SPECIAL SUPER HEROES
Mediavest pushes the boundaries to create experiences that matter
The word ‘superhero’ usually conjures up images of red and blue tights or a black cape and cowl. Yet, superheroes don’t always have to be Superman and Batman…sometimes superheroes can be young, special needs children fighting uphill battles. Labels like ‘special’ don’t always do justice to these children, their perseverance and desire to overcome handicaps makes them much more than just special...it makes them super.
Using this insight and wanting to portray special needs children as real life superheroes, media agency Mediavest developed a novel concept for Dubaibased Al Noor Training Centre for persons with disabilities, for their client City Centre Malls. The inspiration was to take focus away from the children’s ‘disabilities’ and to bring to light their ‘abilities’ in a fun, tangible and relatable manner. Since all children grow up wanting to be a superhero, the idea brought to life the inner superhero of each of these special needs children, literally.
Sitting down in fun, immersion sessions with twenty young special needs children, the agency asked them to talk about themselves, their likes and dislikes and eventually about their favourite superheroes. The conversation soon shifted to the children describing what they would be like if they were a superhero with special powers. A black and blue-cloaked Batwoman, Thor wearing cricket pads, a green costumed Spiderman and a Tennis racquetwielding Supergirl were just some of the descriptors heard. A graphic artist listening in on the live conversation then sketched the descriptors in real time. The sessions ended with a quick 3D face scan of each child that captured their features.
The sketches were then digitally converted and the face scans ‘meshed’ on to the bodies using special software, painstakingly fine-tuned for posing, and eventually 3D printed to life in the form of custom-made 15 centimeter superhero figurines complete with each child’s actual face and superhero body as described by them - a physical, lifelong reminder of what makes them super.
“We at Starcom Mediavest Group believe in creating experiences that matter, and this campaign delivered on point. We were able to take something intangible like human imagination and turn it into a tangible object,” says Tauseef Anwar, associate director at Mediavest.
The campaign showed a side to these children that is seldom associated with special needs, and successfully flipped their limitations and turned them into their ‘superpowers’. Mediavest had delivered the kind of experiences that matter today, which got flawlessly merged with City Centre’s brand promise, which is to create great moments for everyone.