Be A Lifeline
Humanity & Inclusion / Handicap International — Cossette
About this project
Be A Lifeline is a humanitarian campaign directed and photographed by Olivier Staub for Cossette, filmed entirely on location in Burmese refugee camps and a nearby village on the Thai-Burmese border. The campaign uses the poetic metaphor of the hand's lifeline — doodles held by real people — to portray the trauma and resilience of vulnerable populations facing conflict, disaster, and exclusion, anchored by a closing portrait of a young boy named Siti Pong. The film won a Bronze Lion in Design at Cannes Lions 2018.
Director's Statement
The Lifeline campaign was filmed and photographed entirely on location in two Burmese refugee camps and a nearby village on the Thai-Burmese border in October 2017. The visual metaphor of the Lifeline concept is so poetically clever that it touched me instantly. I immediately immersed myself in developing a very organic and realistic interpretation that captures the simplicity and naive poetry of a children's storybook while addressing the most horrible realities of life. Human resilience is infinite. Portraying such drama through doodles held by real people creates a direct emotional connection with the viewer, offering great authenticity and simplicity. This is not just another generic war scene or refugee camp that could have been filmed anywhere; we engaged deeply with the real situation, capturing the daily reality of those living in the camps. My greatest revelation was a little boy named Siti Pong, featured in the film's finale. Despite missing a leg and three fingers, his impressive zest for life and contagious smile shine brightly. Watching him play soccer with the other children reinforced for me that hope never dies.
Press Release
Release date 24 Janvier 2018 On January 24, Humanity & Inclusion also unveiled an international, multimedia campaign focusing on the symbol of the hand and expressing the organization’s values using a simple message: “Be a lifeline to the most vulnerable.” Cossette designed the campaign pro bono. Olivier Staub directed the campaign's film, which was produced by Morrison Films, and Staub also produced the photos for the campaign, all pro bono. The French Canadian actress, Pascale Bussières, and the Canadian singer, Feist, lent their voices to the French and English versions of the film. Globally, Humanity & Inclusion is grateful for the support of a range of ambassadors, including renowned soccer player Neymar Jr, and American pilot Jessica Cox, born without arms and featured in the award-winning documentary, RightFooted. In Canada, Diane Tell and Anthony Lemke serve as spokespeople, while HI Belgium enjoys the support of singer Axelle Red engages regularly with HI. Why change? “‘Handicap International’ failed to express both our values and broad scope of work,” Meer explained. “It didn’t tell you that we run a wide range of emergency and development activities that reach beyond the disability sector. And a good percentage of English speakers told us the word ‘handicap’ was old fashioned at best and derogatory at worst.” * On its own, ‘Handicap International’ didn’t express the organization’s values and mission. It had become essential to adopt a tagline that was more representative of the diversity of the organization’s actions. * The word ‘handicap’ carries a negative connotation that can be seen as pejorative and stigmatizing. All the doodles are hand drawn and then animated. We deliberately chose to keep them very simple so they could convey the emotion without becoming to realistic. They could then express real stories and traumas but still remain in the poetry and imaginary field making them so touching. The challenge was to combine live action shots of hands as well as live camera mouvements on hands with the doodles. keeping all theses elements in symbiosis without loosing the veracity of the live shoot in the refuge camps resulted in these touching metaphors strolling on the lifeline of the refugees hands.
Print / OOH
Lifeline_Bombing_Ad_En
Lifeline_Landmines_Ad_En
Lifeline_NaturalDisasters_Ad_En
Lifeline_PhysicalBarriers_Ad_En
Lifeline_Refugees_Ad_En
Lifeline_SocialBarriers_Ad_En
Click image to enlarge
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Be A Lifeline
Humanity & Inclusion / Handicap International — Cossette
2017
About this project
Be A Lifeline is a humanitarian campaign directed and photographed by Olivier Staub for Cossette, filmed entirely on location in Burmese refugee camps and a nearby village on the Thai-Burmese border. The campaign uses the poetic metaphor of the hand's lifeline — doodles held by real people — to portray the trauma and resilience of vulnerable populations facing conflict, disaster, and exclusion, anchored by a closing portrait of a young boy named Siti Pong. The film won a Bronze Lion in Design at Cannes Lions 2018.
Director's Statement
The Lifeline campaign was filmed and photographed entirely on location in two Burmese refugee camps and a nearby village on the Thai-Burmese border in October 2017. The visual metaphor of the Lifeline concept is so poetically clever that it touched me instantly. I immediately immersed myself in developing a very organic and realistic interpretation that captures the simplicity and naive poetry of a children's storybook while addressing the most horrible realities of life. Human resilience is infinite. Portraying such drama through doodles held by real people creates a direct emotional connection with the viewer, offering great authenticity and simplicity. This is not just another generic war scene or refugee camp that could have been filmed anywhere; we engaged deeply with the real situation, capturing the daily reality of those living in the camps. My greatest revelation was a little boy named Siti Pong, featured in the film's finale. Despite missing a leg and three fingers, his impressive zest for life and contagious smile shine brightly. Watching him play soccer with the other children reinforced for me that hope never dies.
Press Release
Release date 24 Janvier 2018 On January 24, Humanity & Inclusion also unveiled an international, multimedia campaign focusing on the symbol of the hand and expressing the organization’s values using a simple message: “Be a lifeline to the most vulnerable.” Cossette designed the campaign pro bono. Olivier Staub directed the campaign's film, which was produced by Morrison Films, and Staub also produced the photos for the campaign, all pro bono. The French Canadian actress, Pascale Bussières, and the Canadian singer, Feist, lent their voices to the French and English versions of the film. Globally, Humanity & Inclusion is grateful for the support of a range of ambassadors, including renowned soccer player Neymar Jr, and American pilot Jessica Cox, born without arms and featured in the award-winning documentary, RightFooted. In Canada, Diane Tell and Anthony Lemke serve as spokespeople, while HI Belgium enjoys the support of singer Axelle Red engages regularly with HI. Why change? “‘Handicap International’ failed to express both our values and broad scope of work,” Meer explained. “It didn’t tell you that we run a wide range of emergency and development activities that reach beyond the disability sector. And a good percentage of English speakers told us the word ‘handicap’ was old fashioned at best and derogatory at worst.” * On its own, ‘Handicap International’ didn’t express the organization’s values and mission. It had become essential to adopt a tagline that was more representative of the diversity of the organization’s actions. * The word ‘handicap’ carries a negative connotation that can be seen as pejorative and stigmatizing. All the doodles are hand drawn and then animated. We deliberately chose to keep them very simple so they could convey the emotion without becoming to realistic. They could then express real stories and traumas but still remain in the poetry and imaginary field making them so touching. The challenge was to combine live action shots of hands as well as live camera mouvements on hands with the doodles. keeping all theses elements in symbiosis without loosing the veracity of the live shoot in the refuge camps resulted in these touching metaphors strolling on the lifeline of the refugees hands.
Print / OOH
Lifeline_Bombing_Ad_En
Lifeline_Landmines_Ad_En
Lifeline_NaturalDisasters_Ad_En
Lifeline_PhysicalBarriers_Ad_En
Lifeline_Refugees_Ad_En
Lifeline_SocialBarriers_Ad_En
Credits
Director — Olivier Staub
Producer — Vlad Doclin (Morrisson Films)
Chief Creative Officer — Antoine Bécotte (Cossette)
Copywriter — Linda Daw (Cossette)
Art Director — Stéphane Gaulin (Cossette)
Editor — Daravong Thongsavath (Normal Studio)
VFX & Compositing — Hubert Lapointe (Shed)
Music & Recording — (Apollo Studio)
VFX & Compositing — Étienne Thérriault (Shed)
Account Director — Eve-Marie Boutet (Cossette)
Account Manager — Charlotte Fabre (Cossette)
Agency Producer — Maryse Beauregard (Cossette)
Executive Producer — Michel David (MileInn)
Director of Photography — Olivier Staub (StaubFilms)
Sound Design & Mix — Yan Dal Santo (Apollo Studio)
Narrator — Pascal Bussière
Narrator — Feist
Local Servicing House — Louis Dispatchi (Ta Prod)
Awards
Cannes Lions — Bronze (Design, 2018)
Applied Arts — Winner (FIlm, 2018)
Lux Awards — Winner (, 2018)
Press
Shots — Humanity & Inclusion UK: Be A Lifeline: https://www.shots.net/news/view/94883-humanity-inclusion-uk-be-a-lifeline
The Drum — Lifeline: https://www.thedrum.com/creative-works/project/cossette-humanity-inclusion-formerly-handicap-international-lifeline
Little Black Book — Olivier Staub Uses Hand Lifelines in Poetic Film for Humanity & Inclusion: https://lbbonline.com/news/olivier-staub-uses-hand-lifelines-in-poetic-film-for-humanity-inclusion/
PRNewswire — Humanity & Inclusion Becomes New Name of Handicap International: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/humanity--inclusion-becomes-new-name-of-handicap-international-300586930.html
HI / Official Name Change Release: https://www.hi-us.org/en/humanity---inclusion-becomes-new-name-of-handicap-international
BestAdsOnTV: https://www.bestadsontv.com/ad/91933/Humanity-Inclusion-Lifeline
Fubiz — Moving and Creative Print Campaign for Humanity & Inclusion: https://www.fubiz.net/en/2018/01/29/moving-and-creative-print-campaign-for-humanity-inclusion-2/
MarComm News — Cossette Uses the Hand's Lifeline in Poetic Film for Humanity & Inclusion: https://marcommnews.com/cossette-uses-the-hands-lifeline-in-poetic-film-for-humanity-inclusion/
LBBonline (duplicate listing on the page, no trailing slash variant): https://lbbonline.com/news/olivier-staub-uses-hand-lifelines-in-poetic-film-for-humanity-inclusion
Ads of the World: https://www.adsoftheworld.com/campaigns/humanity-and-inclusion-lifeline
AdsSpot: https://www.adsspot.me/media/prints/handicap-international-civilian-bombings-02367a2cab32