Shockingly, 5.8 million Canadians are currently living in what Food Banks Canada describes as a ‘food insecure household’. That amounts to 1 in every 8 citizens, leaving food insecurity as one of the most pressing challenges facing the country today.
Despite the prevalence of the issue, however, most Canadians aren’t aware of just how bad the problem has become. In order to change that, Food Banks Canada enlisted the help of The Local Collective - the independent creative agency based out of Toronto - alongside director Mark Zibert and VFX studio Tantrum.
The resulting campaign is a testament to how creativity can help move the needle. A high-concept ad featuring a caterpillar chewing through the fabric of society until it becomes monstrously huge, the spot and accompanying visuals hit home in a particularly powerful way. In the words of the ad’s voiceover, some things “seem small at first, but soon become impossible to ignore”.
To go behind the scenes of the ad and find out how the idea came together, LBB sat down with Matt, Mark, and Dominik…
Matt> There was an instantly magical feeling about this idea. We knew, however, that to pull it off in a manner that felt both compelling and real but also fable-like and imaginary, required a level of executional excellence and craft that isn’t always accessible.
Mark> My first reaction to the brief was nostalgic. The thought of referencing classic lessons and adapting them to a modern metaphorical tale is an easy project to get behind.
Dominik> The brief instantly read as a great concept. The fact that the VFX played such a crucial role in the story made it all the more interesting to us. I was excited by the idea of not just creating these CG insects, but integrating them into the film in a very authentic way – as if they were captured in-camera.
Looking back, I think we stayed true to the original brief. I had every bit of confidence in Tantrum’s team to develop the complexities of these insects and the destroyed landscape. It was a highly collaborative process from the get-go with the agency and director, and we were very much aligned with the direction. In the end, it came together according to plan.
Matt> A part of Food Banks Canada's mandate is to conduct research to get to the route of what is actually happening in Canada. To complement that rich research they do on an on-going basis, we worked with them to conduct a brand study to see how comprehension of the brand and its mission was in Canada. And what we got back really helped to inform how we needed to approach this idea.
They have almost 100% brand awareness in Canada, but the resonance of what they ultimately do was getting lost. We also visited numerous food banks across the country. We met with various volunteers, food bank users, staff members and generally people at every level of the Food Banks infrastructure. Those conversations really drove the creative idea.
Matt> The primary observation was the relatability to the issues that people who are dealing with the effects of food insecurity face versus those that do not. All of us possibly live near, interact with, or are exposed to someone dealing with the issue of food insecurity. But we don’t tend to notice the signs. We wanted to make the point that not only is this something that we can seriously contribute to solving, but also that it is all around us.
Mark> We were careful to build a sense of mystery and intrigue, and decided to use the destructive path of the caterpillar and character reactions as the main narrative device as well as peppering in only fleeting glimpses of the beast. We were ultimately using that classic trick of leaving more to the viewers imagination for more drama and suspense.
Mark> We built the ‘hole’ effect around scenes with deeper context rather than just a random path of destruction. One story layer revolved around an underprivileged youth who struggles with sports and academics. Another is an at-risk senior who lives alone and might have little to no social contact. Throughout the story we cast and choose locations that illustrated a wide range of socioeconomic classes which hunger takes its toll on.
Dominik> The caterpillar was undoubtedly a much more intricate creature to develop. Their bodies compress, twist and contort in a very elaborate and unique manner.
As an individual, the butterfly was much more straightforward, but having them fly in a swarm was where the challenge lay. I wanted their rhythm to feel like a dance that synced up with the energy of the music, and edit. Conveying that energy over such a large amount of quick shots took time to fine-tune.
Matt> Well, it seems to be resonating. The campaign consists of a 2min online video. A 90sec cinema, and 60 and 30sec television ads, coupled with a national OOH component. Already the response has been great, and the goal of raising awareness and starting the advocacy process has appeared to be happening at speed. So that’s amazing!
Matt> Challenging is a subjective term. I think getting complete ‘buy-in’ from the various stakeholders is never an easy process with large organisations. Our client partners at Food Banks Canada are amazingly smart and brave leaders, and thankfully they were able to lead this platform from inception to completion.
Dominik> All three main visual effects – the caterpillar, butterflies and the holes – were very different in technical approach. Each one involved specialists with varying areas of expertise. Then, the biggest challenge was rolling that out across a large volume of shots on a commercial timeline and executing to the highest standard.
We overcame that through good planning, organisation and working with highly specialised and talented artists worldwide. Tantrum Studio prides itself in our hybrid commercial/film pipeline that allows us to distribute many shots and tasks to many different artists. That’s the key to how we could pull it off.
Mark> There were no major challenges from my perspective, as Matt and the agency trusted us and left room for interpretation of their concept. We aligned on everything as we moved through production. Working closely with Dominik and Tantrum as well as Graham at Nimeopere from pre to post production also allowed for a super smooth process throughout.
Dominik> There’s always an urge to keep refining and finessing every job, especially passion projects that are as creative as this one. More detail can be added to a hole in a building, add a few butterflies here and there, or tweak the way the caterpillar places its legs. I’m sure we could spend another month on it, but honestly, there isn’t much of that on this one. I’m very happy with how it turned out.
Matt> Food Banks Canada’s goal is to rid the country of food insecurity, to literally make themselves obsolete. But they realise that for that to happen there needs to be real, systemic change ranging from more affordable housing to universal income level increases etc.
So, people can do anything which promotes that advocacy. Vote, contact your local MPP, donate money, volunteer, and even provide food if possible. Hopefully, this is the last generation of Canadians having to deal with the effects of food insecurity.