A video of parrots screeching abusive swear words is a potential viral hit. And the film is made of undoctored clips gathered by Grey New York. But it’s not for shits and giggles. It’s a PSA for UNICEF.

And after its creator, Grey New York has amused you for a while, it sobers you up fast with the message, “If a parrot can remember what happens in an abusive home, imagine a child.”

The PSA was released in tandem with UNICEF’s new global report on violence against children, which revealed horrors such as that 1 in 4 young children across the world are exposed to domestic violence at home. 3/4 of the world’s 2 to 4 year-old children (around 300 million) experience psychological aggression and/or physical punishment by their caregivers at home. And around 15 million adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 have experienced forced sexual intercourse or other forced sexual acts in their lifetime.

“The harm inflicted on children around the world does tremendous damage,” stated UNICEF chief of child protection, Cornelius Williams.

“Babies slapped in the face; girls and boys forced into sexual acts; adolescents murdered in their communities—violence against children knows no boundaries.”

Credits:

Creative Agency: Grey New York
Worldwide Chief Creative Officer: John Patroulis
Deputy Chief Creative Officers: Rob Lenois & Jeff Stamp
Group Creative Directors: Marco Pupo & João Coutinho
Creative Director (art director): Leo Barbosa
Creative Director (copywriter): Cuanan Cronwright
Senior Vice President Account Director: Liz Gilchrist

Production Agency: Townhouse
Head of Integrated Production: James McPherson
Executive Integrated Producer Jan Zislin
Integrated Producer : Ranelle Fowler
Audio Engineer: Matt Baker

Production Company NYC: Catch and Release
Content Producer: Ross Dabrow
Chief of Content: Greg Sylvester
Head of Clearances & Acquisitions: Brent Lovell
Senior Clearance Lead: Kelli Cline
Clearance Specialists: Zoe Ani, Jordan Vail
Curation Director: Liz Mandeville

Client: UNICEF

Senior Producer: Priyanka Pruthi