Coogan’s, a local Washington Heights spot in NYC, was a pillar in the community for years. Now, Peter Walsh (the owner) is working with Facebook to share his story, leave a legacy, and help support other businesses in Washington Heights so they don’t close up for good.
Facebook’s Support Small Business campaign from Droga5 New York includes varied elements, including a Small Business Hub created to empower users to find, connect, and shop at local shops and restaurants that need their support the most. These destinations are an incredible resource for folks looking for ways to support small businesses, and stay connected with their local shops.
The campaign shows people that, when we buy small, we buy into what makes our communities, communities. We’re buying into a person. Into family owned and operated for generations. Into a farming community. Into the dreams of an immigrant family starting anew. The aim of this platform is to show Facebook’s commitment to small businesses and motivate people to join in by connecting them to Facebook resources, telling real stories of small businesses and giving them the social and IRL tools to share their commitment.
Film, OOH and audio highlight multiple small businesses around America that are too beloved to let go. Businesses like Coogan’s in NY, Som’s Records in Washington, D.C. and Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen in Inglewood, Calif.
The campaign’s hero film, Survive, centers around recently closed Coogan’s, a place that was legendary to the people of Washington Heights. Survive was directed by Miles Jay of production house SMUGGLER
Credits
Client Facebook, Inc. Agency Droga5 New York David Droga, creative chairman; Neil Heymann, global chief creative officer; Felix Richter, Tim Gordon, co-chief creative officers; Thom Glover, Kia Heinnen, Dustin Tomes, Jono Paull, creative directors; George McQueen, Tom McQueen, associate creative directors; Christopher Brailey, Curtis McDonald, Jenny Yoon, copywriters; Maria Kouninski, art director; Jacqueline Salome, jr. copywriter; Vanessa Bittante, jr. art director; Jason Severs, chief design officer; Maria Wan, design director; Eli Hochberg, sr. designer; Adrian Koenigsberg, designer. Jesse Brihn, director of film production; Mike Hasinoff, executive producer, film; Lisa Delonay, Joe Street, sr. producers, film; Robert Matuluko, associate producer, film; Mike Ladman, sr. music supervisor; Jonny Bauer, chief strategy officer; Harry Roman-Torres, head of strategy; Diana Gonzalez, strategy director; Emily Pfitzinger, sr. strategist. Production SMUGGLER Miles Jay, director; Bradford Young, Kelly Jeffrey, DPs; Patrick Milling smith, partner/exec producer; Allison Kunzman, exec producer; Erin Wile, producer; Akin McKenzie, production designer; Doug Torres, assistant director. Editorial Work Editorial Ben Jordan, editor; Theo Mercado, secondary editor; Julian Laing, Trevor Myers, assistant editors; Erica Thompson, exec producer; Alejandra Alarcon, head of production. Telecine Harbor Picture Company Joe Gawler, colorist; Kevin Vale, sr. director, Picture Post; Jody Peters, sr. producer. Postproduction Blacksmith Iwan Zwarts, lead compositor; Charlotte Arnold, exec producer; Ashley Goodwin, Tina Chen, VFX producers; Jacob Slutsky, Yebin Ahn, compositors. Music “I Will Survive” Freddie Perren, Dino Fekaris, writers; Lykke Li, arrangement & performance; Scott Chesak, engineer. Music Walker Abbey Hendrix, exec producer; Dottie Scharr, sr. producer; Christopher Keyes, engineer. Sound Design & Mix Wave Studios Ed Downham, Aaron Reynolds, sound designers/mixers; Vicky Ferraro, exec producer; Eleni Giannopoulos, Ornela Peka, producers; Isaac Matus, assistant engineer.
After losing part of his right leg due to cancer, Terry Fox campaigned to raise national awareness and funding for cancer research by running his Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada 42-km daily run, on his prosthetic leg. Fox, who died in 1981, is a national hero. His image will be on Canada’s new $5 bill.
In this two-minute video titled “Finish It,” the Marathon of Hope is recreated. It’s all done in one take, and it features an actor/marathon runner who uses a prosthesis on the same leg as Fox. CGI was deployed to make him look more like Fox. To further ensure the actor represented Fox accurately, not only did the actor and team watch and study many videos of Terry, but Terry’s brothers, Fred and Darrel, coached the actor on Terry’s running style and mannerisms. They also created a copy of Terry’s prosthesis for the actor to use for the shoot.
The message is clear. As the Marathon of Hope now marks its 45th anniversary, we now have the opportunity to “Finish It” for Fox, raising money and awareness to get a cure for cancer over the finish line, completing the work that Fox started. The public service film starts with Fox on the marathon run, eventually joined by a crowd of other dedicated runners from all walks of life who take over the race.
Mark Zibert directed via production company Scouts Honour for Toronto agency Diamond. The video features a never-before-heard version of the song “Courage” from Canadian band The Tragically Hip.
“We wanted to create a campaign that captures the magnitude of Terry Fox’s legacy while driving meaningful action,” said Peter Ignazi, chief creative officer at Diamond. “By revisiting the Marathon of Hope with such care and reverence, we aimed to reignite Terry’s mission and... Read More
