Air Canada is embracing the magic of the season with a spot that shares a message of togetherness for the first holiday many Canadians will spend together in two years. Just like so many of us that have been apart, feeling like we have been living in a bubble, the video shows a story of two people who are separated by their glass snow globe.
Titled “‘Tis the Season to Believe,” this spot is a mix of live-action and stop motion animation, a first for Air Canada. The piece was created by FCB Canada in partnership with Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, a collective of artists, ideators, animators, and creators, who are best known for their Emmy-winning series, Robot Chicken on Adult Swim, now in its 11th season. The spot also features two Canadian music artists–Forest Blakk and Coeur de pirate–whose emotive songs and lyrics add the soundtrack to the love story.
The story begins with an Air Canada employee (played by a real Air Canada pilot) bringing a snow globe home for her son to add to his collection. Through his imagination, the snow globes come to life, and two strangers from different snow globes meet. We follow along as their affection grows and learn why being together is so special.
Evan DeRushie of Stoopid Buddy served as stop motion director and DP. Live action was directed by Sean McBride of production house Someplace Nice.
The spot will be shared in multiple forms, including an extended version for Air Canada’s owned channels. In addition, a 60-second version will be shown in cinema, 60-second and 30-second versions on television across Canada, and 30-second and 15-second versions on social media and digital platforms.
CreditsClient Air Canada Agency FCB Toronto Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, chief creative officer; Shelagh Hartford, VP, strategy; Michael Morelli, associate creative director, art director; Marty Hoefkes, associate creative director, copywriter; Mary MacLeod, art director; Patrick Gravel, copywriter; Adriana Laborde, sr. producer. Animation Studio Stoopid Buddy Studios Evan DeRushie, stop motion director & DP; Phil Eddolls, producer; Danielle Araiche, executive producer (Booming Echo). Production, Live Action Someplace Nice Sean McBride, live-action director; Kristoffer Bonnell, DP; Adam McCloy, line producer; Estelle Weir, exec producer. Editorial Outsider Editorial Michael Barker, editor; Cam Anderson, assistant editor; Kristina Anzlinger, exec producer. Color Hardave Grewal, colorist. Audio Grayson Music Group Mark Domitric, audio director; Chris Masson, Brian Bernard, audio engineer; Kelly McCluskey, exec producer. Music Licensing The Wilders (licensing arm of Grayson Music Group); Kaya Pino, Jody Colero, licensing of tracks
Top Spot of the Week: Nike, W+K Portland, Megaforce Take Us On A “Sunshine” Run
“Winning isn’t Comfortable” is the second chapter of Nike’s “Winning isn’t for Everyone,” extended through the lens of running. It is based on true insights and the realities that runner experience when they lace up their shoes.
It adds the perspective of how hard it can be to just get out the door and go for a run. The idea that if you don’t hate running a little, you don’t love running enough. It celebrates the need and opportunity to push outside a person’s comfort zone to discover what they can accomplish, emphasizing that true victory often requires pushing through uncomfortable moments.
Each film of the series builds on the tension that every runner faces--pushing through the morning dread, the elements outside, the pain of hitting a wall, or even walking down the stairs after a run or race--juxtaposed with the feeling of elation only runners know as they push themselves beyond what they thought possible.
The irreverence of the films--directed by Megaforce via production company Iconoclast for Wieden+Kennedy Portland--is in pairing visuals showing the mundanity of everyday struggles with music that brings to life a contradictory tension. This film, the first to be released, is titled “Sunshine” and shows the inclement weather and obstacles that runners encounter to the tune of “You Are My Sunshine.”
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