Campaign: Turn soldiers back into children
Client: UNICEF
WPP company: Y&R Johannesburg
There are thousands of child soldiers in Africa, fighting in wars they don’t believe in, for causes they don’t understand. ‘Turn soldiers back into children’ is a UNICEF program aimed at rescuing these children and reintegrating them into society.
In 2009, UNICEF asked Y&R Johannesburg to help raise awareness of the initiative. The agency came up with a startling direct mail idea targeted at UNICEF supporters and potential corporate sponsors. The agency sent packets that at first glance appeared to be toy soldiers, but when opened contained figures of children doing normal childhood activities such reading books, playing football and riding bikes.
The campaign appeared on over 15,000 websites in over 50 countries. It successfully increased donations and the number of people volunteering to support the initiative.
