Computers and Internet may promise us a paperless world that is more friendly with the environment, especially with the recent boom of allowing us to store various kinds of data in the cloud. But although digital media offers a good way of storing large quantities of data, paper still remains much more accessible when we want to express our thoughts faster. According to a study by Docmail – a printing and mailing company — it seems that 1 in 3 adults haven’t have a good reason to write something on paper within the last six months.

In a digital world, paper seems to lose its strength. But Canadian stationery pen retailer Take Note, from Toronto manages to reinvent the power of words written on a piece of paper by narrating a tearing love story which reminds us that in the digital century we live in, handwritten notes still have a bigger, and meaningful impact on people. Rather than fleeting zeros and ones in form of emails, texts or other digital posts.

Released just in time for Valentine’s Day, the three-and-a-half-minute-long video made with the help of BBDO Toronto — one of Canada’s top agencies in terms of Creativity awards and Effectiveness awards — focuses on some notes a pair of lovers leave for each other during the full course of their long and loving relationship. The heartwarming video called “Life Story Love Story” starts with a note message from the women, in which she says “Last night was fun!”, and ends the note by leaving her phone number. We can assume that the women’s move marked the beginning of a long romantic relationship, as the video unfolds the story of the two protagonists using just sticky notes – from the mentioned first date throughout their marriage, to having their first child and later even grandchildren.

Chris Booth, an Associate Creative Director of BBDO Toronto, says: “Leaving a note for someone is so much more personal and thoughtful than a text.” Also, he adds: “We wanted to remind people how meaningful such a simple thing can be.”

Speaking of handwritten letters, Take Note’s owner, Jolanta Petrycka — who doesn’t believe that this kind of notes belongs to the past — says “Most of our day to day communication now is very utilitarian. But still, there’s nothing like receiving a handwritten letter in the mail or a note from someone you love.”

The video was released on February 8th and until now it has reached around 8,000 views on Take Note’s Facebook page and over 34,000 views on YouTube: “We’re so proud of our beautiful new film, ’Notes’. Despite living in a time when connecting with people has become so much easier, it has also become so much less personal. This story reminds us of the power of putting pen to paper. We hope you love it too,” is the message that accompanies the film.

The Toronto-based creative agency, which shares a passion for excellence, won five awards at the Clio Sports Awards in 2016, for the #Paratough campaign that was created for the Canadian Paralympic Committee. BBDO won 2 silver awards for the “Cyclist” film and for #Paratough campaign, and also 3 bronze awards for the “Blind Foosball” and “Shot Clock” printed ads.

Credits:

Client: Take Note

Agency: BBDO Toronto

Associate Creative Director: Chris Booth