Garden City
An Award-Winning Documentary Series by Modelo Especial
and Courageous Studios at CNN.
Bronze Effie, Beverage Alcohol Category – "Fighting Spirit Stories"
Adweek’s First Ever Grand ARC Award, Innovative Storytelling
Adweek ARC Award, Best Non-Fiction Series, Digital
The Idea
There is a town in America that embodies the spirit of Modelo Especial. A place where all are welcome, hard work is celebrated, and people fight to make a better life for themselves. It’s a glimpse into the future of America in a place that you might not expect.
The Documentary Series
During a time in America when tensions in culture were high and many felt pressed to build walls, we discovered Garden City—a town embodying Modelo’s fighting spirit. Here, over a dozen languages are spoken by 30,000 residents from all over the world, making it a richly diverse community that comes together through shared values and a united sense of purpose.
This five-part series examined what these people were willing to fight for in order to come together at a time in America when others sought to divide the rest of the country.
How It Was Made
After discovering Garden City on behalf of Modelo, we partnered with Courageous Studio at CNN.
Courageous embedded their team of CNN journalists and film crews within Garden City, KS, for a month to get to know the residents and the stories of this multicultural community.
Shortly after the series wrapped production, Garden City made national headlines when the FBI thwarted a domestic terrorist plot to attack a local Somali mosque, targeting part of the diverse community celebrated in the series.
Without hesitation, we went back through archival footage and created a moving statement of support for a town coming together in the face of adversity.
Results
The original documentary series earned Modelo engagement that significantly surpassed initial estimates gaining over 4.68MM unique views and positive brand reactions that far exceeded expectations.
