“Everyday Heroes” campaign for FWD Insurance

Last November I did the stills for FWD Insurance upcoming regional campaign. It has already been launched in Hong Kong, and soon also in Indonesia, Vietnam, The Philippines, and Thailand. I’m especially looking forward to when the images get plastered out over Bangkok, where I am currently at. As of now, I have only seen the photos covering buses in Hong Kong. I don’t know FWDs media buy exactly, but it’s pretty massive. Would be fun if they plaster the BTS lines running through Bangkok.

I got to work with some amazing people, and a special thanks go to Kep from Media Monks. It was a 4 day full on Marathon here in Bangkok where we did 3 videos and 3 photo shoots per day. It was exhausting but also nice to see the creative concept from DBB Group (Agency) come to life, through locations, talent, and storyline. To quote them:

“The campaign features 12 scenarios the difference that confidence can make to your life, no matter your age or stage in life. Each scenario was developed through a rigorous process of researching local insights from the markets FWD operates in throughout the region”.

The campaign is called “Everyday Heroes”, and I think it is suitable. The images show individuals overcoming various everyday challenges through personal bravery and perseverance. For me at the photographer, the challenge was to capture “the moment” in a high-stress situation with many parts. I got to shoot the talent tired after the filming part was done, with very little consideration when it came to lighting or time. The people from DBB helped to get the reactions and emotions out form the talent, and honestly, I am unsure if it would be possible otherwise. We all pulled through and I think the result is good.

I brought a couple of high powered strobes and a 24-70mmm and 50mm 1.4 lenses as the only equipment. The speed we were moving at, meant that I would often need to piggyback on the film lighting. But in many cases, there was no time to leave it, and we had to improvise. Sometimes the solution was to just suck up ambient light with my 50mm prime lens, setting it at 1.4-1.8 and cranking the iso. 

The crazy finish was the “airport” scene, shot at the Makkasan airport link train station 500 meters from my home in Bangkok. The lighting crew had put up an artificial sun outside the station, giving the feeling of a sunny afternoon, or early morning. After the filming was over, everything was taken down before we managed to stop them. The whole station went pitch black. It is the first time I have fired both my strobes at full power up into the ceiling to light such a big space. You could almost fit an airplane in there.

Look out for the campaign, and let me know what you think, or have any questions.

You can read more about it here

Credits -
DDB Group

Chief Strategy Officer: Andreas Krasser

Executive Creative Director, Global Business: Jamal Hamidi
Regional Business Director: Justin Bonnett
Strategy Director: Adrian Tso
Creative Directors: Yuko Fukuba, Florence Lee
Creatives: Natalie Parengkuan, Christel Chong, Aaron Cheng, Jeremy Hogg,
Richard Shaw, Tim Paradise, Pierre Desfretier, Sam Cheeseman
Strategists: Ronald Lee, Karen Lew
Account Manager: Natalie Chan
Producers: Becky Ip, Isa Wai
For Media Monks

Director: Michael Sewandono

Director of Photography: Mattias Troelstrup
Executive Producer: Kep Bruinsma
Producer: Amanda Zhang
For Raw Productions Thailand

Stills photography: Ben Zander

For FWD Insurance

Group Chief CX and Marketing Officer: Tim Oliver
Group Vice President, Brand Management and Development: Bernadette
Stevens
Director, Brand Management and Development: Janelle Goh