Tarsem directed via RadicalMedia this moving Toyota spot, titled “Upstream,” which centers on the journey of paralympian Jessica Long, a Team Toyota athlete.
Created by Saatchi & Saatchi in partnership with Dentsu, the :60, which broke during the Super Bowl telecast, features Long swimming through milestone scenes over the course of her life, starting with a depiction of the Russian orphanage from which she was adopted. The camera then cuts to her parents (played by actors) receiving the emotional call that they would be adopting a baby girl, but with the news that her legs would need to be amputated due to a rare condition. The scenes following show a young swimmer depicting Jessica, hands on hips ready to compete, knowing she’s different from other children, yet remaining resilient. The spot continues with Jessica competing in her quest to greatness, overcoming all obstacles as she becomes a Paralympic legend.
“Upstream” wraps with the supered message and voiceover, “We believe there is hope and strength in all of us.”
CreditsClient Toyota Agency Saatchi & Saatchi, Dentsu Jason Schragger, Keichi Higuchi, chief creative officers; Fabio Costa, executive creative director; Marc d’Avignon, group creative director; Yusong Zhang, Alice Blastorah, associate creative directors, art directors; Britt Wilen, associate creative director, copywriter; Rodrigo Vargas, executive producer; Stephanie Dziczek, sr. producer; Kristen Hosack, sr. music supervisor; Mark Turner, chief strategy officer. Production RadicalMedia Tarsem, director; Jim Bouvet, exec producer; Jeremy Barrett, line producer; Paul Meyers, DP. Production Services AFS Productions, Cape Town, South Africa, and Los Angeles Dale Kushner, Brin Kushner, exec producers. Editorial Final Cut Joe Guest, editor; Suzy Ramirez, exec producer; Ana Orrach, head of production/producer; Evan Bluestein, assistant editor. Telecine Company 3 Jill Bogdanowicz, colorist. VFX Framestore Alex Thomas, creative director; Katharine Buckley, VFX producer; James Razzall, president, advertising, North America; Emily Rawl, James Gemmell, coordinators; Marguerite Cargill, Carlos A. Gomez, Theo Maniatis, Flame artists; JD Yepes, 2D lead; Alexander Osvaldsson, Paul Krist, Michael Miller, Eva Flodstrom, Belinda Chen, Piotr Bednarczyk, 2D artists; Andrew Thompson, Cosku Ozdemir, Kevin Gillen, Kira Yu, Marco Marenghi, Richard Shallcross, Sean Dollins, Soren Barton, Taylor Hodgson-Scott, Todd Herman, Walter Fulbright, CG artists. Music The Elements Music, Santa Monica, Calif. Norman Kim, composer; Kristina Iwankiw, executive music producer. Sound Design LSD, Santa Monica, Calif. Michael Anastasi, sound designer; Kai Paquin, assistant sound designer; Susie Boyajan, exec producer; Kayla Phungglan, sr. producer. Audio Post Lime Studios, Santa Monica, Calif. Matt Miller, mixer; Ian Connie, assistant mix engineer; Susie Boyajan, exec producer; Kayla Phungglan, sr. producer.
Director Gia Coppola Teams With Mejuri For “A New York Minute”; 1st Episode Takes Us To The Grocery Store
Mejuri, known for turning fine jewelry into an everyday luxury, has partnered with director Gia Coppola (The Last Show Girl, Palo Alto) and The Directors Bureau in Los Angeles, for the first time reimagining the brand’s story as episodic content. In a series of microfilms, co-created by Coppola and premiering following New York Fashion Week, Mejuri eschewed a typical celebrity campaign and cast us as voyeurs to a group of aspiring young women--real people, not actors--at the crossroads of their adult lives against the backdrop of New York City.
Titled “A New York Minute,” the series features five real-life friends, who include one perfectly imperfect heroine named Emma. The women celebrate ordinary moments and interactions which reveal, sometimes retrospectively, the extraordinary within the mundane. Adjacent to the brand’s own community, the 30-something year old cast includes Laura Love (Emma), Rebecca Ressler, Natalie Vall-Freed and Rozzi Crane. Mejuri’s jewelry makes an appearance as the best supporting actor.
“When I met with Gia and The Directors Bureau team, there was instant creative and personal chemistry and a natural alignment on the desire to push and blur the lines between marketing, storytelling, and the construct of what a ‘campaign’ could be,” said Jacob Jordan, chief brand officer, Mejuri. “Gia was able to push that idea into something that truly feels new and artful, with a realism and relatability that almost feels jarring. Gia was such a perfect collaborator and partner, someone I had complete trust in to be a catalyst for Mejuri’s values of celebrating women as their truest selves. I can’t wait for us to continue to tell the next chapters of this story.”
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