Brand MarketingMassMutual Looks Back on 2017 by Highlighting Positivity, Courage and KindnessJohannes Leonardo shows this year had its good moments, tooBy Katie Richards|December 19, 2017The ad will air during CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.MassMutualShareBy Katie Richards|December 19, 2017ShareHeadlines this year were pretty bleak, if not completely depressing. Natural disasters plagued the country, violence erupted, inequality spread even further throughout the world. There was a lot of negativity, to say the least. While many companies have (understandably) used their year-end reviews to remember the hard times, life insurance company MassMutual took a different approach to its end-of-year campaign. In a two-minute film entitled “The Unsung,” MassMutual (with creative by Johannes Leonardo) took a look at some of the tragedy that struck in 2017, but also focuses on some of the positive headlines that came out of these trying times.Take, for example, the story of a group of teens who started a lunch club at school so that no classmate would eat alone, or a synagogue that opened its doors to Muslim worshipers after their mosque was destroyed.“We didn’t want to limit the stories of 2017 to just the typical headlines that tend to be bleak. Especially this year, conflict at every level dominated the news cycle,” Jennifer Halloran, head of brand and advertising at MassMutual, said.“We have had a tumultuous, divisive year. No one can deny that,” Jan Jacobs, co-founder of Johannes Leonardo, added. “But that is not the full picture. There are amazing stories all around us, of people looking out for each other, of living mutually. Together, we can get there.”“The Unsung” is part of MassMutual’s ongoing Live Mutual brand platform with collaboration by Johannes Leonardo. The campaign also includes some print work, as well as a media deal with CNN and Great Big Story. There will be six documentary-style films done by CNN’s brand studio that will dive deeper into some of these stories featured in the original spot. Those will roll out throughout the holiday season across Great Big Story and air on CNN and CNN Airport Network.The ad will also air during CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.“This is a combination of creative content distribution across digital channels with traditional print and radio channels to help people hear about the story and drive to TheUnsung.com to meet these people and get inspired as we were,” Halloran added. “Our approach all year is has been to present MassMutual’s new brand story in an ‘always-on’ manner, so this is not just a one drop campaign that runs for a few weeks on social and tentpole media. It’s a specific, purposeful brand message, placed in the right moment at the end of year, in the right channels to get people involved and engaged. ”CREDITS Agency: Johannes Leonardo Jan Jacobs Founder, CCO Leo Premutico Founder, CCO Kasia Canning Creative Director Kevin Watkins Creative Director Esther Park Senior Designer Carl Mallia Senior Copywriter Omar Dbeis Senior Art Director Michelle Moscone Head of Creative Resources Dana Bruschi Senior Project Manager Account Management Bryan Yasko President Emily Wilcox Head of Account Management Kate Behne Account Director Lily Shelmerdine Account Supervisor Joel Bebasa Assistant Account Executive Strategy Mark Aronson Head of Strategy Mary Bakarich Strategy Director Megan Piro Head of Communications Planning Casey Donahue Communications Planner Production Dana May Head of Integrated Production Craig Keppler Executive Producer Mea Cole Tefka Senior Producer Siobhan Spence-Edwards ProducerMedia Agency: Giant Spoon Trevor Guthrie Founder Laura Correnti EVP, Managing Director Justine Lyn VP, Media Paul Baranda Associated Director, Account Management Caleb Smith Director of Brand Management Derek Lu Associate Media Director Walker Schiff Junior StrategistFilm Production Production Company Radical Media Austin Peters Director Jon Doran Executive Producer Frank Scherma Executive Producer Jason McCormick Director of Photography Megan Miller Line Producer Kendall Rowe Production SupervisorPhotography + BTS Farhad Samari Photographer Jeff Clamet BTS Videographer Jigisha Bouverat Photographer’s AgentPost Production Spotwelders Editorial & Post Marlo Caine Editor Marc Goldfine & Pete Amante Flame Ops Amanda Slamin Post Producer Company 3 Colour Sofie Borup Colourist Squeak E Clean Productions Music Production & Final Mix Rob Barbato Creative Producer Amy Crilly Executive Producer Drew Fischer Mixer Groove Guild Music Supervision Al Risi Music Supervisor Heard City Final Mix Sasha Awn Producer Dan Flosdorf Final MixerMASSMUTUAL Jennifer Halloran Head of Brand and Advertising Kristin Lane Head of Brand Activation & Engagement Colin Browning Head of Social Media Christa Spengemen Advertising Director Liz Dorrance Content Director Adweek Adweek