Inside the Smith Brothers Media reviving cinema Gruen pitch

The episode last week saw SBM’s team pitching against Perth agency Rare, who had to convince Australians of the opposite message: to close the curtains on the cinema.

“We had the whole SBM team brainstorming concepts,” says James Smith, CEO of Smith Brothers Media.

“In the end, we landed on the idea to show the downsides of watching films outside the cinema. We’ve all been watching a TV show or a film, and had it ruined by interruptions or distractions … everyone can relate to that scenario.”

SBM’s Revive the Cinema ad scored two out of the four judges’ votes, rendering the challenge an equal tie on the night with both teams awarded a Gruen winner’s trophy.

“Creating the pitch became even more of a challenge because of Melbourne’s strict lockdowns,” says Steven Moore, head of video at Smith Brothers Media.

“We had to get creative with finding safe locations to film, and most of the actors were people from our own team.”

This was SBM’s second pitch to Gruen, after a 2020 pitch that involved creating a short video thanking essential workers during the pandemic.

“Since SBM works with Disney and other multimedia clients, getting audiences back to the cinema was a personal pitch in terms of our core values,” says James Smith.

“We were beyond excited to be asked back, and thrilled to win the trophy. It’s a real testament to the video skills and creativity we have in the SBM team.”