He's a Pinball Mentor

It’s incredible what feeling wanted and a part of a community can do for a marginalized youth. Beset by the turmoil of shelter, foster care and a general lack of guidance can result in the youth bouncing around and eventually completely out of sight. Falling through the cracks. Game over.

The Pinball Clemons Foundation—a non-profit founded by beloved former Argos player Michael “Pinball” Clemons—strives to be a stabilizing force for marginalized youth by providing them with educational resources and options to integrate into the mainstream of society. In a new spot created by FUSE Create and directed and animated by Andrew Embury of Yellow Lab, the turbulent life of a pinball became the perfect metaphor for the foundation.

"We needed to simplify the Pinball Clemons’ Foundation’s multifaceted approach" says Patrice Pollack, Creative Director at FUSE Create. "Through storytelling and the visual metaphor of a Pinball machine—yes, we went there—we were able to illustrate the complexity of the problem and the impact of the solution."

There is a tremendous synchronicity in the approach FUSE Create took with the spot that helps, pardon the pinball pun, plunge the viewer into the world of marginalized youth, and it received the seal of approval from the CFL legend.

“They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I used a thousand words and I was still unable to paint this picture. Thank you for the genius of our competent collaborator, Fuse Create. You’ve brought our vision, our heart and our hope to life. To give young people the resources to control their lives, revel in independence, and change the trajectory of their families for generations,” says Michael "Pinball" Clemons, Co-Founder of the Pinball Clemons Foundation.