A recent study among teenagers reveals that in Finland one in four children experiences some harm or emotional disturbance caused by their parent’s use of alcohol during their childhood. The A-Clinic’s “Fragile Childhood” campaign team asked Havas Worldwide Helsinki how it should use its small budget to promote discussion of this difficult subject.
Based on the premise that alcohol changes the way we behave – especially in the eyes of emotionally immature children – Havas Worldwide Helsinki created “Monsters”: a campaign film designed to provoke media debate. It encouraged viewers to visit the organization’s Facebook pages and share their thoughts – even anonymously – on parental alcohol use.
Published on YouTube both in Finnish and English, the film exploded, and the powerful execution resonated with viewers on every continent. The film went viral, and within five days, picked up a million YouTube hits. Both the film and issue-at-large were discussed on CNN, Huffington Post, CBS, RTL, MSN, Fokus, Der Speigel, and many other major media outlets worldwide. Locally, the campaign achieved blanket coverage in TV, print, and online media far beyond our client’s expectations. To date, total views on YouTube have exceeded 1.75 million.