Ad of the day: Unicef's 'A Child is a Child' campaign highlights the effects of war on children
Do you believe a child is a threat? A burden? Should never see their family again? These are the questions Unicef is asking in today's Ad of the Day.
Children, some who are refugees of war themselves, are asking viewers thought provoking questions in the latest film from Unicef, directed by Rankin. The spot sees children watching and wearing projections of the war and the upheavel is has caushed on families and the country.
In a bid to challenge the prejudice refugee children are facing each day, the viewer is asked if they believe "a child is a child no matter what," with imagination, play time and a family around them, concluding that they do.
This is a question echoed throughout the campaign, creating the name and hashtag #achildisachild.
Speaking about the realness and rawness of the campaign, Rankin brought to light the realness of the problems children are still facing today. He said: "Three Syrian children who were supposed to be in the film couldn’t come. The day before the shoot, their father found out that his brother had been killed in a bomb attack in Aleppo.
“We shouldn't label these kids and judge them when what they really need is love, safety and warmth. ‘Refugee’, what does that even mean to a child?"
Unicef UK's deputy executive director, Lily Caprani, expressed how involved the charity is in helping the children from them getting off the boat to helping them with their future.
The campaign, which will run across social and digital platforms throughout the UK from today, is backed by British band, Bastille's track Four Walls. Talking about their involvement, they said: "We hope this film will raise awareness of the children caught up in the refugee and migrant crisis and remind people that a child is a child, no matter what."
