Daily Planet helps Lurie Hospital keep a promise

Daily Planet Ltd. transformed stories from everyday life into a celebration of family while making Promise, a two-and-a-half minute short film for Lurie Children’s Hospital.

The video captures a series of interactions between parents and children to illustrate the kind of care that the hospital provides. Shot over two days on location throughout Chicago’s west side, the footage weaves together five stories that turn simple moments into cherished experiences without a hint of forced sentimentality.

“We wanted to show a broader story of promises that are made from parents to their kids,” explains Daily Planet’s Michael Gabriel, who directed the film. “That’s really what the story is all about: Lurie cares for its patients the same way that parents care for their children.”

 
PROMISE BY DAILY PLANET FOR LURIE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

 

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital is a pediatric specialty medical facility with a proven knack for reaching out to the Chicago community.

Along with Imerman Angels — the cancer support group that won an Emmy for a commercial created by Daily Planet — the organization makes a fitting complement to Daily Planet’s regular client list, which includes the Chicago Blackhawks, Jim Beam, and Corona.

“Obviously, we believe in Lurie’s mission,” says Daily Planet President Scott Marvel. “They make promises that they keep and they gave us a lot of space to do what we do well.”

Promise was originally created for a fundraising campaign, but according to Marvel, the premiere generated such positive response that its reach has since been expanded.

“It was initially screened at Theater on the Lake,” he says. “They got so much great feedback on it that they called the next day and said, ‘let’s get this thing to a wider audience.’”

Since then, Promise has been sent to about 80,000 people through Lurie’s additional marketing efforts.

Much of the success can be attributed to the cast and crew’s success at treating a basic idea — parents caring for children — with such a comfortable and confident level of authenticity.

“We wanted to show real stories,” says Gabriele. “We didn’t want it to be too over the top. We wanted it to feel real and relatable.”

Under his guidance, activities like walking to school and a tying a tie become not only memorable but also relevant.

“The biggest challenge for me was making the action relatable, working with the actors to really get the essence of the emotion,” Gabriele continues. “We just wanted to capture slices of life and let the viewer experience them.”

A total of five vignettes run through the film. The largest one was shot in Humboldt Park.

“I had the dad, the daughter and her friends, and two street-crossers,” says Gabrielle. “We had about ten people, so I broke it up into sections instead of shooting it all at once.”

The film ends with the most literal representations of the theme, an idea that Gabrielle had in mind all along.

“Everything we shot led up to that moment,” he says. “I had a vision for it before we even started, and that feeling sort of carried the heart of the spot.”

 
CREDITS
Creative Director: Alan Spindle

Sound Design/Mix – Matthew Hane

 
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