THE SOLUTION
Putting Ads on Alert
We turned awareness into an experience. Instead of telling people that Ukraine was under attack, we let them sense it. By putting advertising on alert mode, the city of Helsinki began reacting to the war in real time. When air raid sirens sounded in Ukraine, Helsinki felt the echo. Not as news. Not as storytelling.
But as a sudden, physical interruption of everyday life.
THE EXECUTION
Triggered by Sirens
Helsinki’s digital billboards were connected directly to Ukraine’s official air raid alert system. The city’s five largest vendors fully committed to the project – even when, at one point, it meant maintaining a 24/7 human standby.
Each real air raid alert replaced commercial ads with an emergency-style warning. Screens appeared fractured, as if struck by the shockwave of a distant explosion. The timing was never planned. The war itself triggered the media.
THE RESULTS
Results that led to results
The campaign delivered exceptional impact, turning distant suffering into immediate responsibility. Beyond short-term attention and donations, it created something longer-lasting: UNICEF is relaunching the campaign on the anniversary of the war. The mechanism will also be scaled to support other humanitarian crises, where urgency risks fading over time. Ukraine Air Raid Alerts proved that when real-world signals trigger media, awareness doesn’t just increase – it endures.
DONATIONS
+545%
VS WEEK BEFORE
DONATIONS
+131%
VS 2024
GLOBAL REACH
24,7M
(4,4 x Finland’s population)
172
air-raid alerts
in one week
1 078