How old is life itself? Where did we come from? Did all life begin the same? How did life suddenly begin? There are some of the world’s greatest mysteries. The Dawn of Life exhibit at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) inspires their wonderings, provides clues and offers answers. It opened in October, but shut down shortly after due to Covid restrictions.
Now agency, Broken Heart Love Affair (BHLA) has created the campaign to reignite interest and announce its reopening.
The Dawn of Life is a state-of-the-art 10,000 square-foot gallery that houses a collection of nearly 1,000 fossil specimens drawn from the museum’s palaeontology collections. It is home to some of the oldest objects on Earth, including one dozen “evolutionary game-changers” that speak to key moments in the evolution of life as it exists today.
The 60-second spot, directed by BHLA creative directors, Spencer Ryan and Jordan Hamer, conveys some of those mysteries.
The sport, produced by Undefined/Radke Films, blends live action with a subtle but effective visual treatment from Darling VFX and iaudio design from OSO Design to create a spot set somewhere between reality and the imagination.
“Our goal with any of our work is to get people to stop and think, and maybe change some people’s perspectives,” explained Spencer Ryan.
“It was a luxury to have access to the ROM to scout early and often, which is far from normal,” Hamer added. “That helped us plan our day to fit into a tight schedule. And to see our first self-directed effort go out into the world as a 60-second cinema piece was really something special.”
The spot is running in cinema as well as through programmatic and social channels. The campaign also includes cut-downs taken from the original 60-second anchor spot.
Credits:
Client: Royal Ontario Museum
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer: Lori Davison
VP, Brand and Marketing: Kathryn Brownlie
Marketing Specialist: Kaitlyn Olo
Creative Agency: Broken Heart Love Affair
Chief Creative Officers: Carlos Moreno, Denise Rosetto & Todd Mackie
Chief Strategy Officer: Jay Chaney
Chief Business Officer: Bev Hammond
Creative Directors: Jordan Hamer & Spencer Ryan
Writer: Jordan Hamer
Art Director: Spencer Ryan
Agency Producer: Erica Metcalfe
VP, Client Success: Joline Matika
Production Company: Undefined / Radke Films
Directors: Spencer & Jordan
Executive Producer: Dan Ford
Producer: Julian Weiman
Director of Photography: Shady Hanna
Assistant Director: Keith Giesbrecht
Production Manager: Erwin Abesamis
Coordinator: David Benchitrit
Covid Screeners: Chelsea Maiato 7 Lucas Bender
Editing House: Saints
Editor: Chris Chang
Executive Producers: Michelle Rich & Mackenzie Goodwin
Post-Production: Darling
Colourist: Kassi Bellamy
Colour Assistants: Will Culverwell & Eric Kingsbury
Executive Producer: Kristen Van Fleet
Producer: Morgan Campbell
Visual Effects: Fort York VFX
Flame Artist: Melissa Vasiliev
Producer: Valerie Moss
Audio House: OSO
Creative Director: Daenen Bramberger
Executive Producer: Hannah Graham
Media Agency: OMD
