“What if you could help mother children in war-affected areas? What if you could virtually reach out and literally provide them the warmth of a mother’s hug?” These questions are the genesis of john st.’s new campaign for War Child, which attempts to dupe viewers into believing they can provide virtual motherhood services at the click of a button. The message they recieve — either tat the end of the campaign video (above) or after attempting to provide these services at the campaign website (where the interactive web experience was designed by Jam 3) — is “You can’t donate motherhood. But you can donate money.”
Arriving (obviously) just in time for Mother’s Day, the campaign attempts to raise money and awareness for War Child Canada, a charity helping children in war torn areas, while motherhood is on people’s minds. The campaign includes broadcast, online, radio, and out-of-home components.
“We wanted to make it seem plausible that you could donate the act of motherhood online”, explains Stephen Jurisic, ECD of john st. advertising. “But of course you can’t. Only real mothers in these war-affected countries can provide their children with that.”
James Topham of War Child Canada adds, “We thought this was a fresh way to remind people just how important mothers are to the healthy development of children – particularly in the context of war. And that the best way to support them is still the easiest – by donating money.” Credits after the jump.
Credits:
Agency: john st.
Executive Creative Director: Stephen Jurisic, Angus Tucker
Art Director: Marie Richer
Copywriter: Jamie Umpherson
Producer: Cas Binnington
Account Service: Laura Rodriguez
Strategic Planning: Laura Robbins
Production: OPC
Director: FamilyStyle (Jono Hunter)
Executive Producers: Harland Weiss, Donovan Boden, Liz Dussault
Producer: Isil Gilderdale
DP: Brett Van Dyke
Art Director: Brad Wilson
Digital Production: Jam3
Creative Director: Adrian Belina
Executive Producer: Graham Budd
Producer: Greg Benedetto
Designer: Vinicius Araujo
Director of Creative Technology: Mikko Haapoja
Tech Lead: Aaron Morris
Developer: Elliot Kwan
Developer: Alvaro Lemus
Offline House: School Editing
Editor: Mark Morton
Assistant Editor: Lauren Piche
Transfer: Alter Ego
Colourist: Conor Fisher
Online House: Fort York VFX
Executive Producers: Erin Kuttner & Amanda Lariviere
Online Artists: Ernie Mordak, Andrew Rolfe
Online Assistant: Jason Pereira
Audio House: Apollo Studios
Post-Audio Producers: Tom Hutch, Benedicte Leclere
Music Producers: Yan Dal Santo, Daenen Bramberger
Composer/Engineer: Harry Knazan
Composer/Sound Designer: Armen Bazarian