Healthcare

I love the idea that our heroes are envisioning themselves — their lives, their hobbies, their actions — through the singular lens of their very own eyes, creating a potent visual metaphor. So it's imperative the audience clearly understands that the image within the iris is a “window into their lives“ not a reflection of what they're looking at.

Placing the image into the iris versus the pupil will create this sense of the “window” we're after. Simplicity is key here, so we'll stay away from making the iris too dream-like, ensuring that the image within the eye is crystal clear — just like our heroes' vision.

When you look at a closeup of an iris, it actually looks like a watercolor, with a variety of colors melted into one another. It's beautiful. Artfully blending the “window” into the iris would be an organic way to portray these slices of life — having the colors melt away slightly, and using that as our transition point to build the “window” Testing will be helpful in determining the final transitions.

New Paths, New Possibilities

Illness can be lonely under the best of circumstances, so I can only imagine the isolation people must feel when their diagnosis is burdened by a lack of treatment options. Without a clear path forward, where do you go? If doctors are unable to care for you, how do you care for yourself? How do you begin to march towards a future that feels so murky and uncertain? It can’t have been an easy journey for people with fatty liver disease, but I was genuinely encouraged to hear how Rezdiffra is changing the game for them. The freedom to move forward in your life with intention and hope is a true gift, and these films are a beautiful invitation for NASH patients to take the first steps toward a healthy, fulfilling future.

It’s always inspiring for me to get projects that stand to make a difference in people’s lives. I think the key to this campaign is to make these stories feel like…well, real stories! Full of authentic emotion and sensitively observed details, these spots should make the viewer feel the evolution of our characters’ minds, moods, and lifestyles as they move forward, newly inspired to live with passion and purpose.

I think that all the best stories have a level of detail that feels personal, but an emotional quality that feels universal. The moments we see are particular to these characters, these places, these families. But the kinds of moments they are—the situations, the character interactions, the feelings they evoke—feel familiar the second we see them. We’ve been there before. We’re living them now, even, with our own loved ones. But somehow, seeing them play out in other people’s lives makes it easier to realize how important they our in our own.

I want our scenes to evoke this sense of feeling, playing out with the power of real lived memories. They’re honest. Real. There’s emotional range, from lighthearted and fun to serious and tender. Performances are subtle. Scenes are never art directed or perfect—spaces are unvarnished, scenarios are colored with the texture, sounds, (and occasional chaos, let’s be real!) of family life. Camera is elegant but alive, a fly on the wall—seeing, observing. In every frame, we get the sense that real life is happening!

And of course, life is inevitably colored by its setting, so Florida will play a big role here—almost like a character in and of itself. Think casually layered wardrobe. Sun-drenched environments, with glows and light flares. Lush greenery. Sounds that evoke the rich humanity and unique flavor of Floridas diverse landscapes. Our scenes should quietly exude this Floridian spirit, without ever overplaying it. It’s the kind of thing a real Floridian will recognize as being authentic to their home and their way of life.

Hands are a link to life. They sculpt, craft, fix, prune, paint, and perform surgery - hands connect us to our purpose. Nobody knows this better than the nearly 7% of Americans living with Dupuytren's Contracture. They're limited in their ability to use their hands freely and deserve to know their options when it comes to treatment.

This campaign speaks directly to the people who need to hear Xiaflex's message most - the physicians. Orthopedic hand surgeons no longer need to default to older, “tried and true” methods. There's a highly effective, non-surgical treatment that's been readily available for the Dupuytren's population for over a decade now. The more doctors talk directly about Xiaflex's success, the more willing others will be to offer it as an alternative.

Color and lighting are important and immediate ways we can create an environment of care and empathy. Let’s favor a warm and subtle palette of saturated colors in our set pieces and wardrobe choices. I’m imagining natural creams and golds, as though everything is lit from within. We’ll accent this with Xolair’s colors — blues and violets that skew towards jewel tones. These will appear in pops (couch pillows, kitchen towels, scarves or earrings) so they never overwhelm. I discuss this aspect in more detail in the Production Design and Wardrobe sections.

As I’m sure you have gleaned from my intro, I love dogs. But I also love working with dogs because they have so much personality that you can really nail comedic timings. A deadpan stare, a quick pant, an eye-roll… they can really deliver a full and nuanced performance that is nothing short of hilarious. We will cast for a breed of dog that often suffers from allergies, has a great personality, and, of course, can deliver on several key “tricks” on command. My (biased) preference would be to cast for a Labrador because they are equally adorable and incredibly intelligent, so they are often a trainer’s go-to breed (alongside Australian and German Shepherds). That said, we will put together a strong casting group of all the best animals in the area and get auditions of them staring deadpan, panting tongue out with joy, playing keep eye, and any other tricks or commands they want to show us. It will be adorable, and we will find that perfect pup.

Matching a voice to our dog is key — if the voice is too over the top or cartoonish, I think the tone of the spot will shift and take our audience out of it. It has to feel real, and that will make it funny. So if we cast a Lab (willing it to the universe), I’m thinking of someone with an easy-going vibe but a little younger in tone. If we cast a Bulldog, let’s look for someone with a lower register to really match their melancholy stare and demeanor. So long as it feels real, it will be hilarious.