An agency in Vancouver brought fathers and their kids into a studio, but didn't tell them what the resulting video would be about.
Echo Stories founder and president Samantha Reynolds grew up without knowing her father. She was inspired by the way her filmmaker husband, Pete McCormick, interacts with their kids.
They decided to make a video to showcase the special relationship between fathers and their children. The result is racking up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.
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Once in the studio, the kids were given a single question to ask their fathers: "Dad, what about me makes you proud?" The result is genuine, heartwarming and beautiful.
The pairs were nervous at first. "This is slightly intimidating," says one daughter.
"Dad, what about me makes you proud?" this daughter asks. He answers: "Just about everything that you do."
"You're loving, you're funny. I could go on," this dad said.
Some dads were adorably awkward at first. "Your attention to, uh, hygiene," was his first thought.
"I've always been impressed by you. You've made it easy."
"I had trouble with alcohol and there was an intervention," said one dad. "You were the real reason I went into treatment. Thank you."
The kids also shared what they're grateful for. "Dad I'm so grateful because we didn't know how long you'd be with us, and I'm so happy that you're still here."
This young woman talked about how she'd be graduating soon and what that will mean for the two of them.
"I love you." "I love you too."
"The video shoot itself was an intensely emotional experience ... We didn’t prepare them in advance at all," Reynolds wrote. "But we went deep right away and they went deep with us."
The message is simple. As one participant said, "It doesn't compute until they're gone, so tell them now."
The idea and the #TellThemNow hashtag is catching on.
What a great campaign! It's been 30 years since I lost my dad. If your dad is still in your life, #TellThemNow https://t.co/pHe5LRpu9s
If you're fortunate to have a father with you now, #TellThemNow. I miss my father everyday. http://t.co/sQrvh3TXGB