It’s not often that Canadians get big, hyped spots of their own for events such as the Academy Awards, but that will be the case March 7 when Unilever and its margarine brand, Becel, debut The Heart.

The short film was directed by Sarah Polley (Away from Her) and produced in association with BravoFACT and Film Farm Productions, with media handled by PHD in Toronto. Two minutes long, The Heart will take up an entire commercial break during the Oscars.

Rather than promote Becel directly with branding and product placement, the film is meant to inspire women to care for their hearts, which is the message behind the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Becel-sponsored ‘Heart Truth’ campaign, says Joanna Janisse, account director at PHD, a sentiment echoed by Becel exec Margaret McKellar.

‘Our campaign this year was much more about getting women engaged and to get them to understand that they need to make themselves a priority in terms of heart health,’ McKellar explains. ‘So we centred our campaign on a short film, using the power of film and storytelling to really drive emotional engagement.’

The film and an eTalk special are currently being promoted by CTV.

From Media in Canada

______________________________ This story has been corrected. The original wrongly referred to the short as a ‘commercial.’