Ad of the Day: Sweden for UNHCR highlights separation of families in Ukraine invasion
Sweden for UNHCR is highlighting the horrifying situation for families fleeing Ukraine as the result of the Russian invasion.
The campaign features a 30-second spot featuring two refugees, where one of them is trying to send the message “I miss you dad,” but it is not getting delivered.
To accompany the campaign, a remake of the song Brevet från Lillan (Letter from Lillan) by the traditional Swedish musician Evert Taube has been recorded. The song is about a daughter who writes to her father, telling him how much she misses him. The song is performed by Tousin Chiza, better known as Tusse, a Congolese-Swedish singer who represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 and won Swedish Idol 2019.
The campaign is made by Swedish agency OKTO, and the film is produced by the director Mats Udd at the production company Slutet är Nära.
Over 14 million people in Ukraine have been forced to leave their homes. 90% of those who have left the country are women and children. Left in Ukraine are men eligible to serve in the military – men who are someone’s father, brother, partner or friend.
“We want to say that UNHCR stays on the ground and helps as long as needed. We illustrate this with the idea of a child’s connection to their father, not knowing if they are alive or not. This becomes very emotional but also close to us since we all have seen ‘Not Delivered,’ but meaning something else,” said Ulrika Nilsdotter-Brühl, head of communication at Sweden for UNHCR.
“‘Not Delivered’ alludes to the fact that children are afraid that the worst thing has happened to their fathers who have stayed to fight for their country. Not knowing if they are alive or not is highlighted by the red-colored words underneath the text message: Not Delivered. There is something powerful with just these two words. Those words that we generally associate with lousy reception or a minor technical malfunction. But in this context it can mean the absolute worst,” said Nick Christiansen, creative director at OKTO.