The first commercial I viewed at Cannes Lions was one for the History Channel. This commercial was followed by others in this campaign. Each commercial features a single person recounting a historic event as if they were there when it occurred. They drew me in instantly.
The first was of a woman recounting Kennedy’s assassination. You know that something is wrong about her telling it because she was German and way too young to have witnessed this event. However, the emotion with which she tells her story is so gripping and involving. It made me feel as if I was there with her. After she is done speaking something similar to “As if you’d experienced it yourself” scrolls across the screen. This message directly fits into the History Channel’s mission to make you feel as if you are experiencing history yourself instead of just viewing it from afar.
The only problem I had against this commercial was aesthetic. Each commercial was set against a plain beige wall. I am assuming this is to force you attention to the speaker because if there is nothing interesting in the background there is nothing to distract you. Or maybe it was set this way to model the stark and somewhat depressing mood of each commercial. Regardless, I didn’t find it pleasing to look at and found myself wishing it looked better.
There doesn’t seem to be any fancy production techniques in this campaign. As I stated above, the setting was dismal and each commercial featured only a close up of an individual telling their story. There were no special effects and I don’t think there would be a need for any intense editing since the commercials are fairly straightforward.
Despite my complaints about this campaign’s aesthetic components I really do enjoy each commercial. They fit in perfectly with the History Channel. They educate, intrigue, and draw you in just as the History Channel hopes to do. These commercials make history a little more interesting.
I sadly can't find the link for this one :(
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