Tell us a bit about your organization and what your specialty is in the film and video space.

IW Group is a creative marketing agency that specializes in campaigns that blend culture and innovation. In addition to producing commercials, branded content, and experiences for clients like McDonald’s, Lexus, and Suntory, we also have an entertainment marketing department that promotes films and shows for studios like Disney, Warner Bros., and Paramount Pictures.

What is your organization’s ethos and how does it set you apart from industry competitors?

Exploring the intersection of culture and innovation has been our key differentiator. For multicultural shops like us, it can be very tempting to lean on familiar tropes and deliver traditional campaigns that are well made, but ultimately, disposable. We like to shake things up a bit by marrying cultural insights with emerging technology to give our audiences something fresh and unexpected. This approach also helps keep us engaged and inspired.

How can people join or learn more about what you do?

Visit our agency’s LinkedIn page, website or drop me a line on LinkedIn.

Tell us about your Telly Award winning piece. What’s the story behind it?

IW Group was the Gold Winner in the Social Impact category for our McDonald’s “Sweet Connections” campaign, which utilized AI to bridge the generational language barrier between American grandchildren and their immigrant grandparents.

This was part of the promotion for the Grandma McFlurry, where we were tasked with creating an Asian American program that celebrated the special bond between Gen Z and Millennials with their grandmothers.

As I was thinking about my own relationship with my grandma, I found myself regretting never being able to adequately communicate with her — she didn’t speak any English and I spoke Chinese at a second grade level — which was fine when I was in second grade, but frustrating as an adult.

As our team was researching the generational language barrier, we also learned about all these new AI translation tools that were becoming available, and our campaign concept was born.

Our team created a microsite that allowed users to record short video greetings for their grandmas and translate them into her native language. The process incorporated voice cloning and lip sync technology that made the user look and sound like they were speaking a new language, which is incredible to experience.

To promote the site, we filmed a trio of commercials that featured real grandkids and grandmas discussing their communication challenges.

What are you most proud of about this piece? What was your biggest challenge during production and how did you solve it?

This was both McDonald’s USA’s and our agency’s first AI-led campaign. While that fact alone was exciting, the real breakthrough was our human- and culture-led approach to artificial intelligence. At a time when there’s serious concern about AI leading to depersonalization, our campaign demonstrated that technology can also foster genuine human connections.

Do you have any advice to other filmmakers based on your career or your team’s approach to work?

Create work that truly excites you and means something to you. Sometimes, the more personal you get, the more universally resonant the work becomes.

Also, take advantage of your professional opportunities to share a piece of yourself. It will make the work much more rewarding — and, perhaps, justify the long hours.

Can you share a behind the scenes story or fun fact about the making of your piece?

The TV commercial shoot allowed some of our participants to express feelings they never shared before. One pair in particular — a granddaughter expressing her deep gratitude to her grandma for raising her after her mother passed away — drove our entire crew to tears, including some of the toughest production veterans who’ve seen it all.

Okay, so this wasn’t exactly “fun”, but it was certainly cathartic; especially for those of us who never had a chance to say “thank you” to our grandmas.

Tell us about the most memorable response you got from this work.

While “Sweet Connections” was originally designed as an Asian American-targeted campaign, McDonald’s leadership was so enthusiastic about the program that they ran the creative on general market television, including the NBA Finals, which nearly crashed our site! Inc. also called the work “brilliant” — which was a nice bonus.

Complete this sentence: ‘Great video storytelling is…’

…creating an opportunity for your audience to feel something.