2019 Winners & Shortlists

THE AC'S BROKEN RECORD OF EXCUSES!

Short List
BrandMIRACO
Product/ServiceAIR CONDITIONS
EntrantJ. WALTER THOMPSON CAIRO, EGYPT
CategoryEditing
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 edit.

The editing technique skillfully highlighted the ballad of the collective broken records of excuses that all dads make up. The film is showcased in an illogical sequence that seem over dramatic, synced to the beat of the music that gets faster as the excuses gets over the top. The shots were carefully crafted utilizing multi-image techniques for each line of the script, then repeated, deconstructed, split into ten frames, multiplied & divided. The film showed exaggeration further through magnifying other elements highlighting how “over dramatic” the dads are, such as the comically big utility bill. This specific humor is all about timing, thus timing was a challenge to be able to mix the music with each joke, character, visual & sound mixing to bring the scattered shots & elements to a lively copy.

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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