Every time we see a cancer ad, it’s like “Oh please, not again with the sappy emo crap.” But upon viewing these four spots for Akron Children’s Hospital, we felt quite differently. Oh sure, they bring on the emotion, particularly the two featuring the brother and sister of a 3-year-old with leukemia, but they do it in a way that is entirely human and completely unproduced.
And that’s because they weren’t produced. More specifically, they were crafted by director of photography Andreas Von Scheele who spent 30-40 hours filming the commercial’s subjects alone with no director or agency types hanging around the set. Yes, there was a director, Kevin Kerwin of Authentic Films but he stayed away from the shoot and out of sight.
In one set of commercials, a 14 year old boy talks about his love of basketball and how lymphoma has affected his life (One. Two). In another set, a brother and sister (this on will get you) tell the story of how their parents care for their two year old brother Cael and how his leukemia
has changes their daily routine.
Cleveland-based Marcus Thomas created the campaign which will air on approximately 20 broadcast and cable networks across northeast Ohio.
