Wieden+Kennedy’s Portland and NY offices teamed on this “See Us Unite” PSA for The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), the newly formed organization launched to improve advocacy for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and combat the hate and violence against the AAPI community that has grown at an alarming rate as of late.
The PSA premiered during the recent primetime global TV special, See Us Unite for Change–The Asian American Foundation in service of the AAPI Community, hosted by Ken Jeong to help drive awareness and understanding of the AAPI experience.
Credits
Client The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) Agency Wieden+Kennedy Portland & New York Karl Leiberman, executive creative director; Kevin Kaminishi, art director; Gino Click, copywriter; Nick Setounski, Chris Whalley, directors of production; Jasmine Sarbaz, producer. Footage Research Nickerson Research, Inc., research & clearance. Editorial Joint NY Laura Bermudez, editor; Spencer Cohen, assistant editor; Kari Ickert, sr. post producer; Michelle Carman, post exec producer. VFX The Mill Vi Nguyen, 2D lead artist; Nick Pfister, 2D artist; Sean O’Loughlin, associate producer; Luis Martin, production supervisor. Color Company 3 Keith Raisch, colorist; Anna Kelman, producer. Music APM Music, LLC; Track Title–”Emotive Hope,” composed by Thomas Richard, Peter Howe and Stephen Christopher Tait. Sound Design/Mix Sonic Union Rob McIver, audio mixer/sound engineer; Justine Cortale, studio director; Pat Sullivan, head of production.
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
