Home Centre, a furniture and furnishings retail brand in the Middle East, has taken on the taboo around adoption and foster care in the region with an initiative called “The Homecoming.”
A prime component of the initiative is this moving film, Falling in love, launched this month on the brand’s social media platforms and in-store.
The film is an emotional visual journey that captures a couple’s apprehension, their joys, their anxieties, their collective perseverance as they overcome familial, societal as well as interpersonal odds to get to the goal of adopting a child. It’s written based on in-depth interviews with couples who have wanted to adopt or have adopted, and their journey over the 6 to 9 months it takes to adopt.
In the Middle East, adoption and fostering meet strong resistance, are actively denounced and are made legally challenging. The stigma attached runs through society, even often among family relatives.
But there is a pressing need for adoption and fostering given children orphaned by war and the refugee crisis—as well as abandoned children across the region.
This film pushes back against the taboos and misconceptions to help those parents who cannot have children as well as those parents who have children but want to add to their families through adoption and foster care.
Directed by Tahaab Rais who wrote the screenplay, the film out of Publicis Groupe MENAT–Leo Burnett Middle East features a licensed adaptation of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” As the film’s soundtrack, the song takes on an entirely new and profound meaning. (Director Rais serves as chief strategy officer for Publicis Groupe MENAT; this is the English version of the piece which has launched online.)
CreditsClient Home Centre Agency Publicis Groupe MENAT--Leo Burnett Middle East Bassel Kakish, CEO, Publicis Groupe; Kalpesh Patankar, chief creative officer, Leo Burnett; Tahaab Rais, chief strategy officer, Publicis Groupe; Shereen Mostafa, head of production, Leo Burnett; Kapil Bhimekar, creative director, Leo Burnett; Farhan Siddiqui, associate creative director, Leo Burnett; Judy Lamaa, sr. producer, Leo Burnett. Production Company Publicis Groupe MENAT--Prodigious ME Tahaab Rais, director, story & screenplay; Aeyaz Hasn, DP; Sami Saleh, CEO; Myriam Abi Wardeh, production operation lead; Naji Bechara, exec producer; Marie Noel Bou Haila, producer; Remy Haddad, assistant director; Rita Gergess, casting director; Charbel Zgheib, art director; Michella Beteiche, wardrobe. Actors Basmaa Baydoun, Elias Zayek. Postproduction Publicis Groupe MENAT--Optix ME Nayla Chacra, postproduction operation lead; Megan Markel, post producer. Editorial Cold Cutz Neda Zag, editor. Color LZRD Karim Mira, colorist; Eddy Farah, online. Music Seppl Kretz, Gyo Kretz and Michael Bertoldini, Magma Music Agency Music, Sound and SFX Chris Atkins and Joe Dickinson, With Feeling; Alyssa Baker, singer.
NHS England, M&C Saatchi UK, Director Tom Tagholm Team On PSA Highlighting The Overlooked Signs Of A Stroke
National Health Service (NHS) England has unveiled a multichannel campaign, “Act FAST,” to raise awareness of the individual signs of a stroke and get people to call 999 as soon as they suspect they may be experiencing any one symptom. The push, which is part of the ongoing “Help Us, Help You” campaign, was developed in partnership with M&C Saatchi UK.
The campaign depicts everyday situations where everything might seem relatively normal, but where there’s the sign of someone experiencing a stroke.
A key component of the campaign is this :30--directed by Tom Tagholm of Various Films--which sets up the idea that initially, a stroke might not seem like much, highlighting key symptoms: from struggling to use a paint roller, to not being able to smile when watching TV, to slurring your speech when reading a story to your grandchild. The PSA emphasizes that time is critical, ending with the line: “Face or arm or speech, at the first sign, it’s time to call 999.”
Jo Bacon, Group CEO, M&C Saatchi UK, said, “We want to ensure people take action on the first symptom, rather than waiting for more conclusive signs. To help them understand that even when everything seems normal, something serious might be happening.”
Matt Lee, executive creative director, M&C Saatchi UK, commented: “This is important work. We wanted to explore that precise moment when your world shifts, quietly yet powerfully, off its axis during a stroke. We highlight how a tiny external moment can actually be seismic—an extraordinary gear change, framed in a really ordinary way.”
Director Tagholm shared, “My Dad suffered a stroke a few years ago and was saved from the worst by acting quickly, and by the work of the NHS. So there’s... Read More