MercerBell has created a new campaign to relaunch international children’s charity, ChildFund, in the Australian market.

The “Through their eyes” campaign was shot on location in local communities in Cambodia and Papua New Guinea, and features children the organisation is supporting.

MercerBell creative director, Simon Bloomfield, said, “We’ve been working with ChildFund for the past year, developing their brand positioning – because every child needs a childhood – and this campaign to launch it.

“It was clear to me when visiting some of these communities and hearing the kids’ stories firsthand, that the impact of a lost childhood can’t be ignored. I hope we’ve been able to capture something of that in this campaign.”

ChildFund’s fundraising manager, Karen Foard, added, “One of the children featured in the campaign is 13-year-old Phhoung. She was forced to leave school to care for her younger siblings, and now earns money by collecting and selling cow dung.

“That was just one of many similar stories. We’re hoping to raise at least $400,000 in donations from this campaign so we can help more children like Phhoung.”

ChildFund Australia’s CEO Nigel Spence also said, “We’re really proud of this campaign, as it reflects the authenticity of ChildFund and our work with children in poor communities. Working in partnership with MercerBell has been a great experience, and we hope this campaign really highlights the importance of childhood for all children, regardless of where they are born.”

Launching nationally on May 3 with broadcast, DM and digital executions, the campaign also features a haunting soundtrack by Australian musician, Matt Corby, who has lent his aptly titled song, “Big Eyes”.

Matt Olanda, group account director at MercerBell, added, “We’ve had the great fortune of taking ChildFund right from the establishment of their brand positioning, including customer and stakeholder research, through to the development of the communications idea to launch that positioning to the market. It’s been a wonderful project and we’re incredibly proud of the work.”

Credits
Executive Creative Director: David Bell
Creative Director: Simon Bloomfield
Art Director: Sarah Straker
Copywriter: Shelley Dodd
Digital and Print design: Juan Maciel, Harry Court, Matt OKeefe, Alanna Rados
Producer: Lex Tully, Stewart Sheargold
Group Account Director: Matt Olanda
Account Manager: David Rogers
Photography and Motion footage: Jocelyn Pederick (Cambodia), Cam Suttie, Know Studio (PNG)
Post Production: Frame Set Match; Emile Rademeyer, Creative Director; Tina Braham; Head of Production
Music: Matt Corby
Licensing: Donna Fitzhenry, Music Mill
ChildFund CEO: Nigel Spence
ChildFund Communications and Marketing Director: Diana Mason
ChildFund Fundraising Manager: Karen Foard
ChildFund Communications Manager: Larissa Tuohy