Christmas cards represent a classic way of saying “Happy Holidays” to your colleagues, friends, and people you love the most. Unfortunately, Christmas cards slowly became endangered species, mainly because of the improvements in communication and modern trends to replace printed greeting cards with electronic ones. Still, there are many entities that acknowledge the positive impact of the traditional seasonal illustrations and, therefore, they try hard to revive them.

This was the case of UNICEF expanding its “Design for Children” initiative, asking creative designers around the globe to share their imagination, and design cheerful greeting cards for 2018/19. To impress the jury, the illustrations needed to include Christmas-themed symbols, while to avoid any controversies, the institution asked the participants not to feature any religious motifs within their works.

The UK charity Doctors of the World was not so vehement in its mission to craft a better world. Rather than making a religious statement, the NGO included some vintage biblical nativity scenes within its Christmas cards that are unlike any other similar illustrations that you might have seen until now. The organization didn’t use religion as a motif to stir up a debate, but, on the contrary, it used it to make people speak up about the conflict that has divided the Middle East.

This week’s #ThrowBrandThursday takes us back somewhere between the birth of Jesus and the Christmas of 2016, placing us in a scenario that, ironically, features both peace and war.

To show that Christmas is a season to “give a damn,” the British NGO teamed up with advertising agency McCann London and launched the “Reality Xmas” campaign. Within the pro-bono initiative, the creative company designed festive greeting cards that feature strong imagery, specifically created to raise awareness about the Middle East crisis and increase donations towards the charity.

The cards’ essence lies at the intersection of biblical past and present wars and starkly juxtaposes peacefulness of the ancient holy land with modern-day images shot in conflict zones across the Middle East.

To bring these cards, which suggestively carry the names ‘Not So Silent Night’ and ‘The Star of Bedlam,’ to life the London-based agency used two layers of images: one inspired by the Bible and one provided by the Press Association, which donated representative photos of the war to complete the illustrations.

The creatives designed a pack of four limited-edition cards. One of the scenes shows pregnant Mary and Joseph on their journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in Judea, a peaceful image disrupted by the shadow of smoke left by a bomb. Another one shows the biblical Magi pointing out to an air fighter. The birth of Jesus is accompanied by a missile launch, while the last scene contours the Adoration of the Shepherds which, sadly, happens within a building that is about to collapse because of collateral damage.

According to the charity, the not-so-Christmassy cards were developed to draw attention to the reality of the humanitarian disasters in the region and were sold out in the first 48 hours after their launch. Part of the proceeds collected from the sale was used to support Doctors of the World’s mission to provide medical help to those who have been forced to leave their home because of the war.

Leigh Daynes, executive director of Doctors of the World expressed his feelings about the inspiring campaign: “Every Christmas a romanticised picture is presented of the Holy Land of the past, featuring peaceful pastoral images that are shared in homes, churches and high streets across the country.” In his vision, this seemed to be in antithesis with “the humanitarian crisis that the region faces today.”

The cards were sent to politicians and humanitarians and quickly became an international story. By getting the attention of national press, the award-winning campaign was frequently mentioned in the global news. The initiative was embraced by religious leaders from different faiths and, most importantly, every purchase of the cards doubled as a signature towards a petition to open an air corridor to deliver medical care to Aleppo.

Credits:

Client: Doctors of the World

Agency: McCann London