Nucco Brain And HMD Global Release ‘Be The Gift’: A Poignant Live Action Spot For Nokia Digital Channels
Parents live for their children. Watching them grow into adulthood and leave their home behind is always a bittersweet experience. This Christmas, let’s remind both parents and children that family is forever, no matter what life brings.
HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, have been working with Nucco Brain’s creative studio to build content for their social channels, from images to short animations. ‘Be The Gift’ directed by Aaron Trinder is their most ambitious collaboration yet: a full length live action video spot that explores themes of loneliness and family, while highlighting Google Android’s innovative features and functions. Released just in time for the holiday season, it’s the spiritual successor to HMD Nokia’s 2017 #BeTheGift campaign, and should resonate with many a father and daughter this Christmas.
Nucco Brain brought storytelling flair to Nokia’s values of togetherness and human connection, and the end result is a deeply empathetic message, much needed in 2018, that speaks to children and adults alike. Our characters are a father and a daughter in her late teens. She has been on a gap year, travelling and discovering herself, while he has been living in a house which seems colder and emptier than ever. He pushes open the door of her room, a room that has seen the growth of a girl from childhood to adulthood, to find it bare and empty. He uses the swipe fingerprint gesture on his Nokia phone to see no notifications.
We then see him pouring himself a mug of tea in the kitchen. He opens Google Photos, and views a picture of his daughter. It is clear that she has enjoyed a life away from home. He uses Google Lens to identify a famous landmark in the background, smiling to himself. In the next scene, on the evening of his birthday, he is again alone, reading a book. His phone suddenly buzzes, and he retrieves it to view a birthday text message from his daughter. He glide-types a response, smiling wanly.
Suddenly, the doorbell rings. Getting up with a sigh, he approaches and opens the front door. His daughter is standing on the doorstep, grinning widely and holding a balloon, still a little unsure of herself. He embraces her joyfully, and the music swells. The final shot shows two Nokia phones lying on a table side-by-side, while both characters chat animatedly in the background. Our message then comes into view: ‘The most precious gift you can give, is you.’
Nokia phones facilitate human connections, but they don’t replace them. This video spot reinforces the importance of family, reminding us all to turn off our phones from time to time.
