Thinking of fireworks, typical images of bright lights and pinwheels come to mind.

But two innovative campaigns to promote this summer’s pyrotechnical competitions don’t run with the expected. They add a new spark.

A Keanu Reeves-type figure races down a dark street. Cars squeal as he dodges traffic. The voice from his earphone exclaims, ‘Take us in, take us in.’ He spots the briefcase with a time counter running dangerously low. The hero springs into action, swiping up the suspected bomb. Quick close-ups of his pounding feet as he races against the clock then hurls the briefcase over a bridge. Tense silencethen a brilliant display of blue and gold fireworks light up his crouched form and the golden fireworks are mirrored in our hero’s widening eyes.

‘It’ll be a blast’ is the tag.

The new 30-second spot for Benson & Hedges Symphony of Fire conveys that the fireworks competitions in Vancouver and Toronto are just as exciting to watch as Mission Impossible or any other of the summer action-movie lineup.

The campaign team at Saatchi & Saatchi – creative director Peter Rigby, agency producer Nora Goodden, art director Bruce McKay and copywriter Henry Wong – hope the fast-paced action spot will attract a more youthful audience to the competitions.

‘They were looking for the frenetic pace they’d seen in the films Speed and Seven,’ says George Vale of Spy Films, who directed, shot and edited the spot. Pacing was accelerated by shooting with a narrow shutter degree, allowing the image to strobe.

But the dazzling blue and gold fireworks are the key moments in the spot. The scenes in which the hero throws the briefcase and the fireworks explode were shot day-for-night and the fireworks painted in.

‘We used lightning strikes off to the side to create the flashes and create the effect that the light is coming from the fireworks,’ explains Vale. At d.a.v