Some ads deserve a view based on their message alone, but to make an impact you need production value to match.

At first glance it seems that the 60 second long spot would be another typical Public Interest, NGO ad. Important, no doubt, but keeping all focus on the harshness of reality.  Of course, tension builds, in a typical fashion, but the difference with this ad is not the build up to guilting the viewer into action. There’s turning point when the paramedics reach the girl. A brief moment of confusion. The girl looks fine, but certainly out of place.

That brief moment grabs the viewer. It’s an admission that we know “they” are out there, “they” need our help, and “they” are just kids.

Following that moment there is a switch on over to an even faster pace.  The quick match cuts give the message that time is critical once we have identified those that need assistance. Awareness is fine. But action is necessary to change lives, and when that happens, it’s eye opening for us, and life changing for them. Hence the slow motion at 0:40.

To take the spot out of isolation (to show that there are other children with similar stories) and convey the breadth of urgency, may have added to the impact of the ad, but it also might have had a different effect – taking away from the individual story that brought the viewer in initially.

It’s tough to express how critical time is for disadvantaged children. There is a persistence to it that is unforgiving. This wonderfully produced spot for the French Red Cross does a fantastic job at identifying that persistence and the timely need to act.

Client: French Red Cross
Agency: Altmann+Pacreau
Creative Director: Olivier Altmann