A new campaign called ‘The Journey’ from the United Nations High Commission For Refugees (UNHCR) highlights the extraordinary stories of refugee athletes as the strive to reach Tokyo to generate support for the Refugee Olympic and Paralympic Teams.
The campaign, conceived and executed by London based creative agency Don’t Panic in harness with directing collective Pantera via Anonymous Content, tells powerful stories about refugee athlete journeys and acts as a ‘call for global support’ of the Refugee Teams competing at the Tokyo 2020/21 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Released on 6 April, timed to mark the United Nation’s ‘International Day Of Sport For Development And Peace’, the digital-first campaign was spearheaded by a hero social spot dramatizing the story of a female refugee who fled her home to escape conflict and persecution and follows her challenging journey to freedom. Towards the end of the spot, having reached safety, she finally stops running away from something and starts running towards something – a Tokyo 2021 medal.
The UNHCR and its marketing team sought to ensure a strong sense of authenticity and credibility throughout the campaign in order to ensure the film creative offered an accurate portrayal of a refugee’s journey – one grounded in real life stories. Thus the agencies collaborated with two IOC Refugee Athlete Scholarship-holders – Rose Lokonyen and Asif Sultani – to make sure genuine experiences of those who have been forced to flee their homes were woven into the narrative.
“The story of ‘The Journey’ is similar to my own and that of my fellow refugee athletes. I’m training hard in the hope to get to Tokyo,” commented IOC Refugee Olympic Team member Rose Nathike Lokonyen (who competed at Rio 2016 and also hopes to be at Tokyo). “I want to help people everywhere better understand the lives of refugees and the power sport can have to change lives. I hope people will support the Refugee Olympic and Paralympic Teams.” (Rose is a UNHCR HPS and a South Sudanese refugee living in Kenya).
Don’t Panic Creative Partner Rick Dodds added: “One of our biggest challenges creatively was to make an emotionally impactful film, whilst keeping the protagonist anonymous. We chose to show only her legs, as this allows our film to be representative of many refugees’ journeys. Emotion so often comes from a person’s face, their expression, the look in their eyes, the words they say and with this film, we simply had a pair of legs. We also quickly realised that we couldn’t have her running in every single scene as the film would only have one note. So the choreography of her movements, when she’s walking, turning, stopping, sitting, became our most vital tool to create emotion.”
UNHCR’s Director Of External Relations Dominique Hyde commented: “We at UNHCR are so proud to support the refugee athletes training for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Against the odds, these extraordinary athletes have kept their dreams alive to represent millions of refugees around the world. Together with our partners the IOC and IPC we’re dedicated to a world in which all those who have been forced to flee – including those with disabilities – can access their right to sport and play at all levels.”
The campaign was created for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) by a team at creative agency Don’t Panic which included Founder Joe Wade, Creative Partner Rick Dodds, Senior Account Director Georgia Williams, Senior Project Manager & Producer Jennifer Clare Houlihan and Senior Engagegment Strategist Flo Auckland.
Production was handled by Anonymous Content with directing duo Pantera, Executive Producer Tor Fitzwilliams, Producers Shion Hayasaka and Gaby Carcova, DOP Fran Hauser, Composer Mate Yaya, Production Designer Muriel Rani, Stylist Delfina de Forteza, production Manager Pablo Anzoategui with SFX by Edu Cundom and editing by Trim Editing, post production by Time Based Arts, sound by String & Tins
Comment:
The emotionally powerful blend of imagery, sound and storytelling enables viewers to make a deep human connection with the protagonist and her deep breaths bring a detailed intimacy to the broad scale of the journey.
This work follows on from previous stand-out refugee focused Olympic and Paralympic campaigns including the IOC’s ‘Become The Light’ in 2017 and Visa’s Rio 2016 Refugee Team ‘The Swim’ sponsorship campaign.
According to the UNHCR, there are now more than 80 million displaced people worldwide and there are currently 60-plus refugee parathletes and athletes training in the hope of competing at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The UNHCR worked in partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to support refugee athletes who – despite the current multiple challenges of displacement and Covid-19 – continue to train hard to fulfil their Olympic and Paralympic dreams.
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