More Good Years
The South Dakota Department of Health runs Quitline, a statewide smoking-cessation program built for a population that isn’t too keen on being told what to do. Rural South Dakotans - farmers, coaches, parents - have heard the warnings. What they haven’t seen is themselves on screen. Epicosity needed a film that felt like it came from their world, not from a health department.
More Good Years // Short Film
More Good Years // Short Film
Epicosity brought us in to produce and direct a Super Bowl spot for the Department of Health’s Quitline program. The job was simple: reach South Dakotans who had learned to tune out the standard anti-smoking playbook - and ship the work in six weeks, in time for the game.
What the work had to do:
- Make the consequences of smoking feel personal without leaning on shock or gore
- Show how one habit can quietly interrupt a lifetime of opportunity and connection
- Turn a two-day January shoot into a finished film and broadcast spot before Super Bowl 2025
It should watch like a film, but work like a public health message.
With the original story spanning decades, we worked with Epicosity to tighten the character's timeline around one actor, then designed the shoot in reverse - starting with him (Jason) older and aging him down as we went.
We found the ideal production location in a small town in northern Utah, where we could capture every chapter of the story within a contained footprint. A largely local cast brought faces and performances that felt lived-in rather than polished. Every choice protected the emotional weight of the story without adding more shoot days or locations.
The campaign shipped on time for Super Bowl 2025, less than a month after the two-day shoot, then rolled out statewide across broadcast, out-of-home and digital. It went on to earn Best of Class: Elements of Advertising at the American Advertising Awards and Platinum at the MarCom Awards.
Best in Class
2025 · Elements of Advertising
Platinum
2025 · Video/Film
“We don’t outsource often, but bringing in Current Resident was the right call. We got the right director, the right mindset and the right team. They knocked it straight out of the park!”
— Travis Berg, Agency Producer, Epicosity
You’re…
- A communications lead tasked with refreshing a message people have heard a hundred times
- A brand or public health team trying to reach an audience that doesn’t particularly like being told what to do
- Looking for a way to make an important behavior-change message actually feel relevant to the people watching
You need…
- A creative approach that feels like it came from your audience’s world, not from a government office
- A production partner who can balance a serious message with creative people actually want to watch
- Advertising that earns attention while still doing the job it was made to do
Sound familiar? Let's talk.
Made by Good People
Crew
- Director
- Magellan
- 1st AD
- Faith Shannon
- 2nd AD
- Cheryl Yung
- EP
- Patrick Shelton
- Line Producer
- Andrew Petersen
- Production Manager
- Harrison Porter
- DP
- Tim Thompson
- 1st AC
- Landon Hill
- 2nd AC
- Evan Pappas
- DIT
- Tanner Larkin
- Gaffer
- Seth Huston
- Key Grip
- Sergio Cheyne
- Swing
- Adam Borgione
- Swing
- Ariel Soto
- Sound Op
- Evan Anderson
- Production Designer
- Lyndi Bone
- Art Asst.
- Michael Frazier
- Art Asst.
- Ariel LaFontaine
- Wardrobe Stylist
- Jean Vande Kieft
- Hair / Makeup
- Barbra Mikkelsen
- Locations Manager
- Andy Hicks
- Catering
- Alex Hansen
- Moho
- Jordan Overman
- PA
- Andrew Holman
- Talent Cast (Jason)
- Luke Shelton
- Talent (Elliot)
- Jacob Atkinson
- Talent (Sarah)
- Sarah Monica Moore Smith
- Talent (Dad/Coach)
- Cameron Wilkinson
- Talent (Scout)
- Willie Jones
- Talent (Jason's Mom)
- Ivey Mitchell
- Talent (Sister)
- Twyla Eck
- Talent (Danny)
- Tucker Bartels
- Talent (Dad)
- Nathan Hess
- Talent (Matty)
- Shad Anderson
- Talent (Son BG)
- Jordan Hess
- Talent (Diner BG)
- Jaycee Chenoweth
- Talent (Diner BG)
- Keanan Cantrell
- Talent (Diner BG)
- Mirian Perez
- Talent (Friend BG)
- Harrison Jacobson
- Talent (Friend BG)
- Tyler Amphone
- Talent (Friend BG)
- Zach Evans
- Head of Post-Production
- Chaddix Malchow
- Editor
- Bud Hjelmberg
- Colorist
- Emerson Homegrade
- Sound Design & Mix
- Connor McLevish
Vendors
- Production Services Company
- Wyser Media
- Special Effects
- Roundy FX
- Production Supplies
- Pictureloc
- Camera House
- Moonrock Camera
- G&E Rental
- Roger Stoddard
- Catering
- Siren Pizza Co.
- Production Support
- The Sound Guy
- Motorhome
- Mullett Production Services
- Casting Agency
- Jeff Johnson Casting
- Background Talent Casting
- Gumby Casting