The Most Shocking Second A Day video was shot in just two days in more than 60 locations around London, bringing the Syrian conflict uncomfortably close to home.

The film follows a young girl whose world is dramatically transformed as war destroys her pleasant suburban lifestyle. In the beginning we see her riding a bike, playing with friends, but subtle clues in the background begin to tell us that something beyond her control is going wrong. Civil war breaks out in this alternative version of London, and her family are forced to flee their home, struggling to survive.

Released on Youtube with minimal media push, The Most Shocking Second A Day Video received over 21 million views within five days, was number one on Reddit’s global front page, and featured on all major news platforms from Gawker and Buzzfeed to CNN and the BBC.

It was shared across social networks in countries around the world, retweeted by high profile figures like Stephen Fry and the leader of Syria’s opposition, and provoked hundreds of thousands of conversations in hundreds of languages.

It was officially the most popular advert on YouTube in March, the first non-profit video ever to top YouTube’s monthly leaderboard.

After three years of conflict in Syria, international attention had waned - the devastating humanitarian crisis engulfing Syria’s children was being ignored. Save The Children UK decided to change that.

The Most Shocking Second A Day Video was created to bring the Syrian conflict home to the people of Britain. To remind people of this reality, to cut through the media fatigue around the civil war and focus on the plight of the real, forgotten victims of the conflict: Syria’s children. It imagines a parallel universe in which London descends into civil war, seen through the eyes of a typical English girl, one second at a time.

In a poignant message to viewers, the film ends with the words; “Just because it isn’t happening here, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.”