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.
Director Gia Coppola Teams With Mejuri For “A New York Minute”; 1st Episode Takes Us To The Grocery Store
Mejuri, known for turning fine jewelry into an everyday luxury, has partnered with director Gia Coppola (The Last Show Girl, Palo Alto) and The Directors Bureau in Los Angeles, for the first time reimagining the brand’s story as episodic content. In a series of microfilms, co-created by Coppola and premiering following New York Fashion Week, Mejuri eschewed a typical celebrity campaign and cast us as voyeurs to a group of aspiring young women--real people, not actors--at the crossroads of their adult lives against the backdrop of New York City.
Titled “A New York Minute,” the series features five real-life friends, who include one perfectly imperfect heroine named Emma. The women celebrate ordinary moments and interactions which reveal, sometimes retrospectively, the extraordinary within the mundane. Adjacent to the brand’s own community, the 30-something year old cast includes Laura Love (Emma), Rebecca Ressler, Natalie Vall-Freed and Rozzi Crane. Mejuri’s jewelry makes an appearance as the best supporting actor.
“When I met with Gia and The Directors Bureau team, there was instant creative and personal chemistry and a natural alignment on the desire to push and blur the lines between marketing, storytelling, and the construct of what a ‘campaign’ could be,” said Jacob Jordan, chief brand officer, Mejuri. “Gia was able to push that idea into something that truly feels new and artful, with a realism and relatability that almost feels jarring. Gia was such a perfect collaborator and partner, someone I had complete trust in to be a catalyst for Mejuri’s values of celebrating women as their truest selves. I can’t wait for us to continue to tell the next chapters of this story.”
To land the relatable... Read More