My Most Immortal Ad: Anthony McCaffery on Channel 4's 'Meet The Superhumans'

I’ve always been a sucker for big ideas executed brilliantly. I still sit down and show some of the best work to my kids. It’s advertising as entertainment, brand building and engagement that rewards me for watching. Advertising can do all those things at once and more. 

'Meet The Superhumans’ for the Channel 4 coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games did a rarer thing, it genuinely changed perception. I know that’s often the goal, tell a story and create a relationship with the viewer, but this was different. 

For many the Paralympics only ever existed in the shadow of the Olympics. This film broke through and introduced a new group of heroes. It was raw, emotional and inspiring. 

These competitors weren’t going to be an afterthought. They weren’t second class. These were heroes. The closing shot of the athletes, in a tunnel under the stadium, summed up the mood brilliantly. They were waiting in the wings ready to surprise you in a way you’d never seen before. 

I don’t think I’d ever seen these athletes presented on screen in this way, and I genuinely believe it opened people’s minds in the run up to the games.