In Proctor & Gamble’s ongoing effort to support the moms of the world, we created a spot for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games based on the human truth that the daily courage a mom shows is instilled in her child. The film follows four moms and their children on their journey to the Olympics. Along the way, they face physical and emotional challenges—large and small—yet Mom always remains unflappable. Ultimately, Mom’s strength is echoed in each child as the children summon strength of their own and succeed on the world’s biggest stage.

We were faced with producing a complex story during a year of fiscal austerity at P&G. To save money while also upholding creative integrity, the spot was shot in 10 days over the course of four weeks, in three different countries: Uruguay, Romania, and China. Crews were almost entirely local, requiring mounting a unique production in each country. Casting was done in Brazil, Uruguay, London, Berlin, Romania, Shanghai, and Beijing. All Olympic uniforms were original designs that had to be approved by both the IOC and each individual country represented in the spot. Over 20 designs were made. Olympic venues were designed by modifying official IOC specs for our non-Olympic locations. Getting modifications approved was an extensive process. The beach volleyball venue was built from scratch on a beach. The car crash was shot practically; we had one chance to get it right.