The Government of Ontario’s METROLINX regional transportation authority is working to build a world-class transit system in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area. But this work takes time, and over the years people have grown impatient and doubtful that the investment in transit will have a meaningful impact in their lives and community. This 60 second OLV and cinema spot is the third phase of our It’s Happening campaign, and aimed to inspire people to see the possibilities that more transit will bring to their lives, and the region. More transit doesn’t just mean more rails, stations, and service – it means more ways for everyone to access the things they want and need.
“Metrolinx: It’s Happening.”
[shown on screen: several passengers on a train. title: Filmed on a closed set following COVID-19 and Platform safety protocols. Please continue to follow COVID-19 health and safety measures in place.]
Narrator:
At Metrolinx, we’re making more possible. For more people.
Passenger 1:
[dressed in street clothes] Yeah, right.
Narrator:
Don’t believe us?
[in a whisp of smoke, Passenger 1’s clothes suddenly change to a karate gi, Passenger 1 reacts with confusion]
Narrator:
Believe this.
[train doors open to reveal a Karate class taking place in the train station, multiple young students are breaking cinder blocks with punches]
Karate Students, in unison:
Hai-ya!
[In a flash of smoke, the karate studio in the station becomes a salsa dance class.]
Narrator:
More transit means more people connecting with their passions.
[mid-dance, a male dancer dips his female partner]
Narrator:
And dip.
[cut to an elderly man in athletic attire and a ping-pong paddle standing in front of a staircase on a train platform as a wave of ping-pong balls descend the stairs]
Narrator:
It means more grandpas joining more clubs
[pan to a silhouetted group of people standing in front of a jellyfish tank]
Narrator:
and more folks meeting giant jellyfish.
[cut back to on the train, which has been decorated like a restaurant. A waiter is standing in the aisle]
Narrator:
More connections, more dates in new places.
Passenger 2:
I’ll have the soup du jour.
[pan to reveal that outside the window of the train/restaurant is a cartoon astronaut riding a cartoon unicorn]
Narrator:
Hmm. Unicorn.
[cut to inside the train station, various cartoon characters and elements are superimposed. An IRL child with a cartoon cape stares off in the distance]
Narrator:
Does it mean going to more animated film festivals? It sure does, little guy.
[cut to a barber in a barber shop giving a customer a shave]
Barber:
Oh, I don’t take transit, so who cares?
Narrator:
You don’t,
[cut to shot of various people, flash bulbs going off as if they are being photographed]
Narrator:
but your new customers do.
[cut to shot of a passenger wearing a lab coat and a stethoscope boarding a train. The interior of the train is a physician’s office which includes a hamster running on a wheel]
Narrator:
More transit means more access to healthcare for people and hamsters.
[cut to a shot of a passenger in a suit and tie boarding a train, the interior of the train looks like an elevator]
Narrator:
More grads getting to their dream jobs quicker,
[cut to a shot of two passengers holding hands, boarding a train whose exterior looks like a country house]
Narrator:
and more city families moving to houses in the ‘burbs.
[cut to shot of three passengers sitting in the platform waiting area and crying in a comically exaggerated fashion]
Narrator:
It’s less this,
[the passengers suddenly stop crying, excited children disembark a train and run to them]
Narrator:
and more this.
Children:
Yay!
Narrator:
Aw, I just love a happy ending.
[cut back to Passenger 1 on train, still in a karate gi. the astronaut who was riding the unicorn is now a passenger]
Passenger 1:
Nice.
Narrator:
Oh, come on, it’s more than nice.
[cut to an aerial shot showing Toronto and the surrounding area, rail routes become highlighted.]
Narrator:
It’s happening.
[title: It’s happening. Metrolinx]
“Metrolinx: Awkward Phase.”
[shown on screen: solid black screen]
Narrator:
This is an important transit message.
[wide shot a stage, Awkward Teen 1 is the only one in the shot. The backdrop is a picture of a constructions site]
Awkward Teen 1:
Metrolinx is building a world-class transit system, for a better region.
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 1 is replaced by Awkward Teen 2, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 2:
But before that happens, it means going through
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 2 is replaced by Awkward Teen 3, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 3:
a phase.
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 3 is replaced by Awkward Teen 4, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 4:
how do I explain this? It’s an
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 4 is replaced by Awkward Teen 5, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 5:
an in between sort of late, you know
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 5 is replaced by Awkward Teen 6, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 6:
an awkward phase.
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 6 is replaced by Awkward Teen 7, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 7:
ah…
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 7 is replaced by Awkward Teen 8, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 8:
There’s a pretty big gap between where we are now and where we want to be.
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 8 is replaced by Awkward Teen 1, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 1:
But all this messiness means
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 1 is replaced by Awkward Teen 2, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 2:
that change is actually happening.
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 2 is replaced by Awkward Teen 3, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 3:
[smiles]
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 3 is replaced by Awkward Teen 4, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 4:
Some changes you can already see.
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 4 is replaced by Awkward Teen 5, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 5:
Sick.
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 5 is replaced by Awkward Teen 6, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 6:
So, while it may feel like you’ve been waiting forever
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 6 is replaced by Awkward Teen 9, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 9:
and you’re probably annoyed, like all the time,
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 9 is replaced by Awkward Teen 3, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 3:
just know it’s because we’re all headed towards great things.
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 3 is replaced by Awkward Teen 5, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 5:
Sounds pretty cool.
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 5 is replaced by Awkward Teen 6, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 6:
And all of this
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 6 is replaced by Awkward Teen 2, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 2:
will be worth it.
[cut to a similar shot, but Awkward Teen 2 is replaced by Awkward Teen 6, The backdrop changes to a different picture of a construction site]
Awkward Teen 6:
Yeah.
[Awkward Teen 6 exits stage left. Title: Transit change. It’s happening.]
[next title: Metrolinx. metrolinx.com/itshappening]
“Metrolinx: It’s happening”
Narrator:
A transit message, from Metrolinx
[shown on screen: two teenagers in a messy room. Teenager 1 is sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room, wearing a hoodie. Teenager 2 is off to the side, possibly sleeping.]
Teenager 1:
Things are a little messy right now, but sometimes things have to look a little worse before they look amazing. It’s a process.
[cut to black. title: Transit change. It’s happening. Metrolinx. metrolinx.com/itshappening]