The Children’s Society

The Children’s Society has released the first silent Christmas song in a bid to highlight the suffering of hundreds of thousands of children this yuletide, who suffer in silence. Some 6,000 children will run away from home; 46,000 children will be at risk of abuse and neglect and half a million children with mental health problems will feel like they have no one to ask for help this Christmas, according to the charity.

“For these children, Christmas is broken but their spirits don't have to be. The silent choir represents the thousands of young people across the UK without a voice and they're joined in silence by Martin Kemp, Royal Blood and KT Tunstall, among others on our silent track,” it said. The track can be streamed on Spotify. The film, made in collaboration with agency W, follows the appearance of the Silent Choir outside London’s upmarket department store Fortnum & Mason on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Knotel

And/Or has developed a motion design strategy and assets to align with workspace management startup Knotel’s recent global rebrand. And/Or’s work is designed to translate Knotel’s playful brand positioning and visual identity into motion design, and it addresses a growing need for companies to build motion into their brand DNA, the agency said.

And/Or has crafted two brand films for Knotel: an overarching brand video that brings the new Knotel branding to life through motion, and a “Better Way To Workspace” spot that explains how Knotel’s service works with a cheeky, playful script and tone. And/Or partner and creative director Kelli Miller said: “Knotel is a great example of a startup brand considering the way it moves and behaves from the start and making sure the video content they create is informed by their brand principles and design thinking.” Knotel launched its new identity, designed by Elmwood, in October 2018. As more new brands layer motion into their brand from the very start, it is becoming clear that traditional branding must now embrace motion as a pillar of strategy, she added. “Every brand is now creating video content and seeing their brand move on multiple screens in multiple formats, such as a presentation, experience, OOH video ad, or branded content, so motion branding should be part of the brand book.

Knotel – Brand Film from And/Or on Vimeo.

National Alliance on Mental Illness

Santa Claus sits atop a snow-covered roof and searches his soul in this emotive film created by Wieden + Kennedy that questions the age-old standard of naughty or nice. The US National Alliance on Mental Illness film is designed to highlight the plight of children living with mental health issues. “Isn’t it just as possible that they’re nervous or nice? Uncomfortable in their own skin, or nice?… ‘My impulses are beyond my control,’ or nice?” he asks.

The idea behind the film is that “for the first time in 1,000 years, Santa is focusing on signs, not labels. 50% of mental health conditions begin by age 14 – that’s why this year, Santa is delivering a reminder to pay attention to children’s mental health and look out for warning signs”. St Nick’s parting shot is “show me an interesting, fully formed person and I’ll show you a once difficult child, these kids, they aren’t Naughty or Nice. They’re kids.”

Lego

Lego celebrated the 40^th anniversary of the launch of its classic space themed sets by sending a Lego City Lunar Space Station set into the stratosphere using a 3D-printed rig attached to a hydrogen balloon. The world’s largest toy maker filmed the stunt and posted the video on YouTube for the delectation of master builders the world over. At almost two and a half hours long, the unabridged epic journey may prove a useful means of soothing Lego fanatics to sleep on Christmas Eve. Now all parents need is for Lego to figure out a way of collecting all those tiny pieces that hide in the carpet ready to embed themselves in adults’ bare feet from Boxing Day onwards.