At J. Walter Thompson Canada’s (fictitious) Academy of the Cliché, upcoming actors are taught the (so, so often) tried and true cliché techniques of acting and film.

“The Cliché technique is 100% reliable. Everything we teach has been done a million times before,” Clement Bishop, head instructor at the Academy, reminds Canada.

…Which gives J.Walter Thompson’s point about the 2015 Canadian Film Fest its impact. It’s a cliché free zone. “Movie clichés. We’ve seen them over and over and over again. In fact, it’s hard to avoid them. Fortunately, there is a welcome alternative.”

J.Walter Thompson is promoting this year’s Festival with the parody campaign, The Academy of Cliché, in the form of a 2 minute cinema ad and three television spots.

At the end of each spot, the viewer is encouraged to Escape the Cliché and to come to the 2015 Canadian Film Fest, which runs from March 25 to 28 at Toronto’s Royal Theatre.

Creative credits:

Creative Agency: J. Walter Thompson Canada

Chief creative & integration officer: Brent Choi

SVP exec creative director: Ryan Spelliscy

VP associate creative director: Colin Winn

Copywriters: Colin Winn, Tyler Schell, Pip Scowcroft

Art directors: Christian Martinez & Kara Wark

Producers: Caroline Clarke & Chris Huber

Production Company: OPC

Director: Jono Hunter

DoP/cameraman: Andre Pienaar

Executive producers: Liz Dussault, Harland Weiss & Donovan Boden

Editing: School Editing

Colour: Alter Ego

VFX: Fort York