, Cutwater, have partnered together to launch an all-new brand platform and integrated “One Small Sip For a Better Tomorrow” campaign which includes a series of playful, vibrant animation films, including this anthem piece which shows various people drinking coffee--with a flood of coffee pods falling out of their java mugs.
The remedy: San Francisco Bay Coffee and its certified commercially compostable OneCUP™ coffee pods.
Production and animation were spearheaded by Psyop and Wizz. The pieces were brought to life by directing duo Remus & Kiki. Music, sound design, and audio post were executed by Antfood.
“San Francisco Bay Coffee is the David in a category of Goliaths, yet they hold more true to values and practices we all want from our coffee brands. In addition to great tasting coffee, they innovate toward a better tomorrow. So if we want to make these great leaps of change, all it now takes is one small sip,” explained Cutwater founder and chief creative officer Chuck McBride. “We chose animation because the story needed a special way to help people understand the benefits of compostable pods in a not too serious way.”
