Hockey Canada Hand Story

Hockey Canada appealed to the sentimental memories of Canadians with their television commercial, “Hand”. We’re taken on a trip back through time for a man with a dirty hand. The commercial starts in a hospital with a man playing a hand of cards by himself. The shot moves from his hospital desk to his office desk on the last day at work. As he switches the light off we see that his dirty hand has made its mark on the light switch, the phone and his coffee mug on the desk. We’re now back to another table – set for a birthday cake with candles. As the man claps his hands and shakes the hands of others we see that his right hand is dirty. We’re now following the man as he sits on a bus. His right hand leaves a dirty mark on the pole.

The next shot shows him leaving a hand print on the back of his daughter as he launches her off on her bicycle riding lesson. Now it’s in the church where the man uses his dirty hand to place a ring on his bride’s finger and hold her face as they kiss. In the swimming pool the boy swims with his hand out of the water. And why? The answer comes as the boy holds his hand out to a hockey team running into the stadium. A player reaches up and shakes his hand.

Click on the image below to play the video.

Credits

This moving spot was created at DDB Canada by creative directors Andrew Simon and William Hammond, copywriter Denise Rossetto, art director Todd Mackie and agency producer Andrew Schulze.

‘Hand’ was directed by Mark Gilbert at Reginald Pike in Toronto (now Untitled Films), working with director of photography Tico Poulakakis, producer Tuula Hopp, and executive producers James Davis and Josefina Nadurata.

Post production was done at Soho Post, Toronto. Editing was done by Chris Van Dyke at School Editing, Toronto.

References on other sites

The Spunker suggests there’s a link between the hand ad and the baby ad directed by Yael Staav. Commercial Break gives grades out of 10. Adrants reflects on the touching power of ‘Hand’.