The films crafted for each of the Protective Rhymes are the cornerstone of our visual storytelling, springing the words to life through short branded content videos.

Leveraging a unique craft style, we utilized miniature sets to create immersive and engaging scenes that captivate young audiences. Through this innovative approach, we aimed to deliver impactful messages about child sexual abuse in a friendly, age-appropriate format.

We crafted a unique visual narrative employing a distinctive film style reminiscent of traditional puppet shows and children's animated programs.

Child sexual abuse is an issue impacting children everywhere, and the Middle East is no exception.

One in 9 children in the Middle East is a victim of sexual abuse.

In the Arab world, there have been shy attempts to grow awareness and education among parents and children.

However, open dialogue about body safety and protection of boundaries with children still face taboos within many societal segments.

General sexual education is not prevalent in the region. Parents and well as institutions often avoid any kind of talk that may make children too aware of their bodies sexually.

Fear of stigma, cultural sensitivities and lack of education have left children in the Arab world more vulnerable to abuse.

Our main characters, Sarah the Cat and Talal the Turtle, are brought to life as endearing puppets, each representing a unique personality and perspective.

To depict various scenarios where a child might encounter a potential abuser, we created five different miniature sets. These sets represent familiar locations such as school, playground, bathroom, park, and bedroom, providing context for the educational messages conveyed in each video.

In each short video, Sarah and/or Talal are in each of the five locations, singing the music lyrics in the voices of children.

THE CHALLENGE

One in 9 children in the Middle East are victims of sexual abuse.

And some forms of abuse can be preventable with proper awareness and education.

However, research on parents in the region has shown that a staggering 86% of parents admit not to know how to educate their children about body safety.

A sentiment that remains consistent across levels of education or social classes. Parents’ anxiety and apprehension is the same.

Even when parents understand its importance, they do not know how to have the talk.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Anghami’s regional platform offered extensive reach among parents in the Arab world.

It had the opportunity to use its platform to develop a tangible solution that makes body safety education easy for all parents and engaging for all children.

Using what it did best, music.

AN INFLUENTIAL IDEA SPARKING CONVERSATION AT SCALE

15M+ views for the films and song streams across platforms.

$4.1M in earned media value, for an initial budget of $100,000, with the campaign, being picked up by influential regional media outlets including Sky News Arabia and Dubai One.

+53% increase in conversation about child sexual abuse in regional media, a testament to the idea’s talkable nature.

DRIVING ACTION, SUPPORT AND LASTING CHANGE

+186% awareness of body safety among children surveyed after their exposure to the songs, and a +78% increase among parents.

Joining us in our commitment to the cause, child-focused brands including Babyshop endorsed the campaign, and school networks pledged to adopt body safety education as part of curriculums.

The director created the concept behind the films. The director also co-wrote the songs for the films, and directed their composition and production.

The style of the film, using the puppet-like characters was inspired from the works of the famous puppeteer and stop motion film-maker, Jiří Trnka.

The vision for the films was to create another world in and of itself - one that appealed to children, yet one that was beautiful.

We didn't want to buy props or items or do another puppet show. We wanted to build this world our characters would inhabit.

Everything you see in the films was meticulously crafted and an original creation.

The cat and the turtle were moulded and created by artists in Los Angeles.

The props and art items were designed, created and built from scratch in Dubai.

Then, 5 varied sets for the 5 different rhymes were meticulously designed and constructed.