Return to the Picture Palace

Legend has it that the initial screenings of “L'arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat” in 1895 would cause the audience to leap from their seats and run to the back of the theatre for fear of being pummeled by the eponymous train arriving at the station La Ciotat. The aptly named Lumière Brothers were among the earliest filmmakers and the audience’s reaction to their short film was the beginning of over one hundred years of shared experiences bathed in the flickering projected light of the film screen.

Of course this, like most shared experiences, was put on hold on account of the worldwide pandemic. Our couches, flat screens and microwaves replacing folding seats, screens and air poppers; needless to say, the living room isn’t as transportive as the theatre. A new campaign from Toronto-based Zulu Alpha Kilo for Cineplex taps into the magic of the movie going experience as the theatre chain welcomes back patrons with a new tagline: Where Escape Begins.

“Watching a movie at Cineplex is one of the only moments we get where we turn off our devices and simply enjoy a moment of escape, free from distraction. We wanted our new brand platform to encapsulate that feeling as we welcome Canadians back to the theatre,” said Sara Moore, Senior Vice President, Marketing.

The campaign’s launch spot is a love letter to the in-theatre experience that has enthralled us since the 19^th century. Faces bathed in that familiar light as they share moments of laughter, fright and fun. OOH applications include headlines that highlight the hardships of the past 18 months like “Cheat on your sofa” and the timelessness of leaving the world behind for the length of a feature with “The original escape room.”

“The experience of watching a movie in-theatre is something we’ve all been missing since the beginning of the pandemic. To simply sit, uninterrupted and enjoy a movie on the big screen is truly an escape from everything else going on in the world,” said Zak Mroueh, Zulu Alpha Kilo Founder and Chief Creative Officer.

Credits

Client: Cineplex
Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo
CCO: Zak Mroueh
Head of Design: Stephanie Yung
CD/Writer : Nick Asik (Cinema/OOH/Social), Dan Cummings (Cinema/OOH), Ian Simpson (OOH)
CD/Art Director: Jenny Luong (Cinema/OOH/Social), Catherine Allen (OOH/Social), Rose Sauquillo (Social)
Writer: Laura Biggar (OOH/Social)
Designer: Jeff Watkins
Account Team: Robyn Morrissey, Risa Kastelic
Agency Producer: Milena Malovic, Elvira Labate, Revital Grunberg, Eileen Meng
Clients: Sara Moore, Greg Ambrose, Kimber Slater, Mike Lucas, Stephanie Critelli
Production House: Zulubot
Director: James Arthurs
Executive Producer: Tom Evans
Producer: Mitch Cappe, Adam Palmer
Post-Production Company: Zulubot
Editor: Max Lawlor, Brian Noon, Mallory Robbins
Post-Production Producer: Mariya Guzova, Gina Simone, Sarah Dayus
Colour: The Vanity
Online Editor: Lev Bravo
Animation: The Vanity
Video Audio: Toast & Jam
Voice Director: Thomas Neuspiel
Sound Editor: Kai Koschmider
Composer: Andy Huckvale
Audio Engineer: Andrew McCready
Video Audio Producer: Matt De Luca
Audio Mnemonic: 6 Degrees Music and Sound
Radio Voice Director: Christian Goutsis
Radio Sound Engineer: James Allinson
Radio Producer: Carolyn Ruether
Studio Director: James Graham
Studio Artist: Pavel Petrycki
Studio Retoucher: Jim Tinios, Gary Chuntz
Developer: Ariana Emond, Kyle Collins