2019 Winners & Shortlists

THE AC'S BROKEN RECORD OF EXCUSES!

BrandMIRACO
Product/ServiceAIR CONDITIONS
EntrantJ. WALTER THOMPSON CAIRO, EGYPT
CategoryDirection
Idea Creation J. WALTER THOMPSON CAIRO, EGYPT
Production GOOD PEOPLE FILMS Cairo, EGYPT

Write a short summary of what happens in the film.

It’s the story of every Egyptian household of how dads became over dramatic & keep on making up excuses to save money on electricity bills by turning off the AC. Our film opens with a young boy playing video games, interrupted by his father telling him to stop leaving the door ajar when the AC is turned on. Hence, the entire family, along with random people, repeat the same old excuses they came to know by heart to highlight saving on the bill by turning the AC on. The dads’ broken record of excuses is standard, hence we collected & remixed them, employing an unconventional & fast-tracked editing style using odd framing, strange crops & simple props. The excuses are repeated differently every time with a different person hammering further on the over dramatic excuses the dads constantly mention.

Cultural/Context information for the jury

Cultural Insight: After the devaluation of the Egyptian Pound, prices rose significantly in nearly most of the necessity goods & the government announced new electricity tariffs with price increases ranging between 15-36 percent depending on the consumption bracket. The latter was a nightmare for the Egyptian consumers. Consumer Insight: Egyptians started to get high electricity bills although their consumption is not extremely high. It drives them crazy as they start cutting costs by reducing electricity usage such as turning off lights, fans & AC's. They will always come up with illogical excuses to turn off any object run with electricity in an exaggerated manner to lower the usage, even though the weather is extremely hot in Egypt, especially in Ramadan and the intense heatwave when people need AC's the most.

Tell the jury anything relevant about the direction.

It’s a story of the collective broken records of the standard excuses that all dads made up. The director managed to focus on every detail to highlight how the issue is overdramatic & how the dads exaggerate, starting off from the smallest sound effects, visual style to how it was all brought together through editing. The sound effects of every object, animal or human are intended to be heard to highlight the annoyance felt from people’s nagging about the issue. The technique chosen for the editing of the copy hammered further on how repetitive the excuses sound & to overdramatize them; this was shown through repeating and multiplying the frames, using a big utility bill and lip-syncing the animals. He skillfully shows exaggeration to highlight that it’s time to save the drama because we have heard your made-up excuses and went overboard with the technology to save up your bill.

Credits

Name Company Role
Mai Azmy J. Walter Thompson Cairo Managing Director
Hisham Ghamrawy J. Walter Thompson Cairo Account Director
Mariam El Gammal J. Walter Thompson Cairo Senior Account Executive
Omar Sadik J. Walter Thompson Cairo Account Executive
Ali Ali Good People Films Director
Ibrahim Islam J. Walter Thompson Cairo Creative Head
Farah Sultan J. Walter Thompson Cairo Senior Copywriter
Marwa Khalifa J. Walter Thompson Cairo Senior Art Director
Amir Adib J. Walter Thompson Cairo Planning Director
Mayan Sabry J. Walter Thompson Cairo Creative Planner
Diana Jebally J. Walter Thompson Cairo Head of TV Production
Ahmed El Ruby J. Walter Thompson Cairo Agency Producer
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