In September 2021, incidence rates of COVID-19 in rural America were roughly 54% higher than elsewhere in the country according to the Rural Policy Research Institute. As this disparity and rates of vaccine hesitancy continue, the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative partnered with trusted rural voices like the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Cooperative Extension System and others to release new unscripted PSAs that feature and speak to rural Americans from across the country. The PSAs showcase the firsthand impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines for seven individuals and families, encouraging Americans who may still be questioning the vaccines to seek the latest accurate information about getting vaccinated.
This long-form PSA introduces us to Brooks Hodges who lost his wife, Amanda, to COVID-19. Hodges tells his family’s story and what he feels his duty is in memory of Amanda.
Deborah Riley Draper, founder of Coffee Bluff Pictures, served as creative director and director.
CreditsClient Ad Council Michelle Hillman, chief campaign development officer; Nick Sugai, VP, group campaign director; Hannah Lipps, rural audiences consultant; Conor Toomey, rural project manager. Agency & Production Coffee Bluff Pictures Deborah Riley Draper, creative director & director; Lacy Barnes, producer; Nathan Bowhall, editor.
We Are Pi Rolls Out Trailer For Nike-Backed Feature On Athletes With Olympic and Paralympic Dreams
Amsterdam-based creative agency We Are Pi debuted the trailer for Crois Pas Qu’on Dort (Don’t Think We’re Sleeping in English), an inspiring feature-length story of three young French athletes in the lead-up to the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics. The 90-minute French language film, which was developed and produced by We Are Pi with the support of Nike, will premiere in mid January 2025 followed by a release in theaters at the end of January. It follows three protagonists from Paris and its suburbs: Charles-Antoine, a runner with an intellectual disability who won Gold at the Tokyo Paralympics and is competing in this year’s Paralympics; and Leyna and Maysane, French twin sisters and heirs to their Laotian-Algerian family’s very own taekwondo dynasty who are coached by their father and dream of competing in taekwondo at Paris 2024. The athletes were followed by a film crew over the course of five years, recording how their stories, their lives and their sporting achievements unfold over time. The film combines the rawness and intimacy of their everyday lives with the audacity of their sporting dreams, with their stories culminating at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympics. Crois Pas Qu’on Dort was created with the aim of inviting a new generation of athletes in France into sport by inspiring them with the stories of our protagonists and the transformative power that sport had on their lives. The production began over seven years ago in 2017 with nearly two years of extensive casting sessions that involved viewing around 500 profiles of athletes. Two directors, Nick Walters and Lou Marillier, English and French, respectively, subsequently followed the selected young protagonists closely as they pursued their... Read More