We had previously worked with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective for their summer “No School, No Lunch” program. This time, they came to us to help raise awareness and funds for seniors facing food insecurity. But with a story this powerful, we couldn’t stop at a single spot. We had to make a short film!
There are a lot of preconceived biases toward adults experiencing food scarcity. So, MOFC wanted a story that could not only make an audience more aware, but also encourage them to donate.
The audience awareness also didn't necessarily need to center MOFC, in fact we needed to avoid making MOFC the hero. Instead, the senior in our story needed to be a well-rounded character with a relatable story and her own hero’s journey.
We sat down with MOFC and heard real stories from seniors they have personally worked with. We also researched common misconceptions, statistics, and other external sources. From there, we began crafting the story of Agnes.
We knew we wanted to build her up and give the audience a glimpse into her life to understand how she ended up in her current situation. We also knew we wanted to maintain an optimistic tone as that was a constant theme throughout the real stories we heard.
This story needed to feel real, so texture was going to be an essential part of the overall design. Everything was designed to be tangible. And since we were looking back on a life, we presented this story as a scrapbook that transitions into live action, grounding it in the real world.
We also worked with the food pantry at Wayne State College to film the live action portions. This was part of their Advertising Copywriting class with a Service-Learning component that encourages the students to bring their skills to communities in need. Afterward, we donated all the food used in the filming to their pantry for students and community members.
and how the story was used in a story ecosystem
A short film that tells the full story of Agnes for those that donate on the MOFC website.
Cut-downs that introduce the story, prompting people to hear the rest of the story on the webpage - where they can also donate.
A story ecosystem that MOFC developed into an in-person fundraising event, inspired by the characters found in the short film. They distributed chicken soup for free under the vendor name, “Holly’s,” named after Agnes’s fictional daughter.
based on trust, not just metrics
This short film helped raise thousands of dollars for seniors facing food scarcity across the mid-Ohio region. It also helped pierce through some of the misconceptions around food insecure seniors. This is also a piece MOFC can use for many years to come as it was designed to be evergreen, both in story and creative direction.
We’re so glad we were able to be a part of this important campaign. If you’d like to donate to Mid-Ohio Food Collective, you can follow this link here.
We pitched several creative directions and ended up combining two into this scrapbook style. We let the story lead us and crafted frames that best represented the narrative told by Agnes.
Casting just the right actors was a major component of our process. When we were writing the story, our scriptwriter already had a face in mind, Kristi Quinn, which certainly helped write to her tempo! We also cast a younger actress to play the MOFC volunteer, Alexis Sterling.
To film this scene, our producer worked with her Wayne State College students as part of their Service-Learning class project. This got students on set and helped them better understand the creative advertising process.
For Holly's pop-up, MOFC handed out free soup and screened the short film. It was especially touching to see our characters out in the wild! Fun fact: the little girl in Holly's branding is a baby photo of Kristi Quinn, who played Agnes.
with us.A strong partnership between organization and studio is the crux of great creation. We listen. We ask questions. We seek out the story hiding beneath the surface. Then we bring it to life through creative documentation.
