The creative team behind the new fundraising video for the YMCA of Honolulu wanted something different this year and opted for an old-school approach.
Instead of a video that could accommodate only two or three poignant stories because of time constraints — the videos are usually three minutes long — the new video delivers nine stories that evoke emotion through a series of flip cards.
It’s like a visual haiku, three or four brief phrases with a punch line on the last card that’s turned over.
People who have seen it actually have wept, according to the Y, which hopes the message will help raise $975,000 for its financial assistance programs.
The video, as well as a cut-down, 30-second public service announcement, was created by Take2 Production, owned by ad industry veterans Kat and Tim Bradley. They worked off an idea from Lisa Ontai, director of marketing and communications for the Y.
Because it believes in the Y’s mission, Take2 Production does the work for cost, said Kat Bradley, who joined the Nuuanu YMCA when she moved to Honolulu in 1989.
"So few people realize how many lives the Y actually touches," she said. "The general view is it is a great place to work out, maybe a good place to send the kids to do something. When we first got involved, we were amazed at the depth and breadth of what was being done and the many communities being served."
The money helps people join programs they might otherwise not be able to afford — health and fitness programs for all ages, youth programs, teen leadership programs, after-school programs and many more.
In the video, those who have been a part of that share their stories: a teenager in the wrong crowd whose life was turned around and dreams of being president; a man who recovered at the Y after being in a coma for six weeks — and his grateful family; a single mother who couldn’t afford day care for her children until the Y gave her financial aid.
The Y estimates it provides services for 1 in 10 people in Hawaii.
Bradley and her husband, both in their 60s, spent 35 years in the advertising field. Three years ago they decided to form their own production company, and have made TV commercials and an array of short documentary-style stories for Hawaiian Airlines.
Bradley said the Y video gives "visual sound bites" that provide important facts quickly and with real faces at the same time.
"The concept looks different enough that it catches you for just that extra little instant that means maybe you will watch the darn thing," she said. "It is really difficult to pull yourself out from the crowd. No matter how beautiful you’re produced, you tend to blend in."
Previous videos produced for the Y told only part of the story, Ontai said.
"We never felt the videos could tell the complete picture of what the Y does and tell it in three minutes," she said.
Ontai saw a similarly done video at a Y orientation last fall and asked staffers to share stories, pretty much in the same three- to five-sentence structure of the flip-card video.
"They got it right away and said they had perfect stories," she said. "In previous years it was always difficult. It was hard for some people to tell stories. It didn’t come naturally."
In fact, it worked so well the Y has launched a new project to collect as many stories as possible to mark its 145th anniversary next year. There’s a "Tell Us Your Story" link at ymcahonolulu. org.
The goal is to create a timeline that marks personal milestones for those who were part of the Y, with stories or videos, Ontai said.
You might say they’ve flipped for it.
AND that’s a wrap …
Mike Gordon is the Star-Advertiser’s film and television writer. Read his Outtakes Online blog at honolulupulse.com. Reach him at 529-4803 or email mgordon@staradvertiser.com.
