BBH and Google join forces to inspire people to register as Global Citizens

Launching is a major new campaign by Google in support of Global Citizen, the international advocacy organization working to end extreme poverty by 2030. 

The campaign uses creativity to encourage and inspire members of the public to sign up to the global action movement. As part of its annual Global Lighthouse Partnership programme, Google has appointed BBH as its creative agency in the UK to drive tangible action towards one of Global Citizen’s RecoveryPlan Goals - ‘Resume Learning Everywhere’.

Before COVID-19, 258 million children around the world were out of school. In the face of a global pandemic this has spiraled to nearly 1.5 billion children who have had their education impacted. Through multiple lockdowns and consistent disruption we’ve seen a new meaning behind schools emerge; they’re more than just bricks, mortar, and places to sit exams - they’re symbolic spaces of learning, growth and refuge.

Global Citizen is fighting to resume education for all children and get them back into school. Failure to challenge the current situation runs the risk of children in poorer countries, where online learning may not be an option, dropping far behind on minimum proficiency levels for reading or mathematics. To dramatise this BBH created a powerful film to drive people to sign up and take action to make change, the film shows a school building being demolished to highlight the impact of the pandemic on education.

The film, directed by Cleo Samoles-Little, opens in an abandoned classroom. Viewers then start to see the film switching between two different realities. In one reality, the school is slowly destroyed by an incoming bulldozer against the backdrop of an instrumental rendition of a children’s melody; the metaphorical representation of underfunding in education around the world. The other shows the school remaining completely intact. The film ends with the line ‘Stopping this, starts here. Education is being torn apart for millions around the world. Take action and become a Global Citizen.’ This simple messaging encourages viewers to take immediate action in support of the crisis, all with a simple sign up to Global Citizen.