UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund): The Shared Story Of Harry And Ahmed [image]

Credits & Description:

Title: The Shared Story Of Harry And Ahmed
Agency: 180 Amsterdam
Brand: Unicef
Country: The Netherlands
Entrant Company: 180 Amsterdam, Amsterdam
Advertising Agency: 180 Amsterdam, Amsterdam
Production Company: Mpc Creative, London / Smuggler, London / Trim Editing , London / Wave Recording Studios , Amsterdam
President & Chief Creative Officer: Al Moseley (180 Amsterdam)
Executive Creative Director: Dan Treichel (180 Amsterdam)
Executive Creative Director: Dave Canning (180 Amsterdam)
Creative Director: Hannah Smit (180 Amsterdam)
Art Director: Rachel Kennedy (180 Amsterdam)
Account Manager: Alice Anselmi (180 Amsterdam)
Producer: Jordan Cross (180 Amsterdam)
Executive Producer: Olivier Klonhammer (180 Amsterdam)
Executive Producer: Bethany Papenbrock (180 Amsterdam)
Business Affairs: Sarah Gough (180 Amsterdam)
Editor: Hilco Beukema (180 Amsterdam)
Director: Joshua Neale (Smuggler)
Executive Producer: Fergus Brown (Smuggler)
Executive Producer: Chris Barrett (Smuggler)
Producer: Emma Butterworth (Smuggler)
Producer: Adam Evans (Smuggler)
Director Of Photography: Antonio Paladino (Smuggler)
Researcher: Sarah Saey (Smuggler)
Researcher: Laura Mckaught (Smuggler)
Editor: Paul Hardcastle (Trim)
Assistant Editor: Ed Hanbury (Trim)
Sound Designer/mixer: Juan Pablo Thummler (Wave)
Post Producer: Dafydd Upsdell (Mpc)
Post Producer: Kayleigh Dugdale (Mpc)
Vfx Lead: Paul Wilmot (Mpc)
Colourist: Matthieu Toullet (Mpc)
Head Of Planning: Ben Armistead (180 Amsterdam)
Strategy:
In an era where people share what’s important to them on their social channels, it was important for this video to strike a chord with viewers online. Unicef was eager to capture the attention of as many people as possible to act both a reminder and a warning of how serious the situation is in Syria.The video offered a relatable scenario – many viewers would have an older relative somewhere that was affected by WWII and felt empathy towards Harry. The realisation that would follow when seeing that Ahmed just recently went through the same ordeal was striking enough for people to share it – the reveal at the end of who the story-tellers were kept viewers engaged until the end, an important metric across social channels. The split-screen execution also played a role in maintaining engagement as it alluded to a final reveal comparing the two individuals.
Outcome:
The shared story of two child refuges 80 years apart struck a global cord. With no paid media, and in less than one week, Harry & Ahmed’s story reached an audience of over 7 million people. Its message was widely covered by the mainstream press and shared by major media outlets including CNN, Huffington Post, Aljazeera, Forbes and Mashable.Key news sources and publications in 15 different countries across the world also covered the story. Unicef offices around the world quickly translated and shared the film, giving it a truly global reach.Most importantly, over 100,000 people have shared the video on social media, including some of the web’s most high-profile celebrities, such as Kim Kardashian, Shakira, P!nk, George Lopez and John Legend. The film has fuelled global support for child refugees, and Harry & Ahmed’s shared story has become an important piece of the ‘Refugees Welcome’ movement.
Execution:
Trump’s Immigration Ban was executed on Holocaust Memorial Day. The uproar this created was noticeable across the world and ultimately became the stepping stone for the launch of our film – the topic was on the tip of everyone’s tongue and our video showed how the world is making the same mistake again.The original execution was released on Unicef’s global Facebook page just 5 days after Trump’s ban. This particular video has been viewed over 5 million times and became a centrepiece of the refugee debate. Additional YouTube, native PR videos and native twitter/Facebook videos followed shortly, and the film was translated into in 16 different languages, adding to viewership. Widespread coverage ensued across trade press and mainstream press around the world.
Synopsis:
The world is facing the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. The 5-year conflict in Syria has resulted in the largest movement of refugees across Europe in over 80 years. Unicef estimates that nearly half of those refugees are children.At the same time, anti-refugee and anti-Muslim sentiment is on the rise across the world. That sentiment turned into action with President Trump’s executive order banning citizens and refugees of seven different Muslim countries from entering the United States. The order was made effective on January 27, 2017, which is Holocaust Memorial Day in the United States.UNICEF needed to quickly generate a global level of awareness to rally support for the millions of child refugees who’s lives hung in the balance.
Campaign Description:
Our idea taps into the global consciousness, showing the world that one of our greatest mistakes is being made again. The Shared Story of Harry & Ahmed shows the shocking parallels between Syrian child refugees today and the child refugees of WWII.In a split screen, Harry (an elderly, Jewish WWII survivor) and Ahmed (a young, Muslim, Syrian boy) describe their real, horrific journeys as child refugees, in their own words. Those words come together to build a single narrative.Footage accompanies their story, illustrating their strikingly similar experiences: both escaped violence and persecution and were separated from their parents; both fled on their own, endured a treacherous journey by boat, and had to wait for permission to enter the safety of another country.Their identities are revealed and the message is clear: We didn’t do enough to protect child refugees during WWII and now the story is being repeated.