If you’ve noticed a glow surrounding the city of Waco, there’s a reason: these days, lights shine bright at Baylor University. In January of this year, Johnson & Sekin and Baylor University launched the Baylor Lights campaign, introducing the idea that each member of the Baylor student body, faculty and staff has the opportunity to be a light for themselves and those around them.
The theme of light is a visually arresting way to illuminate Baylor Bears’ aspirations and successes in their lives, research, faith, service and careers, and Dallas’ own award-winning film and commercial director Norry Niven’s beautiful live action footage, perfectly captures the uniquely reverent Baylor spirit. Heading up digital production, ATK PLN – also here in Dallas – brought J&S’ vision to life with subtle light elements and fully rendered 3D animations.
Norry Niven with Niven Film stated, “I was honored to be a part of this amazing shoot and for my incredible creative partners at Johnson & Sekin and world famous Baylor University. This was all about the rich tradition of that university and the bright future for its students, the state and the planet. No pressure! We had an incredible crew made up of our production family from Austin and Dallas, all of whom were proud to create beautiful images to promote a Texas cornerstone. There was a threat of bad weather for the shoot but the skies parted over our location (drenched the rest of Texas) which made me truly believe our friends at Baylor had a direct line to the big weatherman upstairs… Look at those amazing faces in the crowd in the spot, those are real students, not actors! And every one of those faces was filled with the spirit, the light and the hope that Baylor exudes.”
David Bates with ATK PLN added, “The team at Johnson & Sekin had a very clear vision of what they wanted to create, and it was a great experience to work alongside them to bring those concepts to life.”
“This commercial is certain to differentiate Baylor in the ‘sea of sameness’ reflected in most university commercials,” said Jason D. Cook, Vice President for Marketing and Communications and Chief Marketing Officer at Baylor.
And the excitement isn’t limited to the on-campus marketing team. Just ask Baylor alum and recent Johnson & Sekin hire, Brooke Battersby. “Working on this campaign has been such a huge blessing. I’ve been able to combine my heartfelt connection to my time at Baylor with my passion for watching the brand thrive.”
Debuting during the Big 12 opener between Baylor and Kansas – and featuring real incoming freshmen and beloved Baylor landmarks – the spot is a personal and powerful way to connect with students, faculty, staff and alumni as the Baylor and Johnson & Sekin partnership looks ahead to Phase 2 of the campaign.
Watch spot…
