In the Fall of 2010, Montreal-based commercial director Alexandre Franchi was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer in the upper tibia just below the knee. After a year off from work and still on crutches, Franchi started to contemplate working again. Franchi noticed that some of the creatives he used to work with, although very sympathetic, were not at ease when around him. Perhaps it was the stigma of cancer, perhaps it was not knowing how diminished he was from the ordeal. For a commercial director, it is paramount that the creatives you work with feel at ease with you, know you, and know that you will go to the ends of the earth for their concept. Something had to be done for Franchi to a) come back in the forefront of advertising people’s minds, b) show he still had his directing chops and c) explain what had really happened to him. The solution was to write and shoot “Franchi is Back”, a humorous and fast paced 3 min video depicting his ordeal with cancer.