The Barbarian Group created an online spot for IBM with a powerful look at blind long-distance runner Simon Wheatcroft and the app Runkeeper.
“As a runner, I face tough challenges every day,” Wheatcroft says at the beginning of the spot over footage of him training on a field at night. “Then there’s the fact that I’m blind.” The ad goes on to show how the app Runtracker helps Wheatcroft pursue his passion of running. He runs into a telephone poll the first time on a route at the 5.2 mile mark, but knows to avoid it the next time around since the app tells him when he hits the milestone. The ad concludes by informing viewers, “IBM helps Runkeeper process 120,000 global data request every second.” The spot does a good job of communication that information, would have been painfully dry without the scenes preceding it, in a surprisingly emotional way. That’s a pretty neat accomplishment for what could have been such dry subject matter (IBM’s cloud computing).
Credits:
Creative Credits
Agency: The Barbarian Group
Creative Director: Adam Lau
Creative Director: Eric Burnett
Art Director: Andrew Peet
Copy Writer: Morgan Perrine
Broadcast Producer: Damon Webster / Sherri Hollander
Digital Producer: Steven Kreuch
Business Director: Roger Ramirez
Account Executive: Sophie Shrem
Production Company: m ss ng p eces
Director: Tucker Walsh
Executive Producer / Founder: Ari Kuschnir
Executive Producer / Partner: Kate Oppenheim
Executive Producer / Partner: Brian Latt
Head of Production: Dave Saltzman
Producer: Stine Moisen
DOP: Tim Sessler
Production Supervisor: Naomi Wells
Post Production
Post Supervisor: Cynthia Angel
Editorial: Beast TV
Editor: Jai Shukla
Post Producer: Colleen Valentino
Assistant Editor: Sarah Germano
Flame Artist: Scott Bravo
Composer: Andy Huckvale
Sound Design: Q Department
Color: The Mill
Colourist: Fergus McCall