HI launched a new public-facing institutional campaign that shines a light on its long-term action in the field.
Demonstrating HI’s long-term commitment
This new campaign, called After the news, reminds us that there’s more to disasters than meets the eye. A long-term response is required to help people return to as normal a life as possible, build their resilience, and foster integrated and sustainable development.
From the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia to the Rwandan genocide, and from the tsunami in Southeast Asia to the earthquake in Haiti and the war in Syria, for over 40 years, HI has worked alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, taking action and taking notice to meet their basic needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights. The increase in the number and scale of conflicts and natural disasters around the world can make it seem like we are living through a never-ending series of crises, and we sometimes forget their lasting consequences for affected populations.
According to Sylvain Ogier, Director of Communication at HI: “We wanted the campaign to get people thinking. It highlights the contrast between the overexposure of a crisis for a given period and the often-forgotten long-term response that follows."
Bringing a concept to life through innovation
For the past five years, the Strike agency’s talented teams have benefited HI with advice and support on advocacy to stop the bombing of civilians. The agency developed its concept around the observation that, as conflicts and crises grow in number and intensity, the public has resigned itself to living in a world where tension is the norm. HI's mission to work alongside the most excluded and vulnerable people acts as a counterbalance to these developments.
Jérôme Gonfond, chairman of Strike, explains: “At Strike, we've been working with HI since our agency was founded, alongside many other NGOs that combat social inequality and work to protect the environment, among other issues. We are therefore particularly aware of the notion of a convergence of crises. Every day, rolling-news channels report fresh disasters, which are increasingly interlinked. Unfortunately, these crises do not go away when the news cycle moves on. This campaign aims to shed light on HI's role, which is to assist victims over the long term and to put in place the infrastructure to enable the most vulnerable to continue with their lives.”
The film was made by Canadian director Olivier Staub, who worked with HI on the NGO’s previous institutional campaign: Be a Lifeline to the most vulnerable. He is best known for his cinematic style and sense of storytelling, and he has won numerous awards for his work on major advertising campaigns.
After the news is also technologically ground-breaking. It was produced using real-time 3D technology developed for the videogame and film industries. A first in HI’s history!
The DUST teams were chosen to produce and shoot the film, while the technical side, including pre-production for the 3D sets, special effects, and post-production, were handled by Digital District; the film was made entirely in virtual production using an LED wall at Dark Matters Studios in Paris. The print version was produced by photographer Samuel Guigues with the support of the FEEL GOOD retouching studio.
Victor Simonet, producer at Dust: "We naturally opted for virtual production on an LED wall because we could use this technology to create the locations we wanted in 3D without having to travel, and also to borrow the direct light produced by the screen to naturally integrate the actors and actual sets, without having to do everything in post-production.”
The After the news campaign will be available across media platforms (TV, cinema, press inserts, posters, and digital and social media) from August 2023 in all HI network countries: Germany, Belgium, Canada, the United States, France, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
The film is available on YouTube:
This campaign would not have been possible without the time and effort committed to the project by all its partners, including Circonflex, Dark Matters, Digital District, Dust, Kouz, and Strike. HI is extremely grateful for their support over the months.
