Bell breaks character to thank TIFF audience

Before bringing its longstanding sponsorship of TIFF to a close, Bell is taking a minute to thank the audience.

Two 30-second spots—which are running before screenings at the world-famous festival, which runs through next week—feature two cinematic hallmarks: romance and horror.

While viewers may believe it’s a typical trailer, the main character suddenly begins speaking directly to the audience, sharing their awe and admiration for the fan support they’ve received.

In the horror film, the character shows off the tattoo she got to honour TIFF audience fans, while the romance star pulls out a smartphone for a selfie. Both ads end with the line: “Celebrating the best audience in film.”

“To recognize the amazing people that TIFF attracts every year, we thought it would be fun to flip the script and have the star of our film trailer gush over the audience,” said Marcus Sagar, group creative director, Leo Burnett, the creative agency behind the ads.

Bell announced last month that after 28 years, this year would be its final year as lead sponsor of the festival.

David Brown