Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) are an invaluable, evocative and striking tool – one that’s capability to spread awareness and connect directly with viewers has proven time and time again to be a successful motivator for change. Video PSA’s are the perfect medium for when you need to address an issue with nuance and layers; by combining poignant live action footage with editorial symbolism and narrative techniques, our collaboration with the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) delivered on that goal and encouraged change across the globe.
What UICC accomplishes as an organization is vital – having served as the oldest and largest global membership organization for tackling issues surrounding cancer, UICC has been paving the way for cancer care equality and improvements in treatment since 1933. For 2024 World Cancer Day, UICC needed to craft an announcement concerning global care disparity and prove to people around the world that when we stand together, we can bring about incredible change.
We utilized video’s potential not only to reach as many people as possible, but to display clearly the differences between care worldwide and the importance of joining together to amplify the power of our voices. Video allowed us to seamlessly stitch together and reveal with side-by-side footage the discrepancies in care across Southeast Asia, South Africa and the United States.
Video allowed us to showcase the power of coming together as a unified front. By introducing viewers to three incredible cancer activists, who talk straight down the camera and share the exact same message, we strengthened their voices and brought hope to people: ‘Don’t worry, you can be a part of the solution – there are people all over the world that we can emulate, look up to and join.’
Filmed globally and directed remotely from our Zurich office, the production utilized these activists alongside animated motion graphics to bring a clear call to action at the forefront of the campaign.
This balancing act between crafting a message that was both urgent and uplifting was on our mind throughout the production process. As Head of Production, Europe and Project Lead Steve Brown describes;
“It was a juggle between getting that urgency and fire behind people to act, but not in a way that overwhelmed and stifled action altogether in a freeze response. We needed to let people know that change is possible and video was the perfect medium for that, we displayed that there are clear steps we can take and that there are amazing people leading the way forward as well!”
Alarming enough to cause concern yet reassuring enough to encourage action, video allowed us to capture these subtleties in a cohesive, multifaceted way. We couldn’t be prouder of the piece we produced for UICC, and it was an absolute honor to work with the organization. We hope that our piece serves as a testament to how powerful video can be – that blending together multiple aims and ensuring every emotion you want to hit is done so can be achieved through the medium with ease. When you are delivering a worldwide effort, you need a worldwide medium, and video PSA’s are just that.
To find out more, feel free to contact us at hello@synima.com.
