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After the United Nations Foundation named Droga5 its creative agency, that partnership has debuted a campaign bringing together the voices of millions of young people to drive meaningful conversation and positive change around global issues.
“Once Upon a Future” launches in support of the UN’s Summit of the Future, a two-day event that is part of the UN General Assembly currently taking place in New York.
At the center of the campaign is a 30-minute parallel broadcast, a streaming event designed to educate young people on the Summit of the Future, reminding world leaders that younger audiences are watching.
The Summit looks to rally all 193 UN Member States around its “Pact for the Future,” a commitment to address the world’s most pressing issues, including sustainability, peace, security, and global governance.
“Central to this campaign is empowering young people to take an even more active role in shaping their own futures. We’re doing this by highlighting their voices and aspirations, and the campaign seeks to mobilize a global movement that influences policy and drives meaningful change,” David Ohana, chief communications and marketing officer of the UN Foundation, told ADWEEK.
When the UN Foundation first briefed Droga5 with bringing attention to the Summit, it came with a mandate to focus on the next generation. Young people are set to inherit the solutions shared during this moment, and with 50% of the world under 30, younger generations urgently want to use their voices to enact meaningful change.
Rather than being pessimistic about the future and asking “what happens if we get it wrong?” this campaign decided to embrace optimism and change the conversation around the future by simply asking: “What if we get it right?”
“Working closely with the UN, we’re determined to not only raise awareness, but also to drive lasting change through exciting, thought-provoking, and unconventional approaches. It’s been a truly global collaboration, which Droga5 has helped bring to life,” said Ohana.
Reuniting the team to make the world better
The Summit and Pact might seem like broad and bold ideas, but the campaign works with the UN to build curiosity and accountability around the efforts and call attention to global negotiations on important issues to youth and the future of the world.
“The eyes of the world and the world’s youth are watching and willing leaders to make the necessary commitments and stick to them,” said Ohana.
Ohana started his position earlier this year but has a long history with the UN, as well as in the agency world. He previously served as chief of brand building at UNICEF, content producer for then-UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, and head of film and special projects for the UN’s humanitarian arm, OCHA.
Ohana also has a history with Droga5, since the agency worked with the UN and Beyoncé team on World Humanitarian Day in 2012, a collaboration that reached over a billion people in one day. Droga5 also worked with UNESCO for World Press Freedom Day in 2018, and with UNICEF’s Tap Project in 2007.
“One of the first calls I made when I was offered the CMO role at the United Nations Foundation was to David Droga. I said something like, ‘the world’s not in great shape. It’s time to pull together the Avengers. What’s your cape size?’” said Ohana, who also worked with new Droga5 CEO Mark Green at Saatchi & Saatchi.
Pelle Sjoenell, worldwide chief creative officer of Droga5, who took on the position earlier this year, will lead the creative effort for the UN Foundation.
“To be working with the UN Foundation and supporting the Summit of the Future, to ultimately serve humanity with our creativity, is an amazing opportunity and responsibility,” Sjoenell told ADWEEK.
Speaking their language
Sjoenell said it is important to speak with language that youth uses to amplify their voices, setting up templates that let young people around the world put their own stamp on the campaign.
Droga5 found that Gen Z and Gen Alpha remain hopeful for a better future, with 90% of them globally seeing the current moment as an opportunity rather than a threat. Since young people don’t consume their news via traditional formats, the broadcast allowed them to be informed about the Summit and commitments for the future in real time.
The broadcast brought the heavy topics of the Summit to light with wit, insight, and a fresh perspective to rally more people around solutions and help them succeed. While the world’s most powerful leaders were in the UN General Assembly Hall, the broadcast shared the news from the storied food cart across the street—an iconic but often overlooked New York institution that has served generations of UN leaders and staff, embodying what the UN stands for and who it serves.
“Young people today live in a world filled with chaos, and they often turn to humor, wit, and irony to digest and dissect complex issues,” said Tom McQueen, executive creative director at Droga5. “There’s an appeal and accessibility to the way they stay informed, and we wanted to tap into the way they educate themselves here.”
The broadcast was directed by Tim Bierbaum and featured an eclectic cast of internet personalities, UN experts, and creators to reach a broad audience globally, including: Felipe Neto; Lea’h Sampson; Heidi Becker; Dan Rosen; Hallie Haas; Liah Yoo; and Pooja Tripathi.
United Nations experts included Stéphane Dujarric, UN spokesperson for the Secretary-General; Elizabeth Cousens, president and CEO, United Nations Foundation; Eddie Ndopu, global humanitarian and social justice advocate; and Noreyana Fernando, World Bank external affairs officer, development finance.
The broadcast will continue to live on the UN Foundation’s social channels and YouTube channel well after the Summit has concluded to maximize visibility into the conversations that took place there. To drive mass awareness and invite the world to watch the Summit live, Droga5 launched worldwide out-of-home, social, online videos, and digital display ads this past month.
International promotions for the Summit of the Future broadcast.United Nations Foundation 
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