Approach and Concept Development
Illustration, Animation Production, Social Assets
When the next pandemic comes, will we be ready?
This is the question aimed directly at world leaders, in this stunning animation for the Wellcome Trust. Based on the ancient fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper, the film urges leaders to pause, learn and better prepare for the next pandemic.
Insight shows that policymakers and people in power tend to fund and support actions with the greatest benefit in the shortest amount of time. However, when it comes to pandemic preparedness, it’s crucial that leaders take a longer-term view. Just like Aesop’s ants…
“When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer.
Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.”
However, there were many challenges to consider when developing this concept. The topic of COVID-19 has been viewed from every possible angle, so we needed to cut through. For us, this meant avoiding talking heads, stats and data, and instead telling a globally relatable story about small actions building over time.
In addition, we were keen to avoid political language or any notion of blame, and instead focus on working together to find global solutions. So, we combined the analogy with a hand-drawn animation style to set the story outside of the real world. This also means the film can be translated into multiple languages for years to come!
The campaign is due to launch in Q4 2021, so watch this space for an update!
