Nas has found time to score Aflac’s new animated short film, The Park Bench. The film was made with a primarily African American crew. It tells the story of a family healing, both physically and emotionally.
Aflac is an insurance company known for its payroll deduction insurance coverage, which pays cash benefits when a policyholder has a covered accident or illness.
The Park Bench is about a little girl, called Bella, taking care of a duck with a broken wing while her father is at the hospital for sickle cell disease. At the end of the film, he comes back at the same time the duck is healed. The family says goodbye to the duck and he flies away.
The film is saying that Aflac will take care of and provide for your family, but only until you are released from the hospital. After that, you are on your own.
Behind the scenes
Aflac has been using a duck as their mascot since the early 2000s. The first commercial they did with the duck was called “Park Bench“. The commercial is remembered for its diverse casting for its time. Their new short film pays homage to it through the name.
“We wanted to make a film that depicted the value of care, using the backdrop of a common family story—caring for each other in times of an unexpected medical crisis,” Aflac CMO Shannon Watkins tells Muse. “It underscores what Aflac believes—during medical events you need to focus on what matters most: your recovery, not finances.”
“When we reached out and told Nas the story we wanted to share, he immediately jumped on board,” Watkins recalls. “His friend and collaborator, rapper Prodigy, passed from sickle cell disease at age 42. It’s a devastating reminder of what the genetic disorder can do, specifically to the African American community.”
Written by Justin Acosta
Twitter: @hahalacka