SOCIAL MEDIA VS. ISAAC NEWTON
Brand | THE KING ABDULAZIZ CENTER FOR WORLD CULTURE AN INITIATIVE BY ARAMCO |
Product/Service | SYNC BY ITHRA |
Entrant | LEO BURNETT Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA |
Category | Direction |
Idea Creation
|
LEO BURNETT Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA
|
Production
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FILMWORKS Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
|
Post Production
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FILMWORKS Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
|
Write a short summary of what happens in the film
Imagine if social media existed during the most important times of Newton’s career. When he discovered gravity. Would he have been able to focus? To create without being bullied or compared? Would he have been able to lead with confidence?
Would we have advanced as humans the way we did?
The film shows Newton, completely missing the apple falling with gravity, because he received a notification that caught his attention. He comically even bites the apple while he is going through his social channel.
This film is part of a series of 3 films, each portraying 3 historical geniuses: Leonardo, Mozart and Newton.
Cultural / Context information for the jury
Social media can become a real addiction that can shut anyone’s potential down. Excessive use of social media can have very negative repercussions, such as low self-esteem and distraction, among other things. And Saudi Arabia uses social media excessively, to say the least. It ranks among the top countries in digital and social media consumption.
Ithra, a Saudi-based cultural centre recognised how important it is to unlock the potential of each and every Saudi for a better tomorrow. It was time for Saudis to impact the world and Ithra wanted to remove any blocks or obstacles that were limiting their potential. So, it created a Digital Wellbeing Program - Called “Sync” - to overcome digital addiction.
Tell the jury anything relevant about the direction. Do not name the director.
The direction depended majorly on:
1) Recognizing the genius and the historical moment instantly.
We achieved that by making sure that Newton was sitting under an apple tree, that apples were falling all around him. We dramatized with slow motion and freeze the falling of apples and the sound effects they made.
2) Injecting a social media element seamlessly into a vintage story.
We achieved that by simply interrupting his moment with the sound effect of a notification.
3) Capturing the tension and change social media added.
This was achieved with the cast’s expressions and also with the change in film treatment. The film that was going in a crescendo, building to the moment of genius, suddenly unfroze and became almost comical and nonchalant.
Credits
Mohammed Bahmishan |
Publicis communications |
Support |
Thierry Chehab |
Leo Burnett |
Concept/Ideation |
Renaud Henneffe |
Leo Burnett |
Ideation/Concept/execution |
Samir Antoun |
Leo Burnett |
Support |
Makram Khatib |
Leo Burnett |
Support |
Julia Masri |
Leo Burnett |
support |
Links
Video URL