Bravehearts launches TVC to remind Aussies to put child protection at top of the list this Xmas
An award-winning team of creatives have put their talent behind a powerful new awareness campaign for the child protection organisation Bravehearts.
The television commercial by creative director Mike Boswell and director Sonia Whiteman, uses a lion to represent the power that personal safety education has in the fight against child sexual assault.
Says Whiteman: “I was honoured to work on this powerful campaign with Mike Boswell and Bravehearts, and all the cast and crew who believe so passionately in protecting children from childhood sexual assault.
“We hope this TVC is shared all around Australia, to ignite conversation and inspire everyone to become fierce protectors of Australian children.”
Bravehearts founder and chair Hetty Johnston AM said the TVC encourages the community to be brave and talk about child sexual assault.
Says Johnston: “Every two hours in Australia a child is sexually assaulted in some way. This is unacceptable.
“The ad encourages the community to see that by educating our kids, this crime can be prevented.”
Some of Australia’s top advertising talent donated their expertise to make this ad possible, including award winning Australian commercial director Paul Middleditch, who was the executive producer and world-class post-production facility The Editors.
The beautiful lion footage was kindly donated by US based Green Screen Animals.
Says Zoe Hermans, marketing manager, Bravehearts: “The lion in the ad is a metaphor for Bravehearts as a guardian and protector of Australian children. The main character is a young girl who is seen being shadowed by her own personal ‘protector’ – a lion – as she goes about her day.
“She is wearing a Bravehearts wristband that signifies she has seen our personal safety education show, ‘Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure’, which stars Ditto the lion cub.
“Children who see our Ditto show are empowered to listen to their intuition and encouraged to speak up if they find themselves in a situation that doesn’t feel ‘right’. They learn about YES and NO feelings, and what to do if they feel unsafe.
“The skills they learn through Bravehearts education program are life-long skills. Our goal is to see every Australian child empowered with these personal safety skills from a young age. It is an absolutely essential part of preventing child sexual assault in this country and a key to making Australia the safest place in the world to raise a child.”
Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Show has so far this year seen over 100,000 Australian children, visiting schools as far south as rural Tasmania to as far North as the Torres Strait, and West into remote indigenous communities near Broken Hill.
The lion advertisement is part of Bravehearts’ online Christmas appeal, calling for donations to help support the Ditto education program, which costs the organisation an average of $12 per child to deliver.
To help boost fundraising efforts across social media, Bravehearts has partnered with leading payment technology provider, IntegraPay, to integrate an Australian-first in-video payment system into the ad.
Says Hermans: “The technology is ground-breaking for charities and donors alike because users can donate whilst they watch the video, and don’t have to be redirected to a third-party webpage or pop-up to complete their donation.”
IntegraPay’s chief operating officer, Kathryn Porritt, said IntegraPay wanted to create a modern and innovative way to raise funds for charities.
Says Porritt: “We’re delighted to be able to assist Bravehearts help protect Australia’s children by making the donation process easier.
“Our In Video Payment System is an Australian and New Zealand first and aims to reduce the steps to transaction completion keeping potential donators engaged and inspired.
“The IVPS screen is embedded within the marketing video. This means when the marketing material is shared or forwarded on to a new person, IVPS is included. We hope the lion video with its great imagery and wonderful creative direction, will see this happen.”