FEATURE

Alone, You Can't Reach It

An ad that isn't finished until one more person shows up.

Ads usually speak to one person at a time. The seven gathered here aren't complete until another person shows up. Coca-Cola's vending machine has its coin slot set 3.5 meters high, out of reach unless someone gives you a piggyback ride. Duracell's bus stop only blows warm air once two people hold hands. In these two, the device itself is locked shut. In the other five, one person's action finishes, but it doesn't take shape until people come together. The order here follows who that "other person" needs to be: someone who happens to be passing by on the street, a stranger gathered through the internet, a prisoner behind prison walls, someone who prays to a different god, an enemy. The third one, Orcon, and the fourth, Globo, both involve strangers met online, and we didn't decide which pairing feels more distant. In the final three, what happened left its mark beyond the video itself. Belgium's Minister of Justice decided to roll out prison eCycling to every facility, and donated blood reached hospitals on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides. In the very last one, we want you to see what was actually exchanged.

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