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Their ideas of superheros aren't men and women dressed in capes and costumes, with the ability to read minds and fight the bad guys. While a group of children do point to a colorful drawing of a Superman-like figure at one point, the kids see superheroes as the ones that kill mosquitoes and bring them water when they're dehydrated.
The PSA is called "Superheroes: Eyewitness Reports," and was created by creative agency Don't Panic and Unit 9 for the Save The Children charity and its Race For Survival campaign. The video isn't quite as shocking as past videos the team has made for Save The Children, including the "Most Shocking Second A Day" piece and "In Reverse," but it's still pretty powerful.
"It was important that we only planted the seed of a story in their minds, and then let them run away with that story in the way only a child can," director Jacob Proud of Unit 9 tells Adweek.
Proud and his team traveled to the three countries over one week, finding children to ask about mysterious, "masked figures." The masked figures were real health workers, helping sick children and their family members.
"He came and destroyed the mosquitoes," one of the children says to the camera crew. Another young girl says "He was flying then he picked up the sick child and flew away."