#FEEDOURFUTURE THE ANTI-HUNGER AD

A powerful advertising campaign called ‘Feed Our Future’ - aimed at getting global cinema audiences involved in the fight against hunger - was launched by the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP), with the support of UFO Moviez, Facebook and SAWA, the Global Cinema Advertising Association, in Mumbai on October 4. Via Facebook Live from Facebook’s Mumbai office, a discussion on the issue of hunger hosted by television personality Mini Mathur had adman and film-maker R Balki, the Founder of Feeding India Ankit Kawatra, celebrity chef Vicky Ratnani, CMO of UFO Moviez Siddharth Bhardwaj, UNWFP Director of Communications, Marketing and Advocacy Corinne Woods, actor Gladys Kyotungire and UNWFP India Director Hameed Nuru as participants.

The 60-second cinema ad conceived by advertising legend Sir John Hegarty and The Garage Soho, directed by Lynne Ramsay and produced by Somesuch & Co. SAWA, in association with WFP, will air ‘Feed Our Future’ on cinema screens in more than 30 countries with a call to action to download WFP’s mobile app, ShareTheMeal.

Millennials make up a large part of the cinema audience and these are the people that the campaign will target in the expectation that they will facilitate change.

WHAT THE AD SAYS
The ad shows a bustling news conference with journalists vying to interview the recipient of a breakthrough medical research award. But the journalists learn that there was ultimately no medical breakthrough – the chilling conclusion reveals that Miriam Adeke, the young woman in question, had in fact died of hunger when she was only eight years old.

“The creative challenge was to find a way of engaging the audience without resorting to endless images of starving children,” Sir John Hegarty said over a video message.

THE FB MARKETING DRIVE
Saket Jha Saurabh (Head, Entertainment Partnerships, Facebook India) spoke of Facebook’s association with the campaign, which is supported by a Facebook and Instagram marketing drive. Facebook is bringing the campaign to life through an integrated digital campaign. A team of award-winning creatives and Facebook’s Creative Shop have come together to create a Facebook Messenger experience that will give viewers the opportunity to engage with a bot version of the main character from the ad and learn more about hunger by searching for ‘ShareTheMeal’ on Messenger.

HUNGER MUST BE TACKLED
“We’re happy to address the issue of global hunger in India with the UNWFP. Cinema is the most impactful medium to deliver such a message to the audience in a highly captive environment,” said Sanjay Gaikwad, MD of UFO Moviez. UFO Moviez will show the ‘Feed Our Future’ film on 6500 screens, in 2500 towns, with a seating capacity of 90 million a week. The campaign runs for eight weeks from October 4.

“Three million children die every year of hunger or malnutrition,” Corinne Woods of UNWFP said. “When partners like SAWA and their members step up, it helps us create a movement and generate support for our work to ensure that every child has the vital food and nutrition they need – not only to survive - but also to thrive.”

“As a film-maker, I know first-hand the power of cinema to inspire and engage people. The fact that the WFP’s #FeedOurFuture campaign will be screening across the country makes me sure that we really can make a difference. By denying access to nutritious and sufficient food to a generation of children, we can’t deny the future world of the many doctors, scientists, film-makers and change-makers there could be in the making,” R Balki observed.

The National Food Security Act in India entitles everyone to food and the Government has to provide for that, remarked Hameed Nuru of UNWFP. “The UNWFP is supporting the Government in advocacy and capacity-building so that India can be hunger-free by 2030,” he added.

For more information about #FeedOurFuture, visit: www.wfp.org/ feedourfuture