Master-pieces

Using earthy, soft tones, the sage musings from an old man’s heart and his fond recollections of courtyard soccer, the MasterCard Association of Canada frames a pitch for a modern convenience in a pair of period piece ads.

The 30-second spots, shot in an Italian courtyard in Turin by Chaos International’s director/dop David Simpson, tell a story of an Italian who chose long ago to seek opportunity in Canada and is happy he did. But every four years, when it’s World Cup soccer time, he thinks of home, the roots there, his friends, first love. The story of today and yesterday is told through a translation of an Italian monologue, which becomes part of the background sound in the piece. As the voices of storyteller and translator fall and rise, we see the occasional glimpse of the Italian-Canadian’s face, gently intercut with scenes of some laughing little boys from yesteryear playing soccer in the courtyard with a little girl and a semi-stern nun close by.

The browns, russets and beiges of the buildings, gravel and light in the soccer scene recall the tonality of fading photographs, the kind you can’t relinquish to the Man From Glad. But there’s nothing faded about the old man’s allegiance to Europe’s game, soccer, or about how he feels when the spectacle of the World Cup is on the rise. As the announcer says at the end, ‘MasterCard salutes all of those Canadians’ who see soccer as ‘more than a game, but part of their life.’ A subtle, visually stimulating way to attach a corporate message to a sports extravaganza, all the while connecting with the fans. The spots – along with a third MasterCard corporate image spot, featuring a bright, modern woman as credit card connaisseur – went to air earlier this month.

The agency on these spots is Communique, where vice-president creative director is Chris Stavenjord and group creative director is Brian Dolinski. Karen Field produced for the agency. Harve Sherman served as Chaos’ executive and line producer while Kate Eisner produced. Third Floor Editing supplied editor Richard Unruh (and he deserves applause for a fine, understated hand) and the music – itself deserving of attention because of the way it meshes effortlessly with the film – was provided by Rick Shurman of Noise By Noise West. Magnetic North pulled it all together in the on-line suite. ST