It was the session that everyone at Cairns Crocodiles, Presented by Pinterest, was talking about. The story of a university student from Bathurst, whose talent and persistence led to a successful career running campaigns for the United Nations. David Ohana wants Australia’s marketing and advertising industry to drive positive social change. Here is his story and message of hope.
The United Nation Foundation’s chief communications and marketing officer has presented in front of global leaders, CEOs and even royalty, but at Cairns Crocodiles, David Ohana faced the toughest audience yet – his three children.
“For whatever reason that makes me more nervous. Also, thanks Sherilyn (Shackell) and Maz (Farrelly) for teaching my kids some colourful new words.”
During Ohana’s presentation, after listing some of the remarkable world events he had experienced, including the Haiti earthquake, Arab Spring, and being briefly detained in North Korea and Libya, came the moment that brought the house down.
Ohana’s daughter, Charlotte, let out an audible yawn that left the Cairns Convention Centre in raptures.
Nonetheless, the UN Foundation’s top marketer received a standing ovation for a presentation that showcased impactful UN campaigns; the inspiring story of a student at Bathurst whose dogged persistence, raw talent and positivity helped land a dream job at the UN; and a truly touching moment when his children took to the stage.
Ohana left a room full of the brightest creative minds in adland with one powerful rallying call: “Your brands have the lion’s share of power. So, my advice, spend less money-making ads, especially the ones that say you care. Spend that money on helping to solve social issues, and then tell that story.
“We’re embarking on our biggest campaign yet to hopefully make the world fall back in love with the idea of helping others, and to also raise some catalytic funds in the process, which is so desperately needed right now, and we need your help. It’s time to take one giant creative swing to try to help get things back on track.”
He told B&T on the sidelines that he would love for the Australian creative sector to help lead the charge globally.
“The solutions to the greatest challenges we face are unlikely to come from the UN or NGOs or governments, and certainly not from them alone. They will come from the private sector, the creative community, storytellers, artists, from people like you… who have access to resources, who follow their passions, who love work and care unreasonable amounts, who put up their hand, who pick up the phone and who show up.
“Sure, the world’s not in great shape, but I’m an optimist. And I believe that big, bold, crazy ideas can help make the difference, because the greatest risk we could take right now is not taking any.”
From Bathurst To Beyoncé (via the UN)
Ohana’s story is as unique as it is inspiring. He studied a communications advertising degree at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst and got his first break while working on his final year project.
One evening, Ohana called the UN headquarters communications team with “the worst pitch imaginable”.
“It was something like, ‘Hi, I’m David. I’m calling from Australia, and I would like to offer my services pro bono to the United Nations’. At least she gave me a better reaction than my daughter,” he recalled.
“She was a bit cranky and said, ‘Well, you’re calling a bit late, aren’t you…You are calling about the World AIDS Day campaign?’ To which I replied, ‘Yes’.”
After receiving the tender document, Ohana and his classmate created a campaign reel and travelled to Sydney armed with a VHS cassette to present the idea to the UN office in Australia.
Remarkably, the students from regional NSW beat global advertising agencies to win the pro bono brief, and their World Aids Day campaign ran across networks, stadiums and cinemas around the world.
A week after he finished university, the UN called Ohana and asked if he could take up a post in the UN communications team at Timor-Leste (previously known as East Timor).
There he worked under the charismatic and late Brazilian diplomat Sérgio Vieira de Mello, who would later serve as UN high commissioner for human rights before he was tragically killed in a suicide bombing at UN headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq.
“My eyes were open, and my mind was blown,” Ohana said. “In Timor-Leste, in difficult circumstances, we’re working to move families from a bunch of areas where there was Dengue and militia.
“I finished my contract with the UN on a Tuesday, and I started with Saatchi & Saatchi on a Wednesday.”
Ohana worked at Saatchis for several blue-chip clients including Toyota, but his heart remained in the humanitarian work he had previously experienced.
“I remember sitting in this really plush boardroom having a lengthy conversation about whether a Toyota logo should come in a few frames earlier or later in a TV spot,” he recalled.
“If only we had 10 per cent of the creativity, strategy and partnerships that I have in this room, in Dilli (Timor-Leste); maybe we could have solved a lot more issues and even saved some lives.
“That insight has pretty much driven everything I’ve done since.”
Ohana spent about a decade in advertising, marketing and production before he joined the UN in 2008.
Ohana headed up film and special projects for the UN division that deals with emergencies and disasters, a role that has taken him to Haiti, North Korea, Libya, Myanmar, Niger, the Syrian refugee crisis, Pakistan floods and the Polar Ice Rim.
In 2012, he collaborated with Droga5, Ridley Scott & Associates (RSA) and Beyoncé to create a live music video for World Humanitarian Day.
“The shoot itself was incredibly emotional,” Ohana recalled. “We shot it in front of a live audience filled with families whose relatives had either been killed or kidnapped in the line of duty. Sergio’s son was sitting in the front row.
“When we told (Beyoncé) who was in the audience, you could see her emotion. We ended up only filming one live take and that video has now been seen 145 million times.”
On average over 200 aid workers are killed or kidnapped each year in the line of duty, but this figure soared last year to over 400.
On the back of the Beyoncé video, Ohana’s team used social media technology called Thunderclap and enlisted other influencers – including Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Shakira, Lionel Messi, Justin Bieber, as well as brands like Nike and Adidas. The campaign ended up reaching 1.4 billion people.
In 2017, after Ohana had joined UNICEF as chief of brand building, he teamed up with Beyoncé’s team again in a campaign to provide clean and safe drinking water for more than 120,000 people in Burundi, one of the poorest nations in the world.
At UNICEF he was also the global lead for launching World Children’s Day, which garnered support from David Beckham, Millie Bobby Brown and Hugh Jackman, and has attracted more than 7 billion impressions in 182 countries to champion children’s rights.
A Ted Talk chart topper
Ohana left the UN in 2020 to lead global marketing efforts for the Minderoo Foundation.
A year later he had a brief of trying to make famous messaging about the importance of brain development in a child’s first five years.
“I came up with the idea of trying to make the world’s youngest ever TED Talk. The original script we wrote had the TED Talk delivered by a baby. Turns out that looks really creepy,” he said.
Ohana’s team then tried to cast a five-year-old, but that also proved too challenging.
Working with filmmaker Michael Gracey, director of The Greatest Showman, M&C Saatchi and Finch, they began a nationwide casting and discovered 7-year-old Molly Wright from Queensland, to produce the world’s most watched Ted Talk of 2021.
“So, on the day of the shoot, we’re sitting there, and Michael and I are worried it’s going to be a long day for the audience,” Ohana said.
“Molly walks out in her overalls, and she literally delivers the entire TED Talk perfectly, in one go – no autocue! The talk has now been viewed over 100 million times, and the thing we were most proud of is the KANTAR evaluation stat that says nine out of 10 parents who saw the talk say they would ‘connect, talk and play’ earlier and more often with their children. It’s now playing maternity awards, including right here in Australia, hopefully impact at scale.”
In 2024, Ohana joined the United Nations Foundation and is now working to encourage a re-focus on humanity.
“I think the most exciting place to work is in the nexus between creativity and cause. Do what you’re good at, what you love doing, and then find a way to make a positive impact through that. Whether your passion is music or marketing or photography or whatever, there’s a way you can use it for good in big or small ways.
“Come up with ideas that are sustainable, not a one off. Trust your instinct and your voice and have some fun in the process.”
Ohana is a shining example of how persistence, passion and a belief in your ability can make the world a better place. To land his dream job at the UN, he applied 28 times over nine years and has never looked back.
“I sometimes think about that first call I made to the UN,” he said. “Without that, I’m pretty sure I’ve never been involved in any of the projects I told you about today, or met my wife who also worked at UNICEF.
“If you’re to take one thing away from this morning’s session, I hope it’s what (my son) Harry said (on stage at the end), ‘Never leave an idea you have unrealised, especially one that could help others’, because they and you are needed now more than ever.”
