UNICEF’s 'Gifts of Tomorrow' campaign highlights the hope that with a bit of help, we can create a better future for children.
In November this year, UNICEF teamed up with brand house, SEK to tell the story of the future made possible by donations.
The campaign portrays an escape story from a child’s point of view. It is the story of help that changes the direction of one life and follows the tagline: “Gifts of tomorrow are given today.”
AdNews spoke with the SEK’s creative directors, Annu Terho and Heli Roiha to unwrap the ‘Gifts of Tomorrow' campaign.
Terho says that the initial objective of the campaign was to raise awareness about UNICEF being the builders of a better future, and further developed into a story about a child’s right to a greater life.
Terho: “The initial goal of the campaign was to raise money for UNICEF's work for Children's future, but also to raise awareness about UNICEF as a “builder of a better future for all of us”. To tell the story about UNICEF’s belief, that every child has a right for a better future and should have the same possibilities.”
“With this campaign we wanted to combine the campaign to the Christmas season when people are in the mood for giving. We wanted to create something people would like to share and support on their own social media channels and platforms to gain more impact.
“The Russians invasion of Ukraine has touched people globally very deeply and it has shown that we can’t take peace for granted. We wanted to remind people that not only in Ukraine but all around the world there are ongoing conflicts where childrens’ futures are in danger. This Christmas over 40 million children have had to leave their homes.”
Fellow creative director Heli Roiha gave insight into the creative strategies developed to ensure the impact of the campaign met the brief. She says that keeping the child as the central focus of each scene was to allow audiences to not only see the impact war has on children, but for us to feel the emotions on a larger scale through the eyes of the truly innocent.
Rohia:“Christmas time is full of ads about giving and receiving, happy moments together with your loved ones and fairy tales about Santa, the “ultimate gift giver” giving presents to happy kids that are used to getting them.
“We wanted to tell a different kind of Christmas story – a story about the most important gifts that you can give. A story about gifts that change your life and give you a chance to have a better future.”
The creative director further went on to say that the child's reactions are so powerful that it allows audiences globally to relate instantly to what he’s feeling.
She said: We wanted to open the scene with an ordinary Christmas ad setting, with a happy family in their living room opening their gifts. And then make a sudden move to a different setup and mood. We wanted to tie the story to the situations that are happening in the world right now and use in the film some setups that reminds us of the things that are happening in Ukraine. But still keep the story universal as it is.
“The same story and situation could happen to anyone, anywhere in the world. We made a choice to keep the child in the centre in every scene and to follow his feelings and reactions through the whole journey. The emotions we feel watching this film through this child’s eyes are enormous.
“The child’s reactions are so powerful and intimate that we automatically relate to his feelings. But in the end, with all these feelings this film evokes in us, this is a story about hope and possibilities that we can give to the children in need. And a story about how we can change the future to be better for all of us, by giving the right kind of gifts at the right time.”
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