Royal Ontario Museum's 'Immortal' Ad Condenses 4.6 Billion Years of History

The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto has released a provocative advertisement titled 'Immortal' that condenses 4.6 billion years of Earth's history into a few minutes, viewed through the eyes of an unborn child. Directed by Mark Zibert, the film opens with a Big Bang-like explosion and shows a newborn floating in water, symbolizing the child of Mother Earth. As the baby remains submerged, it witnesses symbolic images of historical epochs, including the Holocaust, recent terrorism, slavery, famines, and land conquests—a mea culpa acknowledging the museum's location on ancestral Indigenous lands. These brutal scenes alternate with images of affection, discovery, and creativity, reflecting the constant tension between the wonderful and the horrible throughout human history. The film extends to the pandemic and includes a homage to Nirvana's 'Nevermind' album cover when a dollar bill floats before the child. Lori Davison, the museum's marketing and communications director, stated the main message is 'that we continue to live in what we leave behind,' through physical objects and historical-cultural legacies. Each piece at the Royal Ontario Museum is intended as a portal to the past, capable of sparking 'important cultural conversations.'