Banff Centre "Things you can't unthink" (2017) 1:00 (USA)

The Banff center is Canada's home for artistic learning and creation, located in Alberta. This is its first consumer-focused campaign since unveiling a new brand identity and strategic plan in 2016. The campaign, entitled Things You Can't Unthink is just that-- a campaign filled with imagery so powerful or provocative or strange that you can't unthink it once you've seen it. In addition to this spot, there is also print that goes with it. The title comes from a contemporary art exhibition of the same title, curated by Banff Centre’s Walter Phillips Gallery curator, Peta Rake.
As for the spot, once I've seen it, I can't unthink that it is trying too hard to be different but not effectively communicating its message. I was tracking at first with the old guy in the running shorts. But when the conductor comes in to play him, and then starts crying on top of it, we went into surreal fantasy land rather than art. As to why it isn't communicating its message effectively. Objectively speaking, before today I had no idea what Banff is or that it teaches artists to make this kind of art. Judging it solely on this spot, the message it's conveying to me isn't that I will learn how to make this type of art, but that I will see this type of art at Banff.

Agency: Cossette
Client: Banff Centre
Director: Rodrigo Garcia Saiz