| Title | #FIRSTCONCERT |
| Brand | VODAFONE NETHERLANDS |
| Product/Service | VODAFONE FIRSTS |
| Category |
A11. CASTING |
|
Entrant Company
|
ACHTUNG! Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
|
|
Advertising Agency
|
ACHTUNG! Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
|
|
Media Agency
|
MEC Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
|
|
PR Agency
|
HET PR BUREAU Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
|
|
Production Company
|
WEFILM Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
|
Credits
| Mervyn Ten Dam |
ACHTUNG! |
Creative Director |
| Niels Straatsma |
ACHTUNG! |
Creative |
| Vincent Rang |
ACHTUNG! |
Creative |
| Jort Schutte |
ACHTUNG! |
Art Director |
| Marten Beerda |
ACHTUNG! |
Designer |
| Joke Van Griensven |
ACHTUNG! |
Project Manager |
| Jona Honer |
Wefilm |
Director |
| Stephan Polman |
Wefilm |
Dop Lighting Cameraman |
| Claas Meier |
Wefilm |
Sound |
| Sara Nix |
Wefilm |
Producer |
| Jelmar Hoekstra |
Jelmar Hoekstra |
Editor |
| Taco Drijfhout |
Taco Drijfhout |
Sounddesign |
| Barry Clarke |
Captcha |
Grading |
| Camiel Overgaauw |
Het PR Bureau |
Pr Manager |
| Omar Kbiri |
Biko |
Influencer Management |
| Simon De Koning |
AMP Amsterdam |
Sound Licensing |
| Colin Benders Kyteman) |
Kyteman's Orchestra |
Composer/Lead |
| Erik Benders |
Kyteman's Orchestra |
Artist Manager |
| Sjoerd Terpstra |
Kyteman's Orchestra |
Sound Manager |
Brief Explanation
Meet Vera, a 19 years old girl with high hopes and grand ambitions, and the hero of our story. Deaf since birth, but recently being able to hear, thanks to an innovative Cochlaer Implant (CI) that sends sound waves directly into her brain. Her dream was to experience live music with a group of likeminded friends, an ambition that we all can relate to. So we embarked on a unique journey to give her an unforgettable #First concert.
Dutch multi-instrumentalist and award winning composer Kyteman lead the way. He reworked the #1 hit record ‘Stay With Me’, by Sam Smith into a version especially tailored for Vera’s CI, with certain frequencies being amplified or blocked. The song became the center point of a magical night for Vera in Amsterdam’s legendary pop music venue Paradiso. A captive audience of friends and family of Vera, other CI users and selected Vodafone clients witnessed the concert live. The whole journey was captured into an 8 minute branded documentary, that taught us all what a #Firsts feels like.
Creative Execution
Because we were dealing with a real person with her own real story, the process of casting was more a process of research. At first we had to find out if the story that we had in mind was realistic: is it possible to enjoy music with a Cochlear Implant (CI)? We spoke to a lot of CI manufacturers, surgeons, audiologists and CI-carriers. The conclusion unfortunately wasn't unambiguous. Besides all kinds of technical obstacles, it depended on the personality of the CI-carrier and therefore success could absolutely not be guaranteed.
There was another complication that made the casting a search for a needle in a haystack. People usually get a CI directly when they are born or when they turn deaf because of old age. But because of Vodafone's intended audience, we had to find a main character between 18 and 35 years old that didn’t have a CI yet, bus was indeed suitable for it. That had the personality, confidence and willpower to feature as the main character of our project. And that had never experienced a concert before.
After a month of full time research, having spoken to every doctor, audiologist, and CI-carrier in the Netherlands, we found our hero. Vera loved music, had a brother who studied to be a music teacher in the national Conservatory and had always wanted to experience a concert. Because, in her own words, she just wanted to be normal.