Children rise up to fight climate change in an emotional new video from two Canadian environmental groups and Toronto agency Zig.
The video is part of the “Moms Against Climate Change” campaign from Environmental Defence Canada and ForestEthics. The goal is to get the attention of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and hopefully other world leaders meeting in Copenhagen for the United Nations Climate Change Summit in December, and remind them that their actions will have an impact on the lives of today’s children.
The key communication tool is a 90-second video based on the premise that if children understood what damage was being done to the world today, they would rise up in protest.
Created pro-bono by Zig and production partners, the video shows children between six and 11 marching toward a line of police in full riot-control gear. The kids carry signs with messages like “Stand up for me” and “My future is at stake.” They storm through the police and are chased through the streets; one falls, others appear alone and confused.
The video ends with the super “If our children knew the facts we do they’d take action. Shouldn’t you?” and a throw to TakeActionOnClimateChange.com.
The video has been posted on YouTube and at TakeActionOnClimateChange.com, and a :30 has been created and sent to TV stations as a PSA. One blogger on HuffingtonPost called it “one of the best videos on climate action I’ve seen to date.”
The campaign was partly based on research that showed parents were very concerned that environmental change was putting their children’s health at risk through no fault of their own, said Lorraine Tao, Zig partner and copywriter.
“That is very moving to a mother [in particular],” said Tao.
The video itself was inspired by the student protests in Iran in the summer, said Tao. “We were all so moved by the images on YouTube and Twitter… It kind sparked the idea, ‘What if kids actually knew what could happen to them and what would they do?’ ”
“If we are going to get the action we need from our government in Ottawa, we need Canadians to start feeling global warming as an emotional, personal issue, and not just an intellectual one,” said Rick Smith, executive director, Environmental Defence Canada, in a release.
Visitors to the website can also upload pictures of their kids which will be projected onto a wall visible to Prime Minister Harper on his way to work on Parliament Hill to remind of the need for changes when he attends the Copenhagen summit.
Zig decided to take up the cause after meeting with Smith, a former client of the agency. The world leaders meeting in Copenhagen will be making important decisions that will a huge impact for years to come. “That is huge, and the chance to… effect the outcome of that is really motivating.”
Tao said they are also trying to project the children’s images onto a wall in Copenhagen during the summit.
While the goal was to create a highly emotional spot, Tao said they were surprised by the finished spot and the vulnerability of the kids. “We all found ourselves crying,” she said.
The video was directed by Shelley Lewis of Suneeva Films.
