Building Bones from Yogis

The Power of Movement is Canada’s largest yoga fundraiser, but Lowe Roche wanted to bring meaning to the name. Not everyone understands how yoga and arthritis are linked. They wanted to show that doing yoga not only raises money for arthritis, but actually brings increased movement to arthritis sufferers as well.

 

In this campaign, Lowe Roche demonstrates yoga’s dual benefits by creating shapes of the human bone system using influential Canadian yoga instructors and dancers. Simply by doing yoga, we could ‘see’ parts of the body regaining the power of movement.

 

Print elements launched in December 2013, with TV launching this January 2014, and is already generating word-of-mouth for the cause. Initial seeding with potential influencers has met with positive feedback, with early registration and donations already looking positive.

 

Arthritis affects someone you know. In fact, about in 1 in 7 Canadians are affected by this family of over 100 diseases, including Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Lupus and Juvenile Arthritis. It affects over 4.6 million Canadians – 3 million of them women; 26,000 of them children 18 and under, and is estimated to cost the Canadian economy $33 billion annually. The Arthritis Research Foundation works to raise funds for research into treatments and possible cures, for arthritis and associated autoimmune diseases.

 

For Lowe Roche Creative Director Jane Murray, this is an important cause. See her note below on how this campaign came to be.

 

When the client Sabrina Young contacted me (she is a Facebook friend of a friend) she asked me: “I know you are a Creative Director. Do you know of any advertising agencies that might want to work for the Arthritis Research Foundation, pro bono?”

Even though we were Facebook friends, She had no idea that I had a rare type of arthritis, called Ankylosing Spondylitis. Over time, it causes your spine to fuse. Yep, literally fuse. But luckily, it does not cause your brain to fuse. Thankfully, my brain works better than ever. In fact, only a week before Sabrina contacted me, I said to my partner, “I wish I could do something creatively great for arthritis”.

So, of course, I told Sabrina I would do it. It would be my honour – and also my challenge – to make a campaign so moving, and so interesting, and so beautiful, that it would encourage others to join this cause. My Co-Creative Director Mark Mason and I set to work on it. This would be our pet project.

I called the best of the best: Shin Sugino of Sugino Studios, Chris Van Dyke of School Editing, and Clive Desmond at Ta2 Sound and Music. They all said yes. And this is what we made.

The Power of Movement

Agency: Lowe Roche
Co-Creative Director, Art Director: Mark Mason
Co-Creative Director, Copywriter: Jane Murray
Agency Print Producer: Beth MacKinnon
Agency Broadcast Producer(s): Sam Benson, Shannon Farrell
Account Services: Ailin Wu, Leo Maia

Production House: Sugino Studios
Director, Photographer: Shin Sugino
Camera Operator: Andrew Wilcox
Producer, Stills: Taeko Yamanouchi

Production Coordinator, Motion: Sarah Gheriani

Post Production: School Editing
Executive Producer: Sarah Brooks
Offline Editor: Chris Van Dyke
Assistant Offline Editor: Nicole Sisson

Colour Transfer: Alter Ego
Executive Producer: Greg Edgar
Colourist: Tricia Hagoriles

Online Edit: Fort York VFX
Executive Producer: Erin Kuttner

Online Editor: Mike Bishop
Assistant Online Editor: Lauren Rempel

Sound House: TA2 Sound & Music
Executive Producer: Christine Leslie
Track Director: Clive Desmond
Composer: Tyson Kuteyi
Engineer: Dave Clarke

Talent:
Sahara Morimoto, Choreographer
Amanda LaRusic 
Ana Gropler
Ashely McEachem
Daniel McArthur
Emma Kerson
Jaimie Gateman
Jillian Peever
Kate Holden
Lisa Greenbaum
Maggie McDonald
Paul Galloro
Sarah Fregeau
Steven Smith
Michael DeCorte
Mandy Larusic