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| Author | Zoe Aresti |
Digital CInema Media (DCM) and Pearl & Dean have announced their support for “Feed Our Future,” a powerful new advertising campaign aimed at stirring global cinema audiences into action to tackle global hunger by supporting the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the world’s leading humanitarian organization fighting hunger worldwide.
The 60-second cinema ad will air on DCM and Pearl & Dean screens. It was conceived by advertising legend Sir John Hegarty and The Garage Soho. It was directed by acclaimed film director Lynne Ramsay and produced by award-winning production company Somesuch & Co. SAWA, the Global Cinema Advertising Association, in association with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), will air “Feed Our Future” on cinema screens in more than 25 countries with a call to action to download WFP’s mobile-app, ShareTheMeal.
The advertisement shows a bustling news conference with journalists vying to interview the recipient of a breakthrough medical research award. But the journalists learn that there was ultimately no medical breakthrough – the chilling conclusion reveals that Miriam Adeke, the young woman in question, had in fact died of hunger when she was only eight years old.
“The creative challenge here is to find a way of engaging the audience without resorting to endless images of starving children. Creating empathy by reminding the viewer that when a child dies, we all lose,” said Sir John Hegarty.
Karen Stacey, CEO at DCM said: “This is the fourth year that the cinema industry has come together to work with the UN and support its hugely ambitious programme to tackle some of our planet’s biggest issues. The fantastic creative that Sir John has conceived will be hugely impactful on the big screen and we’re proud to be partners of the WFP through SAWA.
Kathryn Jacob OBE, CEO at Pearl & Dean said: “I’m touched by this campaign’s intention to highlight the lives that could be lived if hunger wasn’t such a prevalent issue in today’s world. We’re glad to be partnering with the WFP raising awareness for something so important. 821 million people – roughly one in nine of the global population – still go to bed on an empty stomach. In 2018, this simply should not be a reality.”
Following the ad, the audience is urged to take part in creating a world with Zero Hunger by downloading ShareTheMeal, the world’s first app against global hunger. To further connect audiences with the advertisement, a unique Facebook Messenger integration with the ad will enable viewers to engage with the character of Miriam Adeke to learn more about her story and the issue of hunger by searching for ‘ShareTheMeal’ on Facebook Messenger. At a time when 821 million people – roughly one in nine of the global population – still go to bed on an empty stomach, this new digital integration will bring the offline, online by connecting viewers with the cinema advertisement and the issue in a brand-new way.
“Hunger is a major global issue. It is therefore fitting that the Cinema medium, with its global reach, should be proactive in driving awareness for the World Food Programme. Millennials who are educated, socially aware and a hard to reach demographic, make up a large part of the Cinema audience and these are the people that can and will facilitate change. Since 2015, the Cinema Medium has stepped up to support the Sustainable Development Goals and we are committed in 2018 and beyond to make the World Food Programme famous by using the power and impact of the Cinema Medium. SAWA encourages other mediums to do likewise,” says Cheryl Wannell, CEO of SAWA.
“Three million children die every year of hunger or malnutrition," said Corinne Woods, Director of Communications, Marketing and Advocacy of the United Nations World Food Programme. “When partners step up like SAWA and their members have, it helps us create a movement and generate support for our work to ensure that every child has the vital food and nutrition they need to not only survive, but thrive."
For more information about the “Feed Our Future” advertisement and campaign, and to learn how to get involved in creating a world with Zero Hunger, please visit: www.wfp.org/sharethemeal.