While the consumer society is spewing out unnecessary gifts, and businessmen are exchanging unwanted gifts from Chinese office supply catalogues, all with the music background of Mariah Carey song, some people don’t have much reason to celebrate. That is why the Señor agency and the association Kolajna Ljubavi decided to congratulate everyone a gloomy Christmas, or in Croatian “Sjetan Božić” (sjetan = melancholic; sretan = merry, happy). The “Sjetan Božić” project wants to encourage you to share happiness with those who have fewer reasons for it: with the lonely, elderly and marginalized.
The melancholic collection of six original graphics-greeting cards and songs reminds us of the other side of the holiday season. In the December fever we rarely remember the neighbors who live alone, we don’t remember the old man whom we meet every morning at the tram station. The desire to do something is easily pushed to the back by our everyday obligations, and paradoxically, the season when family environment is emphasized all around us, is also the season when suicide rates soar among those alone and lonely. In the world that loves spending and hoarding, a moment has become the most sought after commodity, and the most valuable “donation” we can give.
Señor’s greeting cards don’t require you to make donations to some bank account, or to share a sad pic on your social media. Something sweet from the corner bakery, a repaired picture on the TV, or a chat over coffee, these are gifts that someone in your neighborhood has been dreaming about for a long time. While you enjoy the glittering shop windows, tables full of delicacies, surrounded by loved ones, give a moment to remember those whose Christmas looks different. Find a moment for them and help make their Christmas merry!
Sjetan Božić project continues a series of socially responsible projects by the Señor agency: Brand New Year, Sloganini and unBLOK.
Limited edition cards with the hand printed illustrations by artist Klasja Habjan on Keaykolour Snow White paper can be ordered at [email protected] at a price of HRK 99,99, and all earnings will be paid to the Kolajna Ljubavi association, which will help the needy. Here are some of their stories:
Mrs. Mara lives alone in an isolated village, with only a couple of employed neighbors, so she is very afraid of loneliness. She is almost bedridden due to illness, and depends on the help of her neighbors who come around when they have time. She loves to make jokes, but unfortunately, she says, she rarely has the chance.
Mr. Mate is a single who lives in a dilapidated house. He has cancer and is dependent on a distant relatives. But all of them have their own families and a lot of obligations, so they don’t get much chances to visit and take him to therapies. What he misses most are conversations with someone, so he could share his loneliness, and forget about the pain at least for a moment.
Mrs Ana has been sick since birth. She suffers from multiple illnesses, the most serious one being poor hearing and consequent poor speech. This has isolated her into a world of her own, in which even her mother can hardly enter. Mother fears for Ana’s future when she dies, and she fears it will come soon, because she is already very old and helpless.
CREDITS
Agency: Señor
Creative Director, Copywriting: Vanja Blumenšajn
Illustration, Design: Klasja Habjan
Project Lead: Stipe Bačić
Photographer: Boris Miletić (post: Tomislav Fabijanić, Vanja Blumenšajn)
