In a perfect world, war surgeons risking their lives to help victims should be as famous as footballers. This is why Saatchi & Saatchi has chosen to make a film for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in which fans from around the world cheer for a war surgeon with the same fervor they bring to football matches.
But as FIFA World Cup champion Blaise Matuidi tells us in the final scenes of the film, it’s a basic truth that these surgeons will never be as recognized as football stars, even if they deserve it as much.
The “Unknown Heroes” campaign takes us through a surgical operation as if we were watching a major football match. From the camps of South Sudan to Paris, Brazil, Barcelona, and the suburbs of Manchester, fans from around the world witness the war surgeon’s accomplishments on the medical field and his inevitable rise to fame after achieving his feat. From interviews to front-page news, awards, hordes of journalists and video game avatars, our protagonist gets the same idol treatment as the planet’s biggest football stars.
The film, directed by Stéphane Barbato via production house Prodigious, questions what the world values and is particularly relevant today as important health issues dominate global headlines.
Hopefully raising public awareness of health workers’ heroism will help reduce violence against them. At least 3,780 attacks were perpetrated against health personnel and infrastructure between 2016 and 2020, in an average of 33 countries seeing conflict or violence, according to data from the International Committee of the Red Cross. This alarming number underscores the importance of the ICRC’s decision to join forces with Saatchi and Matuidi to develop an awareness campaign aimed at young people in Europe and Africa about attacks on health care personnel and services.
“Attacks on doctors, nurses and medical centers do not get nearly as much attention as they should. We hope this campaign will help generate as much support for protecting health workers as the world’s best football players regularly receive from their fans,” said Jennifer Hauseman, ICRC director of communications and information management.
In addition to highlighting the exceptional work of war surgeons, the ICRC also wishes through this campaign to reaffirm its principles of neutrality and independence. The ICRC treats all victims, regardless of their side.
CreditsClient International Committee of the Red Cross Agency Saatchi & Saatchi France Pierre Viallaneix, creative director; Laetitia Chretien, art director; Jean-Francois Le Marec, copywriter; Yann Chervet, head of strategies; Thierry Delesalle, TV producer. Production Prodigious Stephane Barbato, director; Bastien Barbanel, producer; Frederic Lubin, director of production; Marie Raffy, chief editor.
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