UNICEF’s Christmas Campaign Uses Ultrasounds to Narrate the Lottery of Birth

UNICEF Norway and Accenture Song emphasise the lottery of birth in a new Christmas campaign to drive donations.

Launching in Norwegian and English, the film uses regional versions of the widespread children’s counting rhyme, ‘Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe’, to symbolise the randomness of circumstances babies are born into. A series of five ultrasounds flicker across the screen as a child chants the rhyme; when it ends, landing on the chosen unborn child, a shocking message appears on screen: “This Christmas, 1 in 5 children is growing up in war and conflict. A gift from you can save a life."

Accenture Song approached UNICEF Norway with the concept, replacing the charity’s original Christmas campaign plans. It was brought to life in under a month, with only three weeks elapsing from initial meeting to launch. 

A pared-back approach allowed Accenture Song to deliver the campaign’s message in a way that used minimal resources to create maximum emotional impact. The ultrasound videos seen in the film are real, shared by friends and colleagues at Accenture Song and UNICEF who wanted to be part of this important message. 

The raw visuals were pushed further by Accenture Song Production Studio in Copenhagen, through sound. The innocent child’s voice plays out against a backing track of muffled womb sounds and heartbeats, which grimly evolve into the rumbles of war as the campaign reveals its conclusion. The song ‘Waiting’, by popular Swedish musician Alice Boman, was also generously gifted for the project. 

“With this film, we want to show how deeply unfair it is that a child’s future can be determined by pure chance. By using something as universal as ultrasounds and a counting rhyme, we hope to remind people of the importance of protecting children everywhere,” says Stian Mina, fundraising acquisition manager at UNICEF Norway.

“Working on this film was both challenging and rewarding. The idea of using ultrasounds and a counting rhyme to represent the randomness of birth allowed us to tell a complex story in a simple and universal way. Our goal was to create something that stays with people long after they’ve seen it and actually makes a difference for children in need,” adds Marcus Lundvall and Rasmus Andersson, the Accenture Song creatives behind the project.

Every donation, big or small, helps give children growing up in war and conflict a chance for a safer and brighter future – because no child chooses the life they are born into.