Hasta La Creative!

Anyone who’s ever played a war-themed video game like Call of Duty has effectively imagined what it might be like to be a soldier. But it’s far less common for people to imagine themselves as children victimized by military conflict.

A potent new PSA from nonprofit humanitarian group War Child U.K. invites viewers to do just that by adapting the camera angle of first-person shooter computer and console games, and making the protagonist a girl named Nima who gets caught in the crossfire.

It goes almost without saying that the storyline is heartbreaking—all the more so because the scenarios are based on testimony from real children caught up in actual conflicts in the Middle East and Africa. The stylized approach is gripping in its own right, driving home the point that people aren’t thinking seriously or often enough about protecting children—or, to put it differently, spending enough money on the issue.

At the same time, the secondary implication that video games trivialize warfare and inure players to its real human costs is also a hackneyed, and generally ineffective argument that ends up becoming a bit of a red herring here.

Plus, the creators seem at moments to have gotten a little too carried away with the concept, like when Nima gets shot within an inch of her life then finds a magical first aid kit which she administers to herself before continuing on her mission. It’s a sequence that strains a powerful metaphor into exactly the fantastical terrain it’s criticizing, and risks making the issue seem less immediate. On the other hand, the ending doesn’t leave any doubt.

If the spot does drive you to action, War Child is working to raise awareness around the issue leading into the World Humanitarian Summit.

CREDITS
Client: War Child U.K.
Agency: TOAD
Creative Directors: Guy Davidson, Daniel Clarke, Heydon Prowse
Production Company: Mother’s Best Child
Director: Daniel Lucchesi
Co-Director: Heydon Prowse
Editor: Elliot Windsor
Producer: Heydon Prowse & Guy Davidson
Postproduction Coordinator: John Thompson
SFX Producer: Andy Ryder
Colorist: Jack McGinity (Time Based Arts)
Postproduction: H & M Ogilvy One
Audio: Liam Conwell
Music: Jamie Perera

SXSW Interactive. And that’s where you should be too.

If not physically, then at least checking out the website, talking to people who were there, etc.SXSW (South by SouthWest) is perhaps the most important showcase for new media and new technologies out there. (There’s also film and music parts of the festival which are pretty important in and of themselves, but we’ll focus on the interactive part.)

A good place to start is this list of finalists for the Web awards. You’ll find inspiration from a variety of sites– everything from individual portfolio sites to corporate sites to media sites to random cool websites. Since the awards don’t just focus on things ad agencies have done, you get a more complete vision of what’s noteworthy on the web right now.

Two other place sto get a great overview of SWSX are (a) Deep Focus’ Ian Schafer’s blog. Schafer’s been assiduously documenting the conference and his insights are (as the line goes) the next best thing to being there.  (b) Adpulp’s David Burn’s coverage on his agency’s blog, where you get a different, but equally in-depth account.

Matt Dickman, author of the most excellent Techno//Marketer blog referred me to one of the coolest links I’ve found in a while. It’s called “Google Hot Trends” and it’s an hourly update of the most Googled terms. Fascinating because you can find out all sorts of things, from who’s being traded before the NBA trade deadline, who’s having Jason Kidd’s baby, and which congressman is being indicted. It’s one of the ways that search, and the analysis thereof, is changing the way we approach advertising and marketing. Because rather than rely on the specious output of Nielson families or million dollar focus groups, we get uncensored, unbiased accounts of what people are doing when they are not conscious of being monitored or watched. The possibilities are endless for this sort of research, but in the meantime, it’s a fun way to keep abreast of the news and to see how many of terms you recognize before you click on them.Well at least for a nerd like me, it is.