Originally in response to the rise of anti-Asian violence, the team at Wieden+Kennedy created a thought-piece film, “Call It COVID,” in 2020. It began as a self-initiated project with no client, no brief, and no budget–and became a Cannes Lions award-winning film that earned millions of dollars in donated support from a number of partners and influencers.
Now this time around, W+K–again sans a client–has released a follow-up film titled “The Myth.” In this case the myth is that of The Model Minority, a false narrative weaponizing Asian Americans against other ethnic groups.
Like “Call it COVID,” the new film is born from the Asian experience but it bridges the conversations that are currently happening in silos. Conversations about what it means not just to be Asian but to be Black. Latinx. Indigenous. American. By acknowledging the thing that affects us all: The Model Minority Myth. The Model Minority Myth has told us not only what Asian Americans are, but what other racial and ethnic groups are by comparison.
In a time of unprecedented unrest and uprooting, this film dispels the myth keeping us apart, and reclaims what it has deprived us of: belonging. Belonging to a country. Belonging to a community. Belonging to ourselves. It poses the idea of belonging not as something to be fought and won, but instead, something to be offered and accepted. Between each other, and within ourselves.
“The Myth” was directed and shot by Jackie Bao via Biscuit Filmworks.
Credits
Agency W+K Portland Titania Tran, creative director, writer & voice; Dan Koo, creative director, art director; Hayley Goggin, Mimi Munoz, executive producers; Mauricio Granado, sr. producer lead; Jason Kreher, house mother; Orlee Tatarka, head of production; Alicia Kuna, studio manager; Hui Chen Ou Yang, sr. studio designer. Production Biscuit Filmworks Jackie Bao, director/DP; Isaiah Seret, creative director; Shawn Lacy, partner/managing director; Jordana Freydberg, exec producer; Sean Moody, head of production; Quentin Lee, Stanley Yung, producers; Han Yan, production supervisor; Michael B. Williams; assistant production supervisor; Aaron Shershow, unit production manager; Hanrui Wang, production designer. Editorial Joint JB Jacobs, editor; Ling Chua, associate editor; Kathleen Russell, exec producer; Catherine Liu, head of production; Jenny Greenfield, sr. post producer. VFX/Finish Joint Stefan Smith, VFX CD/lead Flame; Kevin Alfoldy, finish artist; Nirad “bugs” Russell, exec producer; Catherine Liu, head of production; Zai Outlaw, VFX coordinator. Music Supervision Walker Sara Matarazzo, Stephanie Pigott, exec producers; Danielle Soury, sr. producer; Wilson Trouve, composer. Cartoon Music Company & Additional Music Score A Score Jordan Passman, owner/EP. Audio Joint Natalie Huizenga, audio mixer and composition & arrangement; Candace Mortier, associate audio engineer; Kathleen Russell, exec producer; Catherine Liu, head of production; Louise Woodward, audio producer, and composition & arrangement. Telecine Company 3 Tom Poole, colorist; Kevin Breheny, telecine producer. Found Footage Center for Asian American Media: Memories to Light; KFMB CBS 8
When dozens of Klick Health team members said they wouldn’t be able to hug loved ones over the festive season, the agency turned to AI and other magic to orchestrate a series of sentimental, surprise reunions captured in its “Holiday Hugs” video. The heartwarming four-minute video, benefitting the D.C.-based Foundation for Social Connection (F4SC), parallels recent findings from a Maru/Blue Public Opinion survey commissioned by Klick.
The poll found 74 percent of Americans and Canadians won’t be able to hug at least one person they wish they could over the holidays. And like those in the video, survey participants cited geographical distance and loved ones having passed away as the leading factors preventing their hugs.
“I just wish I could really squeeze her right now,” says teary-eyed New York Klickster Kari Bocassi watching her AI-generated hug with her sister Marlene, moments before she bursts onto the set for a long in-person embrace. The siblings have spent the past 14 years caring for their mother since her Alzheimer’s diagnosis, but haven’t been together for the holidays since Marlene moved to Virginia. Similarly, Toronto’s Fred Duarte gets the bear hug of his life when his brother Rico, who lives in Brazil, walks into Klick’s production studio for their first holiday reunion in seven years.
Directed by James Cooper via Cooper Films, “Holiday Hugs” also taps into the fact that hugs don’t just make people feel better emotionally, they also have numerous health benefits. According to the National Institutes of Health, hugs can lower blood pressure and boost the immune system.
“There’s nothing quite like the warmth and reassurance of a heartfelt hug,” said Klick’s chief creative officer Rich Levy. “With ‘Holiday... Read More
