Shell: advert-body-3 by JWT London

JWT London and director Caswell Coggins (through Dark Energy) partnered up with Shell to seek out the ‘Heroes of Houston’, in a series of films that follow just some of the people who helped their community following the devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey.

The short documentary series was all shot on the ground in Houston, Texas. ‘Tom Ashworth’ follows the story of an unstoppable man, who despite having an incredibly challenging medical condition and having his own home flooded, shows up every day to volunteer in a food bank. He comments that ‘It’s the most rewarding thing’ he’s ever done in his life. A second film follows ‘Michael Barton’, who talks of his involvement through his local church group ‘Helping Hands’. The uplifting story is one of a community mobilized to support one another, in a time of great need.

The concept originated with Lauren Harington and Jules Mortimer, a Creative team at JWT. ‘It was a very positive collaboration with the agency. This was their vision and we all wanted to honor the stories of these selfless individuals’ notes the director, before adding ‘it was also important to me that style and technique were applied, that the films didn’t have a run and gun documentary style, but instead that they had a very considered feel, creating the space for them to be engaging films that would honor their stories.’

The heroes that were identified in the films were put forward by local charities, which were working within the community to get everyone back on their feet.

The uplifting films were launched on YouTube, alongside the hashtag #makethefuture.