The latest round of “Business Card Chronicles” for American Express draws inspiration from a special place of the sourdough variety, punctuated with starter puns like Dough-Re-Me, Sir Rise-A-Lot and Dough Quixote. Directed by Brian Beletic of SMUGGLER for agency dentsuMB, this long-form spot, titled “The Dough,” introduces us to a baking entrepreneur who finds herself needing capital for an ever growing sourdough business (with American Express to the rescue).
“We wanted to show the unexpected hurdles small-business owners face in running day-to-day operations,” shared dentsuMB global executive creative director Julie Scelzo, who added that these stories (the other being centered on a pair of architects designing mini-homes) were inspired by two trends over the last year or so: the nationwide sourdough craze—and the desire to flee cities in search of nature.
Credits
Client American Express Agency dentsuMB Menno Kluin, chief creative officer; Julie Scelzo, global executive creative director; Christina Pitsinos, creative director; Gavin Zarin, sr. art director; Aaron Sheinberg, copywriter; Ed Zazzera, EVP integrated production; Katie West, sr. producer integrated production; Jerry Krenach, SVP, music production. Production SMUGGLER Brian Beletic, director; Sue Yeon Ahn, exec producer. Editorial/Post PS260 Maury Loeb, editor; Ashley Ingbretson, assistant editor; Evann Payne, sr. producer; Zarina Mak, managing partner; Margaret Yang, lead Flame artist; Carlos Morales, Jon Jovich, Flame artists; Anthony Augusta, Flame assistant; Natalie Raffaele, finishing producer; Patrick Lavin, GFX director; Golpar Jalali, GFX. VFX Parliament Music Consortium Seth Olinsky, composer. Audio Post Sonic Union Michael Marinelli, engineer. Color Company 3 Tim Masick, colorist. Voiceover Judah Friedlander
Continuing their partnership to combat the mental health crisis among America’s youth, the Ad Council and McCann New York have released the latest installment of the “Sound It Out” campaign which focuses on helping parents and caregivers have meaningful conversations with their kids about emotional wellbeing.
The new work, “Listening is a Form of Love,” focuses on the important role parents and caregivers play in supporting young people’s emotional wellbeing and is supported by new data from Surgo Health’s Youth Mental Health Tracker. The survey highlights that: 55% of youth (ages 10-24) report mental health struggles; and one in five youth report symptoms of depression, and one in four report symptoms of anxiety.
The film includes an interactive digital experience that invites parents to practice “holding space” by pressing the space bar to listen to kids sharing what they wish their parents could hear, in their own words. Along with this literal interpretation of the active listening the campaign encourages, the website also gives valuable tools to help parents and caregivers be better listeners, and in turn, better support their kids.
There is also this 60-second PSA--directed by Alex Fischman Cardenas via Greenpoint Pictures--which underscores the power and importance of listening to your loved ones.
