THE ULTIMATE CAUSE

According to a UN report, there are more than 40,000 non-governmental organisations in the world today. With so many threats to our planet’s future (like conflicts, endangered species, pollution, deforestation, climate change…) the landscape of causes demanding our attention and help has hit a historic high. And what nearly all those causes have in common is the fact that children are the ones who suffer the most. They are the most vulnerable in any sort of hostile scenario. So, when they need help, children can’t wait.

This is the premise of a new campaign created by Grey London for Casa do Zezinho, a non-governmental organisation based in São Paulo. Casa do Zezinho (CZ) welcomes around 1,000 socially vulnerable children every day, offering social and educational activities based on the Rainbow Pedagogy created by the pedagogue and founder of the CZ, Dagmar Rivieri, aka Tia Dag. Based on four pillars - philosophy, sciences, arts and spirituality - the activities mix and relate to each other. At CZ, children, adolescents, and young people have contact with workshops and projects on nutrition, sports, the arts and reading, among others. For the educator, the important thing is to give freedom so that children, especially those who come from the favelas, can dream and do whatever their imagination inspires them to do. In addition to the activities, CZ’s children have three meals a day and there is also support for their families.

The campaign depicts empty workspaces. Over each empty office chair there’s a headline that brings the name of a key activist, followed by their job role. The audience realises that each of them works for a different high-profile NGO. And they’re all Out of Office to prioritise children for many different reasons. Showing that not even the most crucial and necessary causes of the world are more pressing than helping children. A simple and yet powerful reminder of the fact that there’s nothing more urgent than children. A line then explains what Casa do Zezinho is all about: “Children are our only cause.” The activists’ names and situations are for illustrative purposes only, and another copy invites the audience to also help the other causes mentioned in each ad.