This anthem spot for GE along with three :30s are running during NBC’s broadcast of the Winter Olympic Games.
Conceived by BBDO New York, this “What Matters” campaign touches upon the technological advancements that GE has made. Yet those advances pale by comparison to what they mean for people in everyday life–like a mom whose premature baby benefited from GE innovation. Yet to this grateful mother, the technology isn’t what matters–instead it’s that she can take her baby daughter home tomorrow. And for the grandma who’s on a plane with GE tech advances, what matters is that she will see her grandson’s school play. And for a lad whose community is illuminated by GE, what matters is he has homework to do.
The tagline to this “Anthem” piece as well each individual :30 telling each person’s story is simply the GE mantra: “Technology is how we do things. People are why we do things.”
Todd Field directed all four spots via production house Smuggler.
Credits
Client GE Agency BBDO New York David Lubars, chief creative officer, worldwide; Greg Hahn, chief creative officer, NY; Michael Aimette, executive creative director; Eric Goldstein, sr. creative director; Fred Kovey, creative director; David Rolfe, head of production; George Sholley, executive producer; Jack Patrick, producer; Rani Vaz, music producer. Production Smuggler Todd Field, director; Patrick Milling Smith, Brian Carmody, Shannon Jones, exec producers; Andrew Colon, chief operating officer; Alex Waite, line producer; Justin Brown, DP. Editorial Rock Paper Scissors Adam Pertofsky, editor; Marjorie Sacks, assistant editor; Eve Kornblum, exec producer; Taylor Colbert, producer. VFX a52 Andres Barrios, VFX supervisor; Stacy Kessler-Aungst, producer. Color Company 3 Tim Masick, colorist; Kevin Breheny, producer. Music Hook & Line Audio Post Sonic Union Michael Marinelli, engineer; Justine Cortale, producer.
Director Marc André Debruyne--who’s handled by production house Open Swim for U.S. representation--brings Coca-Cola’s legacy of celebrating holiday traditions to life in this campaign spotlighting Filipino Balikbayan boxes. The spot--out of Toronto agencies Taxi and VML--features Tita Rosita, owner of the oldest Filipino-Canadian grocery store in Toronto, whose much-adored shop was wrapped like a massive Coca-Cola-themed Balikbayan box as she prepared hundreds of boxes for customers to send their loved ones, with Coca-Cola paying for the boxes and the cost of shipping them to the Philippines. The spot is a testament to the brand’s prevailing facilitation of cultural and generational connectivity, especially during the holiday season.
The collaborative project--produced by Toronto production company MOWAD--was particularly special for Debruyne, who’s Filipino, because of the large presence of Filipino crew members on set. “It’s a totally surreal feeling when a work project crosses over into your personal life. It’s not too often that happens,” shares Debruyne. “The number of Balikbayan boxes I’ve sent home since I was a child, being surrounded by so many Filipinos on set – both crew and cast, and even being served pancit by Tita Rosita for lunch (and getting yelled at after because I didn’t have seconds) brought back so many wonderful memories of my mom. It was such a fun vibe on set. This wasn’t even a job, it was truly something special.”
