Second Nurture: 18 Months
Second Nurture challenged Klick Health to increase support for foster and adoptive families. They needed to humanize the daunting legal process and combat stereotypes surrounding LGBTQ+ adoption. The goal was to reach potential parents and donors by highlighting the emotional reality of building a family through the system, rather than focusing solely on the end result, to build empathy and community support.
Creative Idea
A stop-motion film reframed an 18-month legal battle as a beautiful, non-traditional pregnancy.
Second Nurture redefined the concept of 'labor' by dramatizing the 18-month legal and emotional marathon of adoption through a handcrafted stop-motion film, proving that family isn't defined by biology but by the persistence of unconditional love.
The Eighteen Month Labor of Subway Baby Kevin
A Subway Discovery Turned Cinematic Marvel
The narrative is rooted in the 2000 true story of Danny Stewart and Pete Mercurio, who discovered an abandoned infant in a New York City subway station. While Mercurio’s book Our Subway Baby provided the foundation, the film focuses on the unexpected courtroom twist where Judge Cooper bypassed the foster system by asking the couple to adopt the child directly. To capture this emotional gravity, Klick Health partnered with Zombie Studio to create a hybrid production blending handcrafted stop-motion puppetry with 3D animation. The team utilized real-time projection to allow physical puppets to interact with dynamic, digital lighting environments.
Immersive Sound and Global Advocacy
The film’s atmosphere is anchored by a haunting cover of A Thousand Years, featuring a collaboration between British musician Charly Coombes and Brazilian LGBTQIA+ advocate Day Limns. To heighten the emotional stakes, Jamute produced the sound design in Dolby Atmos, creating an "artistically immersive" experience that peaks during the climactic courtroom scene. Rich Levy, CCO of Klick Health, noted that the project’s success in non-health categories proves that high-end branded entertainment can compete with consumer giants like Apple or Nike.
Redefining the Pregnancy Arc
By contrasting the traditional nine-month pregnancy with the 18-month legal marathon of adoption, the campaign challenged industry norms regarding family representation. The project’s technical and narrative "truthful storytelling" earned it a spot in Ad Age’s Top 5 Creative Campaigns, significantly boosting Second Nurture’s mission to humanize the foster care process. The production serves as a benchmark for how health-focused non-profits can utilize high-craft animation to drive global cultural conversations.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Second Nurture had the authentic, heart-wrenching true story of Pete and Dan's subway discovery and subsequent adoption battle.
Category
Adoption non-profits often focus on the children's needs or generic imagery, ignoring the grueling emotional process for parents.
Customer
Prospective foster and adoptive parents feel overwhelmed by the legal system and fear societal judgment regarding non-traditional families.
Culture
Growing cultural acceptance of diverse family units and the popularity of high-craft, long-form emotional storytelling in digital media.
Company
Second Nurture had the authentic, heart-wrenching true story of Pete and Dan's subway discovery and subsequent adoption battle.
Category
Adoption non-profits often focus on the children's needs or generic imagery, ignoring the grueling emotional process for parents.
Strategy:
Reframe the bureaucratic hurdles of adoption as a heroic, extended labor of love to validate non-traditional parenthood.
Customer
Prospective foster and adoptive parents feel overwhelmed by the legal system and fear societal judgment regarding non-traditional families.
Culture
Growing cultural acceptance of diverse family units and the popularity of high-craft, long-form emotional storytelling in digital media.
Strategy:
Reframe the bureaucratic hurdles of adoption as a heroic, extended labor of love to validate non-traditional parenthood.
Strategy Technique
Reframe the Problem
By reframing the 18-month adoption struggle as a different kind of pregnancy, the campaign shifts the focus from legal bureaucracy to a beautiful, albeit non-traditional, journey to parenthood.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Story-Driven Campaign
The campaign uses a meticulously crafted narrative based on a true story to build deep emotional investment, making the complex legal process of adoption feel personal and heroic.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
The ad's exceptional craft is driven by its beautiful stop-motion animation and emotional storytelling, which bring a powerful true story to life in a unique and memorable way.
The stop-motion animation is meticulously crafted, with expressive characters and detailed environments that enhance the emotional impact of the story.
The use of lighting and camera angles effectively conveys the mood and emotional arc of the film, from the dark subway to the warm family home.
The combination of the hand-crafted animation and the emotional song 'A Thousand Years' creates a powerful and resonant experience for the viewer.
