Commercial Deux

Guiness Europe
AMV BBDO
Guiness Rugby World Cup Campaign
Gareth Thomas Ad
Glass Lion Shortlist

So it appears I enjoy the athlete commercials the best, but truly I think these are the ones that pull on every emotion that many of us have felt in our lives at one point or another. The ad begins with darkness and intensity, as Gareth Thomas is walking into an empty field filled with emotion. The voiceover, of him speaking, shows us the inner battles that he is having on and off the field. He explains that he turned to his teammates to tell them what he was battling with, him being gay. And that they are there for him, no matter what. The words "Gareth Thomas. Thought he was alone. Always part of a team." flash on the screen, and then it switches to him scoring and them congratulating him. This really showing the moments that they are ALWAYS there for one another, no matter the circumstances, "always part of a team." The filming of this really really draws on the raw emotions of the sport of Rugby as well as the darkness of feeling alone. The scenes switch back and forth from utter loneliness in his darkest hours, to the compassion of the sport and togetherness of a team. As someone who has battled my own demons of depression and anxiety I can relate to the feeling of being alone, which is perfectly portrayed as he is walking into the empty field. But also I relate to the feeling of being included and loved, by family and friends when I was finally able to open up and share with others what my mind was thinking. This ad perfectly hits the points it aimed to portray, while being perfectly crafted. The one thing I noticed the festival did not touch on much was sexuality, after a week of listening to talks arguing both sides of gender equality, I feel like this summarizes an issue of sexuality and I am glad that they won multiple lions for it.

View the commercial here.