https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et3j-ZsZ-k8
BBDO New York has always been on my radar for great ad videos. Deceptively touching Judo Kid from “Dad Insurance for Fearless Dreams” embraced the reality and takes us back to remember our first dreams. The reason why I want to write a blog post about this video is because the relationship between the father and son speaks to me. In this less than 3 minutes’ video, it created an emotional bond between the story and the viewers. Absolutely a bonus point for this ad video.
The video starts with a scene, the father carries a package walking into a house with police car’s siren in the background. It foreshadows for the neighborhood bullies and judo uniform. We can see the director is building the story arc.
The first sequence is about the boy Mateo watches flamenco dancing video in his bedroom. A wide shot illustrates how much he loves flamenco dance with all kinds of posters on his wall. At 0:05, a close-up POV of the video Mateo is watching. At 0:08, camera shifts back to Mateo.
At 0:24, the dark, scary music starts playing in the background after Mateo realized his father bought him a judo uniform instead of a flamenco outfit. We as the audience know how much Mateo loves flamenco dancing. However, every story never goes as what protagonist or the viewer wanted.
At 0:29, neighborhood bullies’ voice over the soundtrack. We watch his father protect him as he walks past the bullies. The arc of the story is climbing. 
At 0:36, POV of the moving bus. Camera shifts back to a medium shot of Mateo’s mixed feeling face. At 0:39, a wide shot of Mateo and his father on a bus heading to judo practice. We all know how we Mateo’s feeling, to do something we don’t want to. This story creates a strong sense of emotional connection between the story arc and the viewers. 
At 0:44, the rhythm of the video becomes faster follows Mateo through his judo practice, where he struggles at first, to bigger and bigger competitions.
At 1:29, a wide shot shows Mateo’s unremitting efforts to train judo. 
At 1:58, the story takes an unexpected turn. After Mateo has gained enough skills, strength, and confidence from his judo classes and competitions, his father gives him another package, flamenco outfit. Here it is, the peak of the story arc : a father gave his song the greatest gift anyone could give another person – he believed in his son, Mateo. #dad’slove
After the father and son’s hug, the mood and rhythm of music changed dramatically. From the dark fast beat into a high pleasant pace. Mateo heads down the sidewalk again, he’s walking by himself without fears. 
In this two minutes and thirty seconds’ short film, it brings an emotional demonstration between a father and a son. We often asked our story, “is this a story.” This typical father-son story comes from real life, bit by bit it creates a strong emotional connection along with the story arc. Sometimes, there is no need for us to use a lot of dialogue or superb post-production. What we need is to bond with people and dig into the humanity. Show don’t tell.
More : http://creativity-online.com/work/american-family-insurance-dad-insurance-for-fearless-dreams/47809
Hey Winnie, I completely agree with you. We are definitely seeing a shift in advertising; companies are hiring producers to tug at the heartstrings a little. I can’t remember the last time I heard a jingle on television. That over-the-top, trite work seems to be a tactic of the past. Short films like this one are more believable and more importantly, they allow viewers to empathize. (Car companies like Toyota and Subaru helped pioneer this trend years ago with commercials like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zVxncMxt7A) As far as this video goes, I found the cinematography and music captivating. The tracking shot that served as an establishing shot showed us the inner city neighborhood Matteo lives in––we get a sense of where he comes from (0:36). The progression of the score to a more uplifting beat and the quicker cuts to more action-packed shots evoke a sense of determination. Viewers want this kid to excel in judo. American Family Insurance reminds us that dreams are important and they help shape who we are from a very young age. Thanks for sharing!
Agreed about the intent to tug at the heart strings. It works. There’s also a very cool, and subtle, use of cuts that match the motion in the frame that I didn’t notice until the third time I watched the video. Two examples: 1:03 to 1:05 when the kid bows in one scene, then lifts his body in another.
But more impressively: 1:23 to 1:34. The kid bows then the movie cuts to him lifting up a weight. Then it cuts to him crouched on the floor kicking his leg to the left side of the frame before it cuts to him pulling a weight to the left of the frame. A few second later, he faces right as he uses a jump rope moving in the same direction before it cuts to him doing cartwheels in the same direction.
Very cool. Thanks for sharing!
Did you notice the little bits of camera movement, for example at 0:09 and 0:17? It’s interesting that an insurance commercial would add that bit of motion that makes the scenes look like they might have been shot using a handheld camera. The low lighting from the lamp in the kid’s room and gray muted daylight outside in the neighborhood go a long way to create an authentic sense of place. At 0:47, the filmmaker makes use of natural light coming through the windows of the judo practice room to capture the dramatic effect of shadows. I also like the use of natural light coming in through the window at 0:58, when the dad is waking the kid up for practice. It’s brighter inside the house at 2:09 when the dad gives the kid the flamenco outfit. But worth noting we never see a blue sky or sunshine.