Wendy's & Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption Canada

Wendy’s and The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption Canada, have teamed up to promote adoption awareness and bring to light the 30,000 children in Canada’s foster care system waiting to find loving, adoptive families.
 

The non-profit charity created by Wendy's® founder Dave Thomas, who was adopted, launched the website thisisthestoryofi.com and accompanying campaign video, coinciding with Wendy’s annual Father's Day Frosty Weekend. During that time, $1 from each Frosty purchased in stores across Canada was donated to the charity, which funds seven adoption recruiters in Canada, and 169 across North America.

 

 
The touching film project was produced by The Ebeling Group, with the support of pro-bono services from MacLaren McCann, Cadux, and Grayson Matthews Music & Sound. Formatted as a 2 minute animated music video with original music, “The Story of I’” follows the journey of  “I” – a lonely orphaned child who wishes for love and finally finds it when he is adopted by new parents “F” and “M.” Together, along with an “A,” “L” and “Y” – they become a complete family unit.

 
The Ebeling Group enlisted Brazilian director Cadux to craft a memorable piece addressing the issue that can feel overwhelming and unsolvable. Taking inspiration from the original song, Cadux harnessed animation to illustrate the feelings and experiences of foster children awaiting adoption and the joy of finally finding a permanent home where they can thrive and grow. Cadux was particularly focused on one powerful moment in the narrative, “I knew we had something special when ‘i’ first meets his future parents. I wanted to make it feel like among all the people in the world you will find that special one.”

 
The collaborative campaign shines a spotlight on the mission of The Dave Thomas Foundation in a dynamic and sincere way; a meaningful step toward inspiring Canadians to consider the life-changing possibility of giving these parentless children the chance to spell out f-a-m-i-l-y.  

Credits

Advertising Agency: MacLaren McCann, Canada 
Agency Creative Directors: Sean Davison, Mike Halminen
Agency Group Creative Directors: Marc Melanson, Duncan Porter, Dave Stubbs
Agency Producer: Sarah Michener
Agency Client Services: Sandra Avey, Auggie Senis
Programmers: Joel Ray
Music: Grayson Matthews
Lyrics: Marc Melanson, Dave Stubbs 

Production Company:  The Ebeling Group
Executive Producer:  Mick Ebeling
HOP / Producer:  Martha Smith

Director: Cadux
Illustration: Bianca Viani
Animation Assistant: Ana Carolina Antunes
Editorial: Cadu Macedu