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Subverting the hunger DRTV appeal

Save the Children International

Hunger DRTV

What we achieved

  • Strategy

    Campaign Strategy, Proposition and Messaging

  • Creative

    Approach and Concept Development

  • Production

    DRTV Production, Direction, Social Content

Over the decades, we’ve seen major progress in the work of humanitarian charities fighting hunger across the world. However, with the rise in everyday costs, global conflict and climate disasters – the hunger crisis is back on a whole new deadly scale. In fact, malnutrition caused by extreme hunger remains one of the biggest killers of young children around the world today, and is affecting more children in more places than ever before.

So, we partnered with Save the Children International to tell the global hunger crisis like it has never been told before. The integrated campaign flips the traditional DRTV formula to overcome apathy and fatigue, reinvigorating audiences to drive urgent donations.

Breaking the fourth wall

The film follows three children with representative stories of children facing the hunger crisis around the world. Using innovative virtual production techniques, the film tells one global hunger story, taking the audience across continents through ongoing conflict in Ukraine, flooding in Pakistan and drought caused by climate change in Kenya.

Instead of a traditional third person voiceover, we hear directly from the children representing those at the heart of crisis. As each child breaks the fourth wall to address the viewer directly, they acknowledge that ‘this is an advert about hunger’, challenging audience expectations and flipping the standard practices of DRTV.

Storytelling driven by ethical principles 

There were many ethical principles involved when deciding how to tell this story, including child safeguarding, ethical implications of filming the impact of extreme hunger, and logistical challenges of filming in conflict zones. 

Given climate change is a major contributing factor to the hunger crisis appeal, how we produced this film was especially critical. With air travel calculated to be the largest factor in driving up carbon emissions totals of filming, virtual production offered an alternative method of storytelling which reduces the use of carbon emissions – while safeguarding children and communities.

So, from one location in Garden Studios London, we used virtual production to tell a global hunger story across three continents. 

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