ARC Creative Partners with FCB and SickKids for Powerful New Brand Film “The Count”
ARC Creative is excited to share one of our first public awareness campaigns since launching, in partnership with FCB Canada and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). As we celebrate SickKids’ 150th birthday on April 3, we’re proud to unveil our new brand film, “The Count.”
This film features over twenty real SickKids patients and creates an emotionally charged and visually rich tapestry that highlights the fight for every birthday. It artfully blends birthday imagery with athletic metaphors and surreal visuals, capturing real-life moments of children and their families.
We are incredibly moved and inspired by these families, children, and hospital staff. This project serves as a powerful reminder that heroes come in many forms. We are grateful to be part of it and appreciate our partnership with Danilo Boer and the FCB family.
Hear Directly from These Amazing Young Heroes
Nori (10 years old)
“I'm really happy and honoured that I got to play a part in such a meaningful video to celebrate SickKids 150th birthday. It was so much fun being on set and meeting so many kind and amazing people. It was surprising to see how many people it takes to bring a video like this together, and everyone made me feel so comfortable and special.
Seeing myself in the final video was so exciting, I love it, it's so special! It can also be tough to watch because I am still fighting to overcome cancer and the emotions are very real. I'm happy that me and all the patients in the video have SickKids by our side to make sure we don't spend our next birthday in the hospital.”
Cody, Age 10:
“It was my first time being in a commercial, and I felt so many emotions! Seeing the production process was really cool, and the director was awesome. I even had a tiny conversation with him in French. Now I understand why movies take so long to make! Watching the final commercial felt surreal, but also amazing. I’m so happy I got to be a part of it… thank you, SickKids, for the honour!”
Hannah, Age 10:
“It was fun, exhausting and rewarding to be on set to shoot the commercial. When I saw the commercial it gave me chills and I was excited and joyful. It's amazing to celebrate SickKids 150th Birthday and I am so grateful for everything they do for kids like me.”
The History
We have partnered with FCB and EVP, Global Creative Partner, Danilo Boer for many years at The Mill on projects like our award-winning Michelob ULTRA Lap of Legends campaign. Last year, this campaign won several awards at Cannes and received over 50 additional accolades at other prestigious events. Additionally, Budweiser's 'First Delivery' commercial, which ranked #1 in this year's Admeter for the Super Bowl, has also been highly awarded.
ARC Creative Managing Director, Angela Lupo recounted, "This film is stunning and truly pulls at the heartstrings. I want to thank Danilo for his continued support and for including us in this project. When he initially called me at The Mill to discuss partnering, I was immediately on board, and this project has become even more special to me since The Mill closed. None of this could have been achieved without the dedication of so many partners."
“This emotional film was one of the first campaigns to launch from ARC, and we are thrilled to play our part in helping raise money for such an important cause. We appreciate Danilo and FCB for making us aware of the project and for their continued support and collaboration.” - Gavin Wellsman, Executive Creative Director at ARC Creative.
The SickKids shoot coincided with Technicolor's announcement of The Mill's closure, adding an emotional depth to the project as our crew connected with the challenges faced during this time. ARC Creative VFX Supervisor, Jeff Lopez commented, “I was standing on set, supervising VFX for SickKids, when I got the email that The Mill was shutting down. It was surreal—one moment you're deep in creative work, the next you're technically unemployed in another country. But walking away never crossed my mind. This spot meant too much. We were determined to finish what we started, and I’m proud that we found a way to do just that.”
Resilience
The generous support from ZERO VFX and Dream/Machine FX, allowing us to utilize their machines, played a crucial role in our project. The sheer volume of work made the machines feel overwhelmed, symbolizing the intertwining narratives of struggle and resilience faced by families at SickKids.
After a few long days and after our 8th VFX share, Senior Broadcast Producer Tessa Waisglass said, "....don't worry everyone. It's not like we're saving lives. Wait. I take that back. We actually are on this one."
ARC Creative CG Lead, Rafael Ghencev stated “Struggling was a theme in this film, a theme that overflowed into the story and impacted the production itself. Facing the end of our studio in the middle of production made us struggle to bring this film to life. But facing all odds, and while building a new company from nothing, being able to help those kids who go through much deeper suffering and deliver this beautiful film made our struggles feel small and worthwhile.”
ARC Creative VFX Supervisor, Antoine Douadi added, “When you realize how much these kids struggle day to day, the uncertainty we were facing as a company took a back seat. It is an honor we got the chance to help, even if just a little bit.”
How to Donate
Roy Gruia, Director of Brand Strategy and Communications at SickKids Foundation said, “SickKids is incredibly thankful for the passion, generosity and commitment shown by our agency and production partners as we could not succeed without them”
Help SickKids celebrate this historic milestone and consider giving the ultimate birthday gift of $150 to support SickKids. Your gift will help SickKids continue its legacy of cutting-edge care for generations to come.
For SickKids’ 150th birthday, join us and fight for more birthdays for more kids. Donate at FundTheFight.ca.
