There are stories in this world that no kid should listen to. Still, there are children that, sadly, get to experience the worst of them all. And though such tales break our hearts, we stood still while we listened (or read) one of them. Remember those bedtime stories narrated by underprivileged kids? “Welcome to My Neighborhood” is a book that featured a series of stories that reveal a dark world, where children face drug abuse, domestic violence, and hunger.

Understandably, these kids are about nine times more likely to get involved in criminal activities after they reach their teen years. Yet, there are children out there that experience a similar traumatic childhood, but their biggest desire is to do good when they grow up. Such as refugee kids who just like when people are good to them. They promise to be good to them too.

UNICEF‘s mission is to support these youths and also protect them. So, while working together with 180LA agency, the famous NGO launched “UNfairy Tales,” a series of stories that aim to remind everyone that, even after becoming migrants, kids refugees are still just kids and deserve a fair chance to live. “No matter where they are in the world when refugee and migrant children reach their destination, it is the beginning of another journey, not the end of the road,” said Paloma Escudero, UNICEF’s Head of Communication, in a press release.

The campaign we present you during this week’s #ThrowBrandThursday column englobes three videos and an eponymous book. As the first in the series comes “Malak and the Boat,” an animated story that’s based on a true tale of a young girl escaping conflict, who later explains how much she felt frightened that she and her mother might drown in the Mediterranean seas while crossing it to reach to safety, far away from their home.

The story of Ivine and Pillow focuses on a 14-year-old girl that sadly sees how the war in Syria takes her home, her family, and her dreams. Despite the fact that her mother is besides, it is the pillow she carries with care wherever she goes. “I’d have nightmares about those scenes, and I’d cry. I’d wake up, and my pillow would be soaking wet from all my tears.” You can now watch Ivine’s story as UNICEF managed to bring it to life:

Ever wondered how a walk looks like for a Syrian kid? To leave behind your family, your loved ones, and your most prized possessions? You haven’t? Well, it’s truly traumatic. But don’t listen just to us. Have a look at a 2-minute-long video in which you get to see Mustafa’s story, a tale that will simply break your heart.

“Every day, everywhere, people are helping them out with small acts of humanity. These acts rarely make news but they are making all the difference in the world to individual refugee and migrant children. UNICEF wants to showcase this #actofhumanity to inspire others and show the way forward,” Escudero continues.

180LA Executive Creative Directors, Rafael Rizuto and Eduardo Marques, further described the background of the disturbing narrative: “The Unfairy Tales picture with heartbreaking detail what it’s really like to be a child in that situation, showing that some stories were never meant for children. We needed to tell these stories to make everyone think about it.”

Fairy tales usually have a happy ending. But these poor little people aren’t that lucky, so they hope to just survive. Get involved in UNICEF’s #actofhumanity initiative and help these children to live happily ever after.

Credits:

Client: UNICEF

Ad Agency: 180LA

Chief Creative Officer: William Gelner
Chief Executive Officers: Michael Allen, Stephen Larkin
Executive Creative Officers: Rafael Rizuto, Eduardo Marques
Creative Directors: Dave Cuccinello, David Povill
Associate Account Director: Tamara Brown
Account Manager: Meredithe Woodward
Social Media Director: Andy White
Account Planning Director: Michael Allen
Director of Integrated Production: Natasha Wellesley
Art and Content Producer: Jason Lau
Associate PR Director: Meagan Phillips
Director of Business Affairs: Loretta Zolliecoffer,
Translators: Florian Bodet, Irene Luevano, Bethlehem Herhane

Melvin Editorial
Editor: Dave Groseclose
Post Production Manager: Brian Scharwath

Animation House: House of Colors
Designer Director: Adhemas Batista
Script and Director: André Holzmeister
CGI: André Holzmeister
Visual Direction: Adhemas Batista, André Holzmeister

Hefty Audio, Sound Design & Music: Edu Luke and Elisa Gatti

Character Design: Jonathan Marshall, André Holzmeister, Adhemas Batista
Concept Art: Jonathan Marshall, Adhemas Batista
Storyboards: Jonathan Marshall, Adhemas Batista
Animatic: Ricardo Almeida, Guilherme Neder
Project Manager: Luiz Abud
Render Wrangler: Rodrigo Augusto

Rendering Sponsored by RebusFarm GmbH / Reederservice
Hefty Audio, Sound Design & Music: Edu Luke and Elisa Gatti