This campaign for WhatsApp–directed by Cannes Lions winner Niclas Larsson and shot by Oscar-winning (La La Land) cinematographer Linus Sandgren for BBDO San Francisco and Berlin–takes our shared feeling pandemic era feeling of waiting to move forward and transforms it into a world-stopping reminder that New Year’s is about our connections to the people who matter most to us.
Spanning social, digital video, broadcast, and cinema, the campaign takes us on a journey around the world. Starting with the shorter 6 and 15-second formats, we’re transported to various New Year’s Eve celebrations. From a church in Nigeria to a typical Mumbai courtyard and the beaches of Brazil, each clip is a glimpse into a different celebration where each hero is frozen in time until they get that all-important message. Each vignette is linked by the universal insight that “It’s not the New Year until you get the message you’ve been waiting for.”
In the broadcast 30 and extended 60-second formats, the universal stories are seamlessly weaved together. As the world begins to countdown, we feel a collective global moment where a series of different people are all frozen, together, in waiting. Amongst fireworks, a busy pub, and even a full-blown choir of churchgoers, we see different people who seem to be waiting for something. As the countdown reaches its prolonged climax, one of the film’s heroes sends a meaningful message. A flurry of messages are released in an instant and the world whips back into real-time as we see the ads’ heroes revel in their private moment of connection.
The 90-second cinema format builds on the broadcast version by introducing the story of two of the film’s heroes. As the world freezes in anticipation, we dive into a story of star-crossed lovers. In a roughly 45 second segment, we make our way from a chance meeting on public transport to the highs and eventual lows of young love. Told in Director Niclas Larsson’s telltale visual language, amplified by the partnership with DP Linus Sandgren, the story effortlessly moves from macro to micro to macro again. It’s an advertisement that is not merely shown in cinema but rather purposely made to live on the large format.
And this short film–SHOOT’s Top Spot of the Week–delves more deeply into this couple’s love story from a chance meeting on the London tube to many of life’s trials and tribulations. Eventually, we learn that–in a very timely touch–one of the unnamed protagonists must return to his home country. The story possesses a depth that truly draws the viewer into the insight —–that the moment of reset for the New Year starts with that meaningful message from a loved one.
Tres Colacion, global creative lead, BBDO, said, “New Year’s Eve is one of the few collective, global moments and so it was important to use that work to be inspired by a truly universal insight. In each format, from 6 seconds to well over 3 minutes, we set out to capture the essence of what it feels like to receive the message you’ve been waiting for. And while the work may take us across the globe, the team worked tirelessly to craft a visual world where each of our heroes is the main character of their own night.”
