This spot is part of a larger Santander bank campaign created by ad agency Arnold that addresses domestic violence, an issue that affects 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men in the U.S. Last week over two days at The Oculus at World Trade Center, Santander hosted an immersive and interactive experience to peel back the layers and complications of domestic violence financial abuse.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and Santander’s campaign shows how the abusers often use financial manipulation to keep their victims from leaving. Lack of economic dependency is a prime reason why the abused don’t flee a violent household.
In this piece, directed by Annie Saunders of Helo for Arnold, we see that the home can be the most dangerous place for an abuse victim. But as we see a woman get in her car, she cannot go through with her escape from violence upon realizing that she has no access to a bank account, doesn’t even have a credit card with her name on it, and will have to quit her job because her abusive husband knows where she works.
A parting super notes that Santander is working with abuse victims so that they can regain their financial independence.
CreditsClient Santander Bank Agency Arnold Icaro Doria, chief creative officer; James Bray, executive creative director; Gui Racz, creative director, art; Lucas De Oliveira, creative director, copy; Rafael Beretta, associate creative director, art; Vinicius Fernandes, associate creative director, copy; Brunno Gomes Garcia Cortez, sr. art director; Mackenzie Hart, jr. copywriter; Zamile Vilakazi, EVP, head of integrated production; Leelee Groome, integrated producer; Peter Ryan, digital producer. Production Helo Annie Saunders, director; Justin Moore-Lewy, founder/exec producer; James Okumura, exec producer; Megan Kingery, experiential producer.
FOUR PAWS Teams With Catsnake, Animation Studio Bewilder To “Be Their Voice”
Global animal welfare organization FOUR PAWS has launched the “Be Their Voice” campaign. Partnering with specialist creative agency Catsnake and South African production and animation company Bewilder, the campaign sheds light on a cruel practice called live lamb cutting. The film aims to raise awareness and inspire international action, urging fashion brands and policymakers to ban this inhumane practice by 2030.
The stop-motion “Be Their Voice” film follows a PhD student, Jesse, as he tries to perfect his sheep translation software with the help of a young sheep called Sunny. The initially heartwarming story takes an unsettling turn as Sunny discovers what is soon to happen to her on the farm.
Catsnake felt that the best way to capture the true horror of live lamb cutting was to focus on storytelling that would engage the audience emotionally. Catsnake creative director Rowena Wyles said, “A lot of animal rights campaigns rely on sharing shocking visuals of cruelty, but we know that tends to stop a wider audience from engaging with the issue. Instead, we wanted to draw people in with humor and heart before delivering the shocking truth of the practice.”
Working collaboratively with Bewilder, the film was brought to life with a mixed-media approach; recreating the look and feel of stop-motion with the flexibility of 3D animation. The sets, props and lighting were all made in Bewilder’s in-house studio, and the 3D characters were placed in afterwards.
Ruan Vermeulen, creative director at Bewilder, explained the process: “We built a ‘realistic’ miniature farm setting with stylized and lovable CGI characters. Combining a vast range of skill sets, with a multitalented creative team, our goal was to create an animation... Read More