UNKNOWN HEROES

TitleUNKNOWN HEROES
BrandINTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS
Product/ServiceICRC
Category A04. Production Design / Art Direction
Entrant SAATCHI & SAATCHI FRANCE Paris, FRANCE
Idea Creation SAATCHI & SAATCHI FRANCE Paris, FRANCE
Credits
Name Company Position
Pierre Viallaneix Saatchi & Saatchi General Creative Director
Laëtitia Chretien Saatchi & Saatchi Art Director
Jean-François Le marec Saatchi & Saatchi Copywriter
Thierry DELESALLE Delesalle Saatchi & Saatchi TV producer
Yann Chervet Saatchi & Saatchi Head of strategies
Vanessa Launay Saatchi & Saatchi Group Account Director
Stephane Barbato Prodigious Film director
Jonathan Mira Saatchi & Saatchi Account Director
Jessica Xavier-Cochelin Saatchi & Saatchi Account Manager

Write a short summary of what happens in the film

The “UNKNOWN HEROES” campaign takes us through a surgical operation as if we were watching a major football match. From the camps of South Sudan to Paris, Brazil, Barcelona, and the suburbs of Manchester, fans from around the world witness the war surgeon’s accomplishments on the medical field and his inevitable rise to fame after achieving his feat. From interviews to front-page news, awards, hordes of journalists and video game avatars, our protagonist gets the same idol treatment as the planet’s biggest football stars.

Tell the jury about the production design / art direction. You may wish to comment on choices, challenges or effects.

To challenge the status quo, we needed a hard-hitting film that would strike people's minds. In a perfect world, war surgeons who risk their lives to help victims should be as famous as footballers. This is what the agency has chosen to show. The main problem we faced was to match our creative ambition with a strong budget constraint. How to transcribe the international fervor? How to build the story before the revelation? What codes to use to anchor the production in its time (3D, starification of social networks)? We had to answer all these questions as part of a probono project. Here, the commitment of the collective was the key to success. The entire chain worked hand in hand to be "problem solver”: creative agency, production company, director, technical crew, ambassador… Thanks to that, we have succeeded to shoot 97% of plans in exterior or on real locations.