Ogilvy & Mather Amsterdam launched a new spot for Pathé Cinemas, enticing viewers to “Make it Big” by leaving the comforts of home and streaming for the cinema.
The spot brings to life the limitations of watching a film on your cell phone via a bank robbery scene. When the would-be-robber asks the bank patrons to put their hands up, they find they can’t, limited by the upper reaches of a small screen. Things don’t get better for him when he attempts an escape, concluding with the message, “No film ever got better by being small” and the “Make it Big” tagline.
While we’ve seen the “Hey, this is happening inside a cell phone” schtick before, it works to communicate the message here. Theaters everywhere are now competing against the convenience of streaming and “Make it Big” gets to the heart of their selling point: other devices can’t offer the type of experience seeing something on the big screen can. And any filmmaker will tell you their work isn’t meant to be appreciated on a cell phone screen.
“The work amplifies the relevance of a cinema ticket in the on-demand, always-on, binge-watch-while-you-group-chat world we’ve grown accustomed to,” Ogilvy & Mather Amsterdam executive creative director Martijn van Marle said in a statement. “While watching a film on your phone is handy, it is the exact opposite of big. Which is what your experience of film should be.”
Credits:
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Amsterdam
Executive Creative Directors: Martijn van Marle, Peter van Rij
Creative team: Jesse Ridder, Jurriaan van Bokhoven
Strategy: Marc Pieterse
Designer: Paul Duijser
Account team: Mariette Hamer, Kim van Kaam, Anouk Marx
Producer: Christel Hofstee
Production company: HALAL
Director: Benny Vandendriessche
Editor: Kevin Whelan
Post: De Grot
Sound: Haai Faai Deluxe
Client: Pathé Netherlands – Nathalie Hogendoorn, Doron Kurz, Rutger Severens