Boris Kodjoe & Nicole Ari Parker “We’re In This Together” COVID Campaign

Project Description

During COVID, Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) contacted Ezra Productions to produce a series of photos and commercial public service announcement videos (PSAs) starring celebrity couple Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker. The goal of the campaign was to increase the COVID vaccination rate amongst adults and children in the Inland Empire.

Our Approach

The goal of this campaign was to use Boris and Nicole’s natural charisma and authenticity to communicate a message of health and vaccination to IEHP members in the Inland Empire. We wanted the commercials and photography to feel heartfelt and elevated yet accessible and fun, while creating authentic connection to the Inland Empire.

The first step in creating authentic messaging was to take the time to get to know what motivated Boris and Nicole to participate in this campaign, and what drove them to get vaccinated. We distilled their stories into universally important themes for getting vaccinated: protecting our young children, our elderly family members, our coworkers, and of course, ourselves. Next, we had to translate this serious subject into scenes and scripts that allowed Nicole and Boris’s personalities to shine, and that still felt relatable to residents of the Inland Empire.

We only had four hours to shoot with the talent, and we wanted to maximize our shooting time with Boris and Nicole and reach as many demographics as possible, so we created four commercials that targeted at three audiences: two starred both Boris and Nicole and were aimed at multi-generational families, one starred Nicole and focused on women taking care of themselves, and one starred Boris and spoke to men in the African American community. Each of these commercials took place in relatable atmospheres: at the gym, at a restaurant, in a café, and in parking lot unloading groceries. We didn’t shy away from the fact that Boris and Nicole are Hollywood celebrities—after all, that’s part of what makes them who they are—but we were careful not to make it feel like they were outsiders coming into a community and telling them what to do and how to live their lives.

While our video crew was transitioning from one scene to the next, we had our celebrity photographer capture photos of Nicole and Boris in each of the setups so the client could use those photos for billboards, newsletters, social media, and on their website.