Running a small business is stressful at the best of times, but then 2020 happened. That’s why financial management software company Intuit QuickBooks is launching its biggest ever integrated campaign in the U.K. to show how it can provide support, particularly for the self-employed–by “Taking Care of Business.”
This :60–directed by Nick Ball via production house Blink, with visual effects from Time Based Arts–introduces viewers to the hard-nosed QuickBooks team, each member with their financial expertise (and giant personality), walking with attitude through a swanky office. As the spot goes on, we realize that the team consists of teeny tiny people, and this office is in fact on the counter of a fish-and-chips shop complete with a napkin holder door, fork dispenser wall and a pickled egg art installation. The chippy’s pocket-sized financial team is always on hand for whatever the business needs.
Credits
Client Intuit QuickBooks Agency Wieden+Kennedy London Tony Davidson, Iain Tait, executive creative directors; Hollie Walker, Cal Al-Jorani, creative directors; Francesca Van Haverbeke, Florence Deary, creatives; Natasha Johnson, Rose Fairley, producers. Production Blink Nick Ball, director; Patrick Craig, exec producer; Ewen Brown, producer; Steve Annis, DP. Editorial Stitch Tim Hardy, editor. VFX Time Based Arts Tom Johnson, VFX exec producer; Luke Todd, Sam Osborne, VFX supervisor; Lewis Crossfield, colorist; Andrei Verioti, motion graphics; Alex Thursby-Pelham, lead designer. Sound Design & Mix 750MPH Jake Ashwell, Sam Ashwell, sound designers; Martin Critchely, sound producer. Music Supervision Birdbrain Jake Buckley, music supervisor.
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
