Kiran Koshy of broadcasting & media production company Raucous Content has directed a new film in collaboration with the Federation Against Ageism Towards Ad Creatives (FAAAC), highlighting the Anti-Ageism Movement in the advertising space.
The dark yet comedic film exposes “the truth of ageism within creative departments,” with a Koshy and agency creatives teaming up to tackle an issue that hits close to home through the creation of the 2-minute and 30-second film that examines what it means to have a creative career in advertising today.
Koshy said the film was released with the intention to call attention to a worthy problem plaguing the industry.
“As a former agency creative, I’m very aware of this issue, and it’s something I care about deeply as most of my friends are still agency creatives,” said Koshy.
“I really gravitated towards the idea the FAAAC team had about creating the most honest recruitment ad for the ad industry ever, to expose the guts of the problem. We worked on making sure the script didn’t rely on hyperbole as the truth was shocking enough and just needed to be told well.”
Koshy adds that “Every line is rooted in the truth, and it’s a dark piece because the truth is dark, and we should all be outraged. However, we did balance it with deliberate humor to make for a more engaging piece.”
“Every line is rooted in the truth, and it’s a dark piece because the truth is dark, and we should all be outraged. However, we did balance it with deliberate humor to make for a more engaging piece.”
According to its website, the FAAAC was founded “to speak the truth about ageism towards creative people in advertising, build awareness about the problem—especially amongst those considering it as a career—and work on solutions to remedy it.” They add that “the industry owes creative people careers that last long enough to be considered a career.”
Koshy said: “I’ve seen a lot of my incredibly talented friends be discarded by the industry in their prime, and I’ve seen how it’s affected their mental well-being and family life.”
“Almost everyone in their 40s questions if they made the right choice in getting into the business and the industry has quite consciously promoted the myth that younger people are more creative because it lets them lower salaries and squeeze margins.”
The entire crew, and post, including Charlie Uniform Tango and Nice Shoes, donated time and resources to make the film. “It’s something they all believed in,” said Koshy.
Koshy also recently penned an Op-Ed piece in AdAge, where he further explores the topic. You can see that here.
Credits
Title: “The Last March Of An Ad Creative”
Organization: Federation Against Ageism towards Advertising Creatives (FAAAC)
CDs – FAAAC Creative Team
Writers – Jason N Farmanov, Kiran Koshy
Director – Kiran Koshy
Production Co. – Raucous Content
EP – Steve Wi
Producer – Adam Kaiser
Associate Producer – Gleason Barber
DP – Joshua Hess
1st AC – Dan Jackson
DIT – Dave Louria
Gaffer – John Beasley
Art Director – Jett Black
Hair/MU – Hannah Handshy
Wardrobe – Oksana Kaiser
Sound – Jeremiah Gray
Post Consultant – Charles Gerstner
Talent 1 – Devin Bonnée
Talent 2 – Kenneth Bingham
Talent 3 – Lee Hackett
PAs – Ty Bever, Tyler Holloway, Chiara Odgers, Kassandra Whitehurst
Editorial & Post – Charlie Uniform Tango, Dallas
Edit – Adam Henderson –
Music – Chopin’s Funeral March
Sound Design/Mix – Russell Smith
Flame Artist – Catherine Thomas
Assistant Editor – Alyssa Udovitsch
Color: Nice Shoes, New York
Colorist: Sal Malfitano
Producer: Isabel Gomez-Boone
Color Assist – Tim Tomlinson
