Social experiment launches new mass participation event

What we did

  • Creative

    Approach and Concept Development

  • Deliverables

    Hero Film, Social Content

Although many people are familiar with the Syrian crisis, the ways in which the war has devastated the lives of people on a daily basis can be difficult to comprehend.

Under the guise of giving out ‘free lunches’, we took to the streets of London to reveal a hard truth. At lunchtime on a busy market street in London, we offered complimentary lunches from a ‘new Syrian restaurant’ to unsuspecting passersby. However, as people opened the box, they saw just a small amount of rice, flour, lentils, chickpeas, beans, fish and oil – a portion that sadly represents the rations that refugees are provided. The hidden cameras and carefully placed microphones captured the honest reactions of members of the public.

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247,000

Video Views

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1,000

Engagements

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2,000

Click-Throughs

Lunchbox with the contents of a refugee ration inside
Street vendors offer refugee rations to passersby
Street vendors offer refugee rations to passersby

This social experiment aimed to generate awareness with audiences and engage people who had already signed up to take part in Concern Worldwide UK’s first ever mass participation event, the Ration Challenge. The event, which takes place during Refugee Week, challenges supporters to eat the same rations as a Syrian refugee living in a camp in Jordan. Through sponsorship, the challenge aims to raise awareness and vital funds to provide refugees with food, healthcare and education.

The film was shared across Concern’s social media channels and emailed to participants who had already signed up to take part. This is the first time they had run a campaign like this, and the results were great. In the first month, the film received 247,000 video views with an average view time of 1 minute 41 seconds – far above the industry standard.

We wanted a film that would raise awareness of the issue while encouraging audiences to get involved. The final result does exactly that!

Director of Communications – Concern Worldwide UK
  • EVCOM Clarion Awards

    Innovation

    Gold

    2019

  • Charity Film Awards

    £20,000,000 – £50,000,000 Turnover

    Nominated

    2020