It opens in the garden of a middle-class home but quickly cuts to an interior scene where there's a birthday, and a cut-away to a grandparent's hand helping a young girl's hand to form letters. Subsequent cut-aways show the same girl in her room late at night sketching with her new pen under her bed clothes with a torch.
Various other scenes quickly show how her pen and she continue through life – as a teenager, she turns her boyfriend away from the door so she can study; as a fashion design student she is pinning a dress on a model, working while others are partying in the background; and then a little older in her own workshop filling out the price-tag on her designer label.
Finally, she walks into a beautiful hotel and begins to sign her check-in form at the reception desk when her pen, suddenly after all these years, stops writing. This causes her to stop and reflect, and as she slowly looks around her at the impressive lobby and hotel décor, the realisation of her achievements dawns on her. The final cut is to the Southern Sun logo and title ‘You've Arrived'.
According to Frieze Films' Michelle Kruger, who produced the commercial, Ogilvie's sensitive treatment of the story board gave the commercial eloquence and poignancy, while ensuring that the client's message was delivered. This is an emotive story told with heart, not sentiment, she said.
Kruger added that there are two versions of the commercial – a 45-second ad and a 30-second version. However, she stressed that each was edited as a standalone version – as opposed to the shorter being a straight cut-down – in order to maintain the poignancy and flow of the story.
The creative team of Trevallyn Hall, Margarita Karvouniaris and Mark Grainger were delighted to work with Leigh. Karvouniaris added: “Leigh interpreted our story board with great empathy and has created a campaign that is working well for our client.”
Click the links below to view the commercials:
Southern Sun #1 [4MB]
Southern Sun #2 [6.5MB]
