With 'The Pie,' United Way Halifax Shows How Families Are Struggling

Who: United Way Halifax, with Wunder for strategy, creative and media; Accomplice and Alter Ego for post-production.

What: "The Pie," a campaign demonstrating the hardship some Atlantic Canadians are facing amid rising cost of living expenses.

When & Where: The campaign debuted today (Dec. 7), running on TV throughout Jan. 1, supported by online and social.

Why: It's not the most wonderful time of year for everybody, with United Way Halifax saying that one in three people in the Atlantic region are currently struggling to afford basic needs. It's showing the very real impact rising costs are having on Canadians as a way of getting people to open their heart, and their wallet, during the giving season.

"The Pie" is a follow-up of sorts to last year's acclaimed spot "The Doorbell," which highlighted the plight of people experiencing homelessness. Wunder creative director Stephen Flynn said that the agency plans to release an annual holiday spot addressing the biggest issue facing Atlantic Canada in any given year.

How: In development for several months, the spot was shot at a donated shooting location, using an entirely volunteer cast.

Soundtracked by an instrumental version of the holiday standard "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," the 60-second spot opens on a typical visual of a woman rolling out the dough for a pie, following the instructions from a well-loved recipe book.

As the spot progresses, however, viewers begin to see subtle signs that not everything is as it seems. The jars in the woman's spice cupboard are nearly empty, and the three apples she has in a bowl are all bruised and overripe. It concludes with the woman looking sadly at pie with a meagre filling, followed by the super "1 in 3 Atlantic Canadians struggle to afford basic needs" and driving to the donation page at ThePie.ca.

[videopress 3mj7WWWC]