Just Seven Sentences Became the Voice of a Lost Generation / PENNY "The Wish"

The problem

For the past two years, all anyone talked about was older people, remote work, and caregiving. Kids and young people had no voice in the conversation. PENNY has a tradition of talking with customers every year to hear what's weighing on them. In 2021, they realized nobody was talking about young people at all.

The insight

Answering her son's question, the mother doesn't just wish for beautiful experiences—she wishes for the painful, growing-up kind too. The film is built to embrace even the pain of letting a child go. The script is only seven sentences long. It reportedly draws on the screenwriter's own memories from their 10s.

The idea

Director Marcus Ibanez describes it as "a memory that hasn't happened yet"—the mother's imagination, the son's lost year. In this world, you don't have to obey time, physics, or even the shape of a room; you only have to follow the feeling. Lead actor Julius Gause re-sang Bon Jovi's "It's My Life," giving the images extra weight. The balance—not too sweet, not too harsh—was worked out scene by scene on set.

What happened

The film has been viewed more than 17 million times on YouTube and has won more than 70 awards. At Cannes, it took the Grand Prix in Film Craft, along with three Gold Lions and one Silver Lion. It also won the Grand Prix at the ADC Awards.

Afterthought

Honestly, I cry every time I watch it. It's not just one person's story—it's the story of everyone who lived through those two years. A project like this only happens when a brand and its production team have built years of trust together. It's a film that reminds you just how much advertising can do.

Awards

• Cannes Lions Grand Prix 2022

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