Penny’s Christmas campaign stands far apart. It’s not about Christmas magic, Christmas get togethers or even imperfect Christmases. It’s about children’s rights.
This Christmas, Penny is giving children, a voice. Because these people who are most impacted by future outcomes such as climate change, inflation, war, societal division, and inequality are not usually asked for their opinions or wishes.
The Kids is the third in a new Penny’s Christmas tradition, an annual social awareness campaign. It follows the 2022 Cannes Lions Film Craft Grand Prix-winning The Wish, and much applauded The Rift.
To create it, Penny reached out to children and young individuals from the clubs that the discount store has been supporting since 2015 through the Förderpenny charity initiative, asking them about their hopes for the future. Over 100 youth clubs and social initiatives from across Germany participated.
Stefan Görgens, chief operating officer, Penny, stated, “Children are our future. This makes it all the more important to listen to them and see the world through their eyes. Through our Förderpenny initiative, we have been able to see firsthand for years what they are missing and what they want. We would like to use our reach to provide a stage for this.”
“I’m thrilled with PENNY and how determined, committed and empathetically the brand keeps speaking out, in order to give children and young people a voice. Especially before Christmas, a holiday centred around children, it is of great importance to point out how often they are overheard. We did everything we could to make this as intense and authentic as possible,” added Christoph Everke, Serviceplan Campaign.
The campaign’s starting point was rooted in actively listening to the youth. The narratives portrayed in the film draw inspiration from real-life responses PENNY received through the ‘Förderpenny’ clubs. It presents children and young people in various typical situations where their needs and desires are not heard, highlighting their genuine conflicts and concerns.
The three-minute film is underscored by Pink’s What about us, performed by children’s choirs. It was produced by Akkurat Studios and directed by Gregory Ohrel.
The film can be seen online, on social media and in cinemas in Germany, supported by OOH planned around Children’s Rights Day on November 20. Furthermore, the real wishes of young people will be published in paid and owned media such as the Penny newsletter, the customer magazine, the website, social media channels and at the point of sale through posters and on market radio in the coming weeks.
Credits
Client: Penny
Client Team: Thomas Raupach & Friederike Pater
Agency: Serviceplan
Agency Team: Christoph Everke, Alessia Coschignano, Sebastian Bialon, Aisha Blackwell, Matthäus Frost, Pauline Sawatzki, Elvira Breit, Wiebke Müller & Alessia Scheffler
Music: Matthias Bauss (Spark Entertainment) & Florian Lakenmacher (Supreme Music)
