Royal Ontario Museum Captures the Human Story in a Gripping 6 Minutes – Muse by Clio

"I will paddle the rivers of Turtle Island, be born into a rich family, die at 19 a pharaoh in Egypt. I will be beheaded. I will be a girl. I will be shamed. I will live through a pandemic. Or die in one."

"Immortal" was directed by Scouts Honour's Mark Zibert. The script was written by Denise Rossetto and Carlos Moreno, Broken Heart's co-founders and chief creative officers. The whole ad takes place in the womb of Earth, and is told from the perspective of an unborn child who contains the story of everyone who ever lived. Zibert and his team used lens, lighting and atmospheric effects to lend the impression that the piece was shot entirely underwater.

So many moments this meditation pricked our eyes. The juxtapositions of time and position are not only narrative; they appear, visceral and slow-moving, in water. A modern protestor leaps over a Roman soldier, both too preoccupied by the dance of their own timeline to see one another. The Berlin Wall resurrects to be crushed again, moments before a Black ballerina appears, staring out at nothing in particular. Great triumphs sit aside great follies: Write the Song of Solomon, then be the one who burns it.

"We always knew we wanted people not just to see objects," says Rossetto. "If you've been to the ROM, you've seen objects. We needed people to see that these aren't objects, they are portals to humanity."

The goal of "Immortal" is to cultivate that perspective of objects. "Every object in ROM is a portal to stories with the relevance that can speak to something we are facing today; igniting important cultural conversations. 'Immortal,' as a platform, speaks to the legacy of these objects and the immortality of these stories," says Lori Davison, the museum's chief marketing and communications officer.

The work concludes, "I will give birth and I will die. But I will live on in what I leave behind."

"I put on my late father's watch the day of the shoot," Rosetto says. "And I thought, 'He's living on with me today in the watch he left behind.' I felt this emotional feeling that I'm wearing what my dad left behind for me. I kind of like looking at objects everywhere as the people behind them and the love they put into these things."

The campaign will run through the summer in cinemas, outdoors and on digital. The Royal Ontario Museum will keep the full version on its YouTube.

Client: ROMChief Marketing Officer: Lori DavisonVP, Brand and Marketing: Kathryn BrownlieVP, Communications: Sally Tindal

Agency: Broken Heart Love AffairChief Creative Officers: Denise Rossetto, Carlos Moreno, Todd MackieStrategy: Jay ChaneyAgency Team: Bev Hammond, Joline Matika, Carlos Game-Garcia, Olivia CousineauAgency Producer: Erica Metcalfe

Culture Consultant: Shaunoh Wilson

Media Agency: OMDChief Talent and Enablement Officer: Christine Wilson

Production Company: Scouts HonourExecutive Producers: Simon Dragland, Rita PopielakDirector: Mark ZibertDirectors Of Photography: Mark Zibert, Eric KaskensProducers: Simon Dragland, Rita PopielakCreative Research: Tricia ZarembaProduction Service Company: Moonlighting FilmsExecutive Producer: Shayne BrooksteinLine Producer: Suzanne CurrieProduction Designer: Naobie NoisetteCostume Designer: Ruy Filipe

Prosthetics: CosmesisLead Artist: Clinton Aiden Smith

Casting: Kamikaze CastingCasting Director: Lea-Anne HendrickseIndigenous Casting: Shasta Lutz

Editorial: Nimiopere EditorialExecutive Producer: Julie AxellEditor: Graham ChisholmAssistant Editor: Griffin Stobbs

CG & VFX: Motif StudiosVFX Artist: Craig ParkerExecutive Producer: Jacques Bock

Colour: Alter EgoColourist & VFX: Wade OdlumExecutive Producer: Hilda PereiraSenior Producer: Genna Mcauliffe

Additional VFX: Tantrum StudioVFX Artist: Dominik Bochenski

Audio House: Rajakovic ElectricMusic Composer / Audio Director: Mark RajakovicExecutive Producer: Nicole RajakovicMix & Sound Design: Aaron MccourtVoice Over: Alana Bridgewater

Graphic Design: Leo Burnett DesignChief Creative Officer: Lisa GreenbergHead Of Design: Man Wai WongAccount Lead: Kim Le

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Royal Ontario Museum Captures the Human Story in a Gripping 6 Minutes - Muse by Clio