Filipino ride-share driver with Tourette’s syndrome stars in Colgate’s equality campaign
Colgate-Palmolive has launched another film for its ‘Smile Strong’ campaign, which focuses on promoting equality in advertising by creating ‘a future for everyone to smile about.’
The campaign, created by Red Fuse, also aims to encourage viewers to not just smile through adversity, but to also have the courage to take action, despite the odds facing them.
The previous film in the campaign featured Brina Maxino, a teacher who has Down’s syndrome, while the the latest film stars Marlon Fuentes, a driver for a ride-sharing platform who has Tourette’s syndrome.
Dino Ocampo, executive creative director at Red Fuse, explained with the pandemic reaching a critical point in the Philippines throughout the last year, community morale was at an all-time low.
So for brands such as Colgate, trying to push a message of optimism in a time and place where people could barely find a reason to smile was a challenge.
“Meeting Maron was like a breath of fresh air. He inspired us all. Our director Direk Joel Limchoc was energized by his outlook and really set the tone to build his story in a way that was meaningful to us all and which also aligned to Colgate’s stance on Optimism in Action,” said Ocampo.
“It was an honor and a privilege to work on this campaign. It was a pleasure to highlight the heroism and inner strength of a driver with Tourette’s syndrome, and show how he manages to overcome not only his condition, but the prejudices of those around him. Marlon’s captivating optimism has managed to transform and elevate all of us who were fortunate enough to work with him.”
