In communities affected by war, the pillars of a stable childhood often get knocked away.

Through education, opportunity and justice, War Child gives children in these areas the chance to reclaim their childhood and break the cycle of poverty and violence.

In a category where sappy, heart-tugging imagery is the norm, we needed to find a way to make War Child’s message of hope stand out. So we created an online film that demonstrates just how powerful childhood can be.

Where childhood thrives, war does not.

Children may be small, but their potential makes them powerful. This truth inspired our concept for this campaign: using classic icons of childhood – an alphabet block, a yo-yo, and a skipping rope – to disrupt iconic instruments of war.

Dark, gritty and textural photography brought to life the frightening and destructive nature of the weapons. In contrast, the childhood objects were coloured War Child’s brand colour, a primary, but powerful red.

Simple and pointed copy explained what War Child does to protect childhood where it is needed most.

Because where childhood thrives, war does not.

During the nine weeks the campaign was in market (compared to the previous nine week period),

Their Facebook page views increased 97% and the number of people sharing stories about their profile increased 66%.

Visits to warchild.ca also increased nearly 50%, one-time donations increase 60%, and Google searches for War Child increase 63%. And with marked increases in time spent on the site and visits to their “About” and “What We Do” pages, we didn’t just drive traffic to their site – users left with a deeper understanding of what War Child does to restore childhood where it is needed most.