Powerful New Film Urges Football Fans to Help #ClearThePitch of Land Mines

Today, on International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, Great Guns has teamed up with Grey for Good, the philanthropic arm of Grey Group Singapore and with DanChurchAid (DCA) to drive support for creating safer communities in post-conflict zones around the world – communities free of dangerous remnants of war such as land mines, unexploded ammunition and cluster bombs. 

The centerpiece of this effort is a powerful film directed by James Teh. 

We are proud to be a part of this campaign as it tackles a topic often described as one of the most evil problems affecting millions of civilians in over 60 countries around the world. 

To change this, the integrated campaign #ClearThePitch builds an emotional link to one of the world’s biggest sports: football. It’s a universal sport, but due to remnants of war such as land mines, cluster bombs and unexploded ammunition, in large parts of the world playing football on fields can be extremely dangerous. Especially for children.

The film puts this into dramatic perspective. Starting out as what could well be a brand film by one of the big football suppliers, it features balls from around the world. With an iconic song as a soundtrack: the football hymn 'You’ll never walk alone' – sung by supporters in stadiums around the world to back their team – was reinterpreted in a highly emotive acoustic version. Just as the inclined fan is wondering which product this is all about, the film takes an unexpected and disturbing turn: revealing Muhammad Porsa, a child who stepped on a landmine three years ago, asking the audience whether they saw the bomb among the balls. He then points out the cluster-bomblet which actually looks much like a ball – making it clear just how nasty the problem is. 

The core messaging is simple: Help DCA clear the pitch and create safer communities.