Droga5 Europe created what very well may be the most depressing advertisement this holiday season with a 90-second PSA for KidsCo, a children’s charity founded by Camila Batmanghelidjh which plans to host “the UK’s biggest children’s community Christmas dinner ever.” The spot broke yesterday, and will air on broadcast, in cinemas and online.
The ad stands in stark contrast to the glitzy Christmas advertisements glamorizing the holiday in the UK. Willfully minimalistic, it depicts a boy who wakes up and get dressed, with the text “Thursday” appearing onscreen. He plays in the street a bit and then goes to the corner store, eyes up a rack of candy bars and leaves without making a purchase. Walking back home he passes a house lit up with Christmas lights, and we hear a group exchange holiday greetings, the first mention in the ad that it is, in fact, Christmas day (which explains why the streets are so empty). He then returns home, to a neglecting looking living room and switches on the television as the message, “For some children, Christmas Day will just be another Thursday” appears on screen, driving home the message.
“Kidsco is an amazing charity doing incredible work for thousands of children across the UK,” said Droga5 Executive Creative Director Nik Studzinski. “With this ad we deliberately wanted something that would be a genuine pause for reflection among the noise of the super-bowl style ads that clamour for our attention at this time of year.”
Credits:
Agency: Droga5
Executive Creative Director: Nik Studzinski
Copywriters: Tom Bender and Tom Corcoran
Production Company: Somesuch
Directors: WhatSheSaid (Hayley Williams & Debbie Ninnis)
Executive Producer: Sally Campbell
Post-Production: Finish
Sound: Factory