The Canadian Film Fest is having a little fun at Hollywood’s expense with “Escape the Cliché,” a campaign designed to promote the organization’s annual film festival.
Currently running across English Canada, “Embrace the Cliché” includes four radio ads, three 30-second TV commercials, and a two-minute cinema spot. The ads, directed by Jono Hunter and produced by OPC, feature the fictitious “Academy of the Cliché” headed up by instructor Clement Bishop.
The “Academy” specializes in schooling actors in the art of the cliché, and parodies Tinseltown’s most repetitious plot devices; the villains in action films always have terrible aim, an odd couple’s path to love runs into obstacles in the rom-com, and the crazed killers of the horror genre always open their eyes when you think they’re dead.
“The Cliché technique is 100% reliable. Everything we teach has been done a million times before,” Bishop tells his students. “If I can’t see it coming, I already don’t like it.”
Each spot ends with an invitation to “Escape the Cliché” and come to the 2015 Canadian Film Fest, running from March 25 to 28 at Toronto’s Royal Theatre.
The Toronto-based non-profit organization, which aims to promote, celebrate and advance Canadian filmmakers, worked with its agency of record JWT on the campaign for the fourth straight year. Previous campaigns on behalf of the festival, such as “Best Extra” “Canadian Zombie” and “Bank Teller” have all been well-received, with the latter earning the agency a Bronze Film Craft Lion in the script category at Cannes in 2012.
“Film festivals are known for some pretty interesting, edgy work so it’s always a fun challenge,” said Colin Winn, vice-president, associate creative director at JWT. “People expect a certain level of work and each year we’re trying to up the game, and see if we can top it.”
“There’s been so much emotional advertising out there lately, which is all good, that’s one tool in the toolbox,” Winn added. “But I think we’ve been getting away from the fun of advertising and I think we’ve captured some of the fun in cinema here.”
“Escape the Cliché” runs until March 28. Creative, PR and media buying was handled internally.
