Can superheroes heal Trauma?

In partnership with

Hello, Creative Souls.

Sometimes, the most heartbreaking stories are the simplest ones.

In a refugee camp in Lebanon, a boy named Kadar finds a new best friend: Batman.
They run through dusty fields, they kick a football, they fly kites, they hide and laugh and play.

And for a while, you forget where they are.
For a while, it feels like a normal childhood.
For a while, it feels like hope.

But then comes the reveal—
Batman isn’t real.
Batman is his father, imagined.
His protector. His hero.
Doing everything he can to keep Kadar safe from a world that has already taken too much.

Campaign: Batman - War Child

Client: War Child
Creative Partners: MassiveMusic, In Case of Fire, Sony, Universal

Why This Story Hits So Hard

💔 It uses fantasy to tell the truth.
The ad doesn’t start with tragedy. It starts with childhood. One messy, silly, beautiful childhood. And when the twist comes, it doesn’t just shock you. It reminds you what these children are fighting to hold onto.

🎵 The music carries you before it breaks you.
Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend” plays through the film. It feels light, nostalgic, and innocent. And then, after the reveal, it lingers in a way that’s almost painful—like a memory you don’t want to lose.

🚸 It shows refugees as people first, not headlines.
Kadar isn’t just a refugee. He’s a kid.
He plays. He dreams. He imagines a better world.
And that’s what makes the message resonate more… because it evokes empathy, not pity. You’re feeling empathy.

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What Makes This Campaign Different

• It lets joy and grief exist in the same frame.
  There's no heavy-handed voiceover. No statistics. Just a slow realization that stays with you long after the screen goes black.

• It respects its subject.
  Kadar isn’t shown as broken. He’s shown as brave. The focus isn’t on his suffering—it’s on his strength.

• It turns imagination into resistance.
  In a world built to crush him, Kadar builds his own world instead. One where love, protection, and hope still exist.

#AD

Lessons From ‘Batman’

• Lead with humanity, not hardship.
  Tell the story that connects first, and the crisis second.

• Use a familiar symbol to bridge the gap.
  Batman isn’t just a superhero here—he’s a universal language of protection, courage, and hope.

• Let the audience realize the truth themselves.
  The twist is what makes the film unforgettable. Trust your story to reveal itself without forcing it.

The Takeaway

When you humanize the forgotten, you don’t just raise awareness—you create understanding.
When you let people feel the weight of a child's imaginary friend, you don't need to explain why the world needs to change.

Some stories don’t shout.
They whisper.
And somehow, they echo even louder.

The Batman campaign reminds us:
Behind every number, every news story, every refugee camp—
there’s a kid who just wants to play.
A father who would do anything to protect them.
And a hope that refuses to die, no matter how hard the world tries to crush it.

See you next week.

Figment is written by Abbhinav Kastura, a writer/producer who has spent a decade making impactful internet videos and Guru Nicketan, an advertising nerd, B2B Marketer, stand-up comedian, and a film buff.