Humanization, Dehumanization, and Spectacularization: The Semiotics of UNICEF’s Unfairy Tales

In this article, we examine the three Unfairy Tales advertising videos as part of the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) Act of Humanity campaign, which depicts the stories of Syrian refugee children fleeing armed conflict. Shared on UNICEF’s digital platforms, these videos sensibilize the audience to the challenges these children have faced in their migrations and stimulate the adult public to contribute with donations. We argue that the advertisements’ obvious critique when contrasting the pain and despair with a fairy tale storytelling style reinforces obtuse elements. Following a semiotic approach based on postcolonial readings of the Other, we explore how the Unfairy Tales humanize, dehumanize, and spectacularize the three Syrian refugee children who narrate their experiences as it mediates the audience’s engagement with these stories. We suggest that the Unfairy Tales mediate the spectator’s relationship with these children-characters to orient political action toward maintaining a Western representation of childhood and accepting UNICEF’s role in managing humanitarian and migration “crisis” related to children. This article stimulates a dialogue between the critical literature on humanitarianism, childhood, and migration, promotes interdisciplinary discussions on semiotics, and contributes to critical engagements with digital humanitarian advertising.