Our film depicts young man visiting a grave. It is immediately clear, he and this person did not have a positive relationship. He resents them for not being the role model he needed, they made him feel small, weak and unsuccessful. Despite this, he is comfortable with who he is, proud of the man he has become even if his accomplishments do not adhere to what the person deemed as success.

As he leaves, triumphant that he has gotten the last word, it is revealed the tombstone was not for a person at all, but for the outdated stereotypes of masculinity in media that have, rightly, been put to rest.

For us, it was clear the objective was about challenging the consistent lack of representation of the modern man in media, particularly in advertising. To show the disconnect between the real life perceptions of success versus that in media, the different types of success and to high light how single minded current advertising is.

The objective is not to vilify the classic version of a “manly man” but to open up the conversation and to acknowledge there is spectrum of masculinity. One stereotype does not define male success, success is subjective to every individual and we need to embrace that and correct the damage that has been done.

This film is rooted in the insight that modern men are seeking to evolve into a healthier mindset but portrayals in media are dragging them back into past ideals of masculinity.

Masculinity is changing and has been for the last few decades and still, much of advertising targeting men has remained the same. This insight led to the crux of the film - that old stereotypes of what male success looks like are dead and it’s time to move on.

We wanted to target a Gen Z male audience, an audience desperate for positive role models and representation that makes them feel seen and appreciated.

As a group that consumes a lot of online content, we chose an interesting POV style angle for the bulk of the film – one commonly used on TikTok. This audience also responds particularly well to humour, so we wanted to lean into that, creating a script that was light hearted but also honest by touching on trends and truths from within this cohort.

Another consequence of an online generation is a short attention span. That’s why we chose to design the film to create a bit of intrigue. It’s not exactly clear what’s going on until we get to the end of film, this is intended to grasp the attention of the audience and ensure we hold them until the reveal at the end, letting the audience really sit with the final message.