Kids recreate the four most iconic goals in hockey history. What a winning idea for Scotiabank’s sponsorship of this year’s World Cup of Hockey. To make it a winning ad, agency Bensimon Byrne, called in The Glue Society’s Gary Freedman.

“We worked with director Gary Freedman from Glue Society, via Toronto-based OPC, because he understood that this was all about authenticity and getting the details right. For example, each jersey worn by our hero kids is an actual community hockey team supported by Scotiabank that happened to resemble the design of the original Orr, Lemieux, McDonald and Henderson jerseys. The numbers on the kids jerseys were are also the same as the numbers on the heroes’ jerseys,” explained Joseph Bonnici, executive creative director of Bensimon Byrne.

“To make sure this was really authentic, we didn’t cast actors. We cast little kids who loved to play hockey. You can’t fake the intensity in their eyes. We had an on-set hockey coach that ran the kids through the play again and again. The intensity on their faces is real.”

The idea behind Scotiabank’s The 5th Season campaign, now in its third year, is simple: Mother Nature gives us 4 seasons, but in Canada—where hockey is part of its national tradition — there’s one more. The 5th Season is the hockey season, and there’s no other time of year like it.

Scotiabank supports over 8,000 community teams across Canada. So Bensimon Byrne tapped into a hockey truth: the 5th Season is when kids dream big.

“Whether they played on a rink or driveway, farmer’s field or dock, every Canadian has at one time dreamed of re-enacting their hockey hero’s biggest goal,” Bonnici noted.

“We knew that if we connected childhood dreams to the most iconic goals in hockey history, we could pull off something special.”

Hockey Dreams recreates some of the sport’s most celebrated goals, from Bobby Orr, Lanny McDonald, Mario Lemieux and Paul Henderson. Perfectly. Using kids. It also underlines the bank’s purpose for everyday people – to make dreams come true.

Here’s a list of the historical hockey moments that are highlighted in the spot:

• The first moment is Bobby Orr’s famous “flying goal.” The overtime goal catapulted the Boston Bruins to a series sweep and a Stanley Cup victory in 1970. His reaction as he flew through the air was captured by a photographer and the photograph has subsequently become one of the most recognised hockey images of all time.
• The second goal features a Canadian icon, Lanny McDonald. Known for his incredible skill as a player and his killer red moustache, Lanny played for the Calgary Flames who were facing the Montreal Canadians in the 1989 Stanley Cup final. It was the last time two Canadian teams made the finals. Lanny scored this goal to help give Calgary its only Stanly Cup. His childlike reaction has been played over and over again in Canada.
• The third goal by one of hockey’s greatest, Mario Lemieux, is considered one of the most spectacular play-off goals in Stanley Cup history. Mario essentially undresses the entire opposing team with the most ridiculous deke-out in history. The call by a Canadian broadcasting legend, Bob Cole, is just as fantastic, culminating in an “Oh baby!”
• The fourth goal is the most iconic hockey goal in Canadian history. If you grew up in Canada, you know this goal and you’ve pretended to score it. It was scored by Paul Henderson for Team Canada against the Soviet Union in the Summit Series in 1972. The series was played during the Cold War and was an epic battle for both hockey and cultural supremacy. Fifty million Soviets watched the final contest on TV, while in Canada, offices were closed and schools suspended classes to allow students to watch the game on television in gymnasium assemblies. The goal has become legendary in Canada and made Henderson a national hero to this day.

Clinton Braganza, senior vice president of marketing-Canadian banking, Scotiabank, recalled, “That little girl had to perform the famous Mario Lemieux deke again and again, and she nailed it every time. The most difficult shot was the last one, the famous Paul Henderson goal. To get six kids to perfectly choreograph a play and land exactly where players are in that photograph was incredibly difficult. The easiest one was Bobby Orr because that little boy loved to fly through the air. You literally couldn’t get the smile off his face.”

Credits:

Creative agency: Bensimon Byrne

Executive creative director/partner- Joseph Bonnici

Associate creative directors: Gints Bruveris & David Mueller 

Copywriter: Matt Valenzano

Art director: Cam Hopkins

Producer: Michelle Pilling

Group account director: Erin O’Connor

Program director: Jordan Lane

Project manager: Aviva Philips

Production Company: OPC

Director: Gary Freedman

DoP: Stephane Fontaine

Executive producer: Harland Weiss

Line producer: Matt MacLennan

Editorial company: Saints

Executive producer: Stephanie Hickman

Editor: Ross Birchall

Assistant editor: Nancy Gidman-Latorraca

Online: The Vanity

Colourist: Eric Whipp @ Alter Ego

Audio: Grayson Matthews

Client: Scotiabank

Chief Marketing Officer: John Doig

Senior Vice President, Canadian Banking Marketing: Clinton Braganza

Vice President Marketing, Advertising and Media: Lisa Hartley

Vice President, Sponsorship Marketing: Jacquie Ryan

Director of Brand and Media Strategy: Melanie Smith

Director, Hockey Sponsorship: Lisa Ferkul

Senior Manager, Brand: Christine Wilby

Senior Manager, Mareting Integration Services: Andrea Bolland